Philosophy & Values | Sotogrande School

Sotogrande International School (SIS) provides a high quality academic and extracurricular programme for the local and international community of southern Spain. We believe in education as a lifelong process, in developing a love of learning and in the attainment of excellence.

Through our personalised approach to learning, our students are encouraged to open their hearts and minds to the joy of learning, to discover their strengths, identify their passions and develop outstanding learning skills.

We are an International Baccalaureate (IB) world day and boarding school with over 50 nationalities, offering the Primary Years Programme (3-11), the Middle Years Programme (12-16) and the Diploma Programme (16-18). Additionally, we facilitate the American High School Diploma and a programme of International A-levels to high school students who are planning to pursue Division I or Division II sports at college

Founded in 1978, we currently have 50 different nationalities represented in the student body, and there is a diverse international teaching faculty. The school has 3 campuses: the main teaching campus, a nursery school (0-3 years) and a Boarding House that can accommodate over 160 students.

SIS places great emphasis on technology to support learning and is proud to be named as an Apple Distinguished School. The Apple Distinguished School designation is reserved for schools that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments. We aim to prepare students for effective participation and success in the 21st century by integrating technology and learning, providing access for all children to laptops, iPads and desktop computers and ensuring students have access to online learning resources both at home and at school.

Mission

We are a learning community, passionate about an International Education, which inspires and encourages learning and intercultural understanding. We facilitate self-discovery and development of unique interests, gifts and talents, whilst promoting service learning as a force for good in the world.

Educational Goals

To create extraordinary educational experiences for learners to connect with their purpose and passions. Learners embrace opportunities to be the best they can be and take personal responsibility for creating a more peaceful inclusive and sustainable world.

Ambition

To be a world leader in International Education, which is academically rigorous, connecting learners to their passion and purpose. Through the creative use of technology and authentic service experiences, we promote education as a force for good in the world.

CONNECTED LEARNING

All great teachers know that pictures speak louder than words and at Sotogrande International School we have tried to capture the essence of our core components in this diagram.We start at the centre, which is the learner. The learner is at the core of everything that we do.

The lower section of the visual relates to the theory of our methods of delivery and our vision, which is created from our mission, goals, and values.
The upper section relates to the desired outcomes for our learners.
Surrounding the central ideas is our method of delivery, called connected learning and our desire, which is to create a learning community.

ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

The school is proud of the academic achievements of its graduates who have entered top universities around the world. This reflects the strong academic and guidance programmes offered by SIS, enabling students to achieve their best.

The focus on producing happy children can be mistaken for not delivering the highest exam results, but in fact we find that the happier they are the better they perform.These children are the leaders of the future and are gaining fantastic exam results as well as the ability to apply what they’ve learnt on a practical level.

Conected Learning + Sotogrande Academic Excellence

Conected Learning + Sotogrande conecting learning

Conected Learning + Sotogrande estraordinary educational experiences

FINDING YOUR AUTHENTIC VOICE – A COMPLETE EDUCATION FOR EVERY STUDENT

About-Us-Philosophy-Values-Finding-your-Authentic-Voice

We care deeply about our students and support them through a comprehensive range of pastoral services. The Personal Advisor (secondary) or Class Teacher (primary) is the key point of contact for both parents and their children and ensures that children are supported, encouraged and nurtured throughout their schooling.

We encourage them to develop effective habits of personal vision, leadership, management and learning, with the self-motivation and desire to succeed. Our goal is for students to find their unique and authentic voice by discovering and developing what they are good at and what they are passionate about.

Students follow inter-disciplinary programmes that bring together the important academic subjects in a coherent and integrated manner. Through a rich curriculum, we aim to develop in students an enduring inter-cultural awareness, a spirit of inquiry and a sense of community service and global environmental responsibility.

The school follows a philosophy of child-focused, holistic learning. We believe in developing confident learners with an enduring love of learning and in the attainment of excellence. We aim to develop students with lively, inquiring minds with the ability to question, think rationally and analytically, to be creative and to have the motivation to achieve goals.

The SIS community consists of more than 40 different nationalities. In a world where borders are disappearing, the mix of nationalities and backgrounds offers a welcome breadth of cultural experiences to the school community. This enables students to develop an understanding and appreciation of the cultural diversity that surrounds them and to have respect for the values of other cultures, races, religions and ways of life.

BECOMING A GLOBAL CITIZEN AND LEADER

All students are taught to think about both “me” and “we” and a big part of our school’s identity is giving back to others. At the centre of the IB curriculum and at the heart of the school is the concept of helping people and becoming global citizens able to use education as a force for good.

As a result of this vision, in 2010 we set up an independent NGO called the Kindred Project which offers a range of real life opportunities for our students to make a difference and we are currently supporting projects in Ecuador, India, Morocco, Spain and Uganda.

SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION

Sotogrande International School recognises that the welfare of the child is paramount and takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children and young people in its care.

We recognise our duty and responsibility for everyone in the school community to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. Everyone at Sotogrande International School understands they have a personal responsibility to notice when a child or young person may be at risk of harm and to pass on their concerns to the Safeguarding Team who can work with other agencies to protect them.

Safeguarding children and young people means protecting them from abuse or neglect. It also means working with other agencies to support families and creating an environment in school where children and young people feel safe and healthy.