We believe in the education of the whole person as a lifelong process. At SIS the Upper School programme promotes the education of the whole person by emphasising intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge. Learning is focused on the dynamic combination of knowledge, skills, independent critical and creative thought, and international-mindedness.
The majority of our students study for the full IB Diploma. However, we recognise that each child is an individual with different talents and needs and because of this we also offer alternative learning pathways. Students have the opportunity to study a selection of IB Diploma Programme Courses, which contain many of the same elements as the diploma with less stringent academic requirements. We also offer the SIS High School Diploma which is internally assessed over the last four years of High School and often accompanied by American SAT exams.
We believe strongly in the efficacy of experiential and service learning and all upper school students are expected to participate in Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) . CAS is at the heart of our diploma programmes and is given great value at SIS, where we provide an extensive programme of global citizenship and community service opportunities.
Kevin Stone
Head of Upper School
Campus Extension
As a school growing in numbers we now also need to grow in size and facilities. In December 2019 we began an ambitious building project which will see our campus grow!
Our new building will include 20 new secondary classrooms, allowing our departments to cluster together, a new IB Diploma common room, for our oldest students, a new staffroom, offices and a wonderful entrance space. The views from the new building are simply breathtaking and look over La reserva towards the sea. They will be a truly inspirational learning environment for all students.
Being at the cutting edge of 21st Century learning, the interior design of the classrooms have been created using student agency as a guide. We have created flexible learning environments that enable students to have choice over where and how they sit to approach different tasks. We will have tiered seating in some classrooms, to allow presentations, foldable tables, which will allow large spaces to be created quickly and different height tables and chairs, to cater for student needs.
Our current sporting facilities at the school will be increased to provide a new 5 a side astro football pitch and a multi surface sports area.
Once the secondary building is complete, we will remodel the current main building, creating new learning spaces for our oldest primary students, allowing us to expand to 4 classes in one of these year groups. Our library will be remodeled to enable more space and learning opportunities for all students.
We are very excited with the plans for the expansion of Sotogrande International School and look forward to seeing our classrooms ready for use in January 2021, while our other facilities we expect to follow soon after.
American style High School Diploma Route
We offer an American High School Diploma. Students take a combination of core and elective courses over the last four years of secondary school leading to the High School Diploma. These courses are assessed internally, and the HSD is awarded to students satisfying the graduation requirements. Students following DP Courses will also be eligible for the award of the SIS High School Diploma, subject to fulfilling the graduation requirements, and regularly take SAT examinations to support their HSD. This is accredited by the NEASC.
International A-Level Route
The International A-level route is offered through our Elite Sports programme. This programme is designed to offer elite sports students the opportunity to pursue additional programmes in sports including tennis or through our collaboration with sports academies. Currently, we are in partnership with two sports academies: the Jason Floyd Golf Academy (JFGA) and SotoTennis.
Marking Scheme:
Numeric grades are used for both our IB and High School Diploma students. A 7-point system of grading is used for all IB and HSD internal assessments and for transcripts. This ranges from level 7 (highest) to level 1 (lowest).
Equivalence between numeric grades and letter grades are the following:
| SIS level | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2/1 |
| Letter grade | A+ | A | B | C | D | E |
Letter grades are adopted for our International A- level programme and grades A* (highest) to E (lowest) represent a pass.
SIS does not rank students or calculate GPA.
High School Diploma Graduation Requirements:
The SIS High School Diploma will be awarded to students subject to the satisfactory completion of the following requirements. Students must achieve a minimum of 24 full-year credits, in accordance with the table below. A minimum level 3 is required in order to receive credit. Grades for credit are awarded in June of each year.
English (A or B) |
4 credits |
| Mathematics | 2 credits |
| Science | 2 credits |
| Additional Mathematics or Science | 2 credits |
| Humanities | 3 credits |
| Additional language (A or B) | 2 credits |
Arts/Physical Education/ |
|
Technology/Electives |
9 credits |