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The new 2018-2019 academic year has begun at SEK International Schools, catering to students at SEK-El Castillo, SEK-Ciudalcampo and SEK-Santa Isabel in Madrid; SEK-Atlántico in Pontevedra; SEK-Alborán in Almería; SEK-Catalunya in Barcelona; and SEK-Dublin, SEK-Les Alpes and SEK-Qatar abroad. Once again, this year, SEK schools welcomed around 5,500 students from over 60 different nationalities.
SEK Education Group schools boast a combined experience of over 275 years’ experience offering each of our students humanising learning experiences and allowing them to live successful lives. All SEK schools offer an educational model focused on innovation, interdisciplinarity and commitment to social improvement, and attend to the full emotional, intellectual, cognitive, physical and artistic development of each of their students.
SEK-El Castillo, the oldest SEK Education Group school, aims this year to continue working on the multiculturalism and multilingualism that are its hallmarks; to continue to adhere the highest standards and academic rigour in its international programmes (PYP, MYP and Diploma Programme); promoting greater levels of entrepreneurship, training in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) skills, Maker culture and scientific training for our students; and the development of its boarding school in Spain and abroad, among others.
SEK-El Castillo has created a School of Music, joined the Healthy School initiative, has developed a NASA Project in which it will build a landing shuttle with the help of teams of professionals from the United States, and a new archaeology workshop in Secondary school. In addition, the school this year has a new Principal, Eloísa López, who sees this new stage of her professional career “as a great opportunity, a very interesting challenge that I face with great enthusiasm and energy. It is the perfect moment to try to contribute and learn from my colleagues and our students from another, very interesting perspective which is always very gratifying”.
SEK-Ciudalcampo aspires this year to implement the Gamification, the Escape Room and Play Music initiatives within the active methodologies, continue to expand the international approach and increase exchanges and participation in international congresses. In addition, new for this year, the school will introduce the SEK Diploma, hold a new trip to NASA with Secondary school students and launch a new radio space.
“I start my 40th academic year as Principal, and I do it with the same enthusiasm as the first day. The challenge for this year will be to unite the trips of La Goleta with an environmental project on Posidonia Oceanica,” says Mª Cruz Lagar, Principal of SEK-Ciudalcampo.
SEK-Santa Isabel, meanwhile, has among its goals for this new academic year to accompany its students and teachers in their learning process, and to help each of their students obtain the best results.
In addition, the school has launched several new initiatives for this year, such as the possibility of studying three languages (Spanish plus English and French or German), a chess class for all Early Childhood and Primary students or STEAM projects and the Healthy Schools project, among others.
The Principal of SEK-Santa Isabel, Javier Presol, a SEK veteran, tackles this new academic year “with all the enthusiasm, desire to improve, maintain tradition, and encourage innovation and growth of students and teachers”.
Commitment to internationality and new technologies
SEK-Atlántico faces a year of great challenges, with the aim of being a leading school in Galicia in international education. Therefore, they aspire to continue with the consolidation of the International Baccalaureate Programmes, with twice as many students as last year and with all students passing and obtaining the IB Diploma.
For the new academic year, the school has carried out improvement works in Early Childhood and Primary, it has increased scientific projects and the provision of material resources for Physical Education, Music, Robotics and Technology, and has hired several international teachers.
Jacobo Olmedo, Principal of SEK-Atlántico, is tackling the new year “with the enthusiasm and pride of leading this school where I have been working for 27 years, accompanied by the best students and professionals”.
SEK-Alborán remains firm in its commitment to continue expanding the school’s internationality and in instilling values in its students with its Creativity, Action and Service Programme (CAS) and to further consolidate its STEAM culture. In addition, the school aims to promote the healthy habits of its students and teachers, with measures ranging from changes in school meals to dissemination and awareness actions as part of the syllabus. SEK-Alborán starts this year as an authorised Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Scheme school.
The Principal, Luis Carlos Jiménez, begins the year “full of energy, very excited about the team, eager to face the different planned challenges and those that will appear throughout the year. All this with the spirit of continuous improvement that characterises SEK and our school community. ”
At SEK-Catalunya, they aim, above all, to consolidate last year’s academic results obtained in the International Diploma and Spanish Bachillerato, the best obtained in recent years, and to plan the introduction of the SEK Catalunya Sports Academy for next September.
SEK-Catalunya has opened a new boarding school for international students, a new library in the Primary area, the subjects of Global Politics and Art have been included in the offer of the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and new padel courts and 7-aside football pitches have been built.
Roberto Prata, Principal of the SEK-Catalunya, faces the new academic year “with energy and enthusiasm, because we have more students than ever and a much more diverse and international team of teachers with great experience, that will help us to improve, even more, the education of our students. ”
SEK Schools offer their students a unique learning experience
Outside Spain, SEK-Les Alpes aims to consolidate their project as leaders in education abroad, placing the student at the heart of all they do. The objective is to ensure that students, in an increasingly globalised world, are able to continue learning throughout their lives, and that they are prepared to achieve their maximum academic, human and personal development.
New for this year, SEK-Les Alpes will also promote the STEAM culture, it will be transformed into a Healthy School, and will consolidate the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, that began last academic year with the year 3 ESO students. For Guadalupe Sánchez, “each academic year is always a new challenge. I am fully aware of what families expect and value from an educational experience like the one offered by SEK-Les Alpes and from here I extend my personal commitment and that of the SEK-Les Alpes Learning Community to offer an all-round and satisfactory learning experience”.
At SEK-Dublin the goals for this new academic year are to help students gain confidence, to be more independent, to face risks, to be able to solve problems, try new experiences, treat others with respect and to show empathy. In order to do this, our school is extending its offer of extracurricular activities, orientation days, increasing communication with Spanish and Irish families and working on building a solid educational community.
Kristen Dickhaut, Principal of SEK-Dublin, wants to start this year “with a fresh mind. I will learn from my mistakes and turn them into learning opportunities for the new school year. I will make the school better than last year. When a student finishes their studies at SEK-Dublin, I want them to feel that they have fulfilled their objectives, that they feel self-confident, and that they are independent, responsible and kind”.
SEK-Qatar, for its part, begins an academic year focused on its commitment to improve and evolve its educational practices, bolstered by the NEASC Accreditation achieved last year. In addition, students will take part, for the second year in a row, in the SEKMUN United Nations Model, which takes place every year in Madrid and is organised by SEK Education Group itself. Several students will have the opportunity to take a trip to SEK-Les Alpes, where they will be able to take a ski course for the first time and participate in an enriching cultural exchange.
“As Principal, it is a privilege to be able to guide our students, find inspiration in their creative energy and be part of the SEK family. We hope to have another enriching and successful year, like the previous five at SEK-Qatar. Our community has grown, with students from 55 different nationalities in our classrooms”, says Vivian Arif, Principal of the SEK-Qatar School.
In short, SEK schools offer the student a learning experience that encompasses school, working and personal life. It is a life-long learning model in which students are “learning professionals” and teachers act as facilitators and thought coaches.
