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The LaLiga match played on March 14 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium between Real Madrid and Elche featured the participation of four students linked to SEK Education Group, highlighting the close collaboration the institution has maintained with Real Madrid since 2000 to support the academic education of young academy players.
Among those involved in the match were Thiago Pitarch, a current student at SEK-Ciudalcampo, along with alumni Diego Aguado and Daniel Yáñez, also educated at SEK-Ciudalcampo, and Manuel Ángel, a former student of SEK-El Castillo. All of them have combined their sporting development within Real Madrid’s academy with their academic education at SEK schools.
More than two decades educating Real Madrid academy players
The collaboration between SEK Education Group and Real Madrid began in 2000 with the aim of ensuring the academic education of young athletes in the club’s football and basketball academies.
Players have received their education at SEK-El Castillo since 2000 and, over the past two academic years, also at SEK-Ciudalcampo, within a framework that allows them to balance sporting demands with a comprehensive education.
In addition, the school manages the maintenance of Real Madrid’s residence in Valdebebas, where academy players live, and is responsible for providing their meals.
Since the beginning of this partnership, more than 300 academy players have studied at SEK schools, completing their education from Year 6 of Primary through to the final year of Bachillerato.
Over these two decades, many players who now compete at the highest professional level have passed through these classrooms. Among them are footballers who have been part of Real Madrid’s first team and international basketball figures such as Luka Dončić, who studied at SEK during his time at the club and now plays in the NBA.
An educational tradition linked to sport
SEK Education Group has a long-standing tradition connected to sport, recognised with the Joaquín Blume National Sports Award in 1987 and the Spanish Olympic Committee Award granted to Universidad Camilo José Cela in 2010.
In this context, the Marqués de Samaranch Olympic Chair at Universidad Camilo José Cela, founded by the Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, promotes the development and dissemination of Olympic values.
Since 2015, the institution has also promoted the SEK International Sports Academy, unique in Spain, which enables high-performance student-athletes to combine their academic education with sports training in a personalised way.
The programme currently includes athletes from disciplines such as tennis, golf, football, equestrian sports, handball, swimming, winter sports, padel and athletics, among others. SEK Education Group also allocates more than two million euros annually to scholarships and the promotion of sport.
Expanding collaboration across Europe
The collaboration between SEK Education Group and Real Madrid continues to expand internationally. In October 2024, the Real Madrid Foundation signed an agreement with SEK International School Dublin to launch the Foundation’s first Educational Football Program in the European Union.
This programme will bring Real Madrid’s sporting methodology and educational values to students, integrating academic education with sports development. The initiative strengthens a collaboration of more than two decades between Real Madrid and SEK Education Group, consolidating an educational model that combines sport, education and values.
