Hastings School

A History of Growth and Continuity

Hastings School was established in 1971, making it one of Madrid's longest-standing British international schools. It was founded as a private initiative to serve the expatriate and international community in Spain's capital at a time when British families working or living abroad had few options for a genuinely English-medium education.

Over more than five decades, the school has expanded steadily, growing to serve approximately 1,300–1,400 students across multiple campuses in Madrid's northern residential and commercial districts. The school operates from campuses in Chamartín (the Bendición de Campos primary campus), Arturo Soria (the Lorenzo Solano Tendero secondary campus), Paseo de la Habana, and other satellite locations — a reflection of how its community has spread across the city.

The most significant recent milestone in the school's history was the 2019 inauguration of the Nexus Sixth Form campus on Manuel Marañón in the Ciudad Lineal district. This purpose-built facility brought together Years 12 and 13 students in a modern, university-style environment with state-of-the-art facilities including a photography studio, art studios, a café, and seminar rooms designed for independent learning. The creation of Nexus represented a deliberate strategic investment in the school's upper years, offering both A-Level and IB Diploma programmes from a single dedicated location.

Today, Hastings School is part of the Cognita group of international schools, one of the world's largest operators of private schools. This affiliation provides the school with access to resources, professional development networks, and quality assurance frameworks, while the school itself retains its distinct British identity and community character. Its longevity in the Madrid market — spanning more than 50 years — is itself a testament to consistent quality and the trust of successive generations of international families.

Campus Life at Hastings School

Hastings School is unusual among Madrid's international schools in operating across six distinct campuses, each designed and equipped to serve a specific age group or educational phase. Rather than the single large-campus model common in many international schools, Hastings has developed a distributed model that keeps each community relatively intimate while sharing a common identity and set of values.

Primary Campuses

The Bendición de Campos campus in Chamartín is the main primary facility, offering 12 classrooms alongside a gym, music room, kitchen, library, and outdoor playgrounds. The atmosphere here is described as warm and personalised — a deliberate design for younger children who benefit from familiarity and close teacher-student relationships. Additional primary provision is available at the Paseo de la Habana campus.

Secondary Campus

The Lorenzo Solano Tendero campus in Arturo Soria serves secondary students. It is a more substantial facility featuring three modern science laboratories, a 60m² art studio, a theatre space, a roof terrace for social use, a sports field, and a library. The secondary environment reflects the transition to more independent learning, with specialist subject rooms enabling a fuller curriculum breadth.

Nexus Sixth Form

Opened in 2019, the Nexus campus on Manuel Marañón in Ciudad Lineal is the school's most contemporary facility. Purpose-built for Sixth Formers aged 15–18, it offers state-of-the-art teaching spaces, a photography studio, art studios, seminar rooms, and a café/social area. The design intentionally echoes a university environment, preparing students psychologically as well as academically for higher education.

Transport and Connectivity

Recognising the distributed campus model, the school provides free shuttle buses between campuses and operates six paid bus routes across the Chamartín and Arturo Soria areas. All campuses are accessible by Madrid's public transport network. This connectivity means that while students attend different physical sites by age group, the school functions as a coherent single community, with shared events, a common curriculum framework, and a unified pastoral team.

Educational Philosophy at Hastings School

Hastings School occupies a distinctive position among international schools in Madrid: it is unapologetically British in its academic framework — following the National Curriculum through IGCSE and A-Level — yet its stated educational philosophy goes well beyond examination results.

The school articulates a vision rooted in preparing students for what it calls the "4th Industrial Revolution", a world in which so-called human qualities — creativity, curiosity, and collaboration — will be prized above all else. This is not merely marketing language. It permeates the structure of the school's upper years through the Nexus Sixth Form, a dedicated campus that opened in 2019 and deliberately positions itself as a bridge between secondary school and university. Classes are kept small, learning is personalised, and students are encouraged to develop intellectual independence alongside their A-Level or IB Diploma studies.

At the foundational years, the philosophy manifests in an immersive English-language environment where Early Years children are welcomed with no prior English requirement, learning naturally through play and interaction. The school's admissions literature explicitly states that Nursery and Reception pupils need no prior English knowledge — an approach that reflects confidence in an immersive, nurturing pedagogy.

In the middle years, the British National Curriculum provides the spine of academic progression, with rigorous IGCSE examinations serving as a milestone at Year 10–11. Results are strong: in 2024, 64% of IGCSE grades were A*–A, and 47% of A-Level results achieved A*–A — numbers that compare favourably with many UK independent schools.

What makes Hastings philosophically coherent is the through-line from ages 2 to 18: academic ambition is never abandoned, but it is consistently framed within a broader developmental goal. The school's mission statement captures it well: "We want students to enjoy their experience, fulfil their academic potential and develop creativity, curiosity and collaboration." This is not a school that treats examination success as an end in itself, but rather as one important outcome within a richer educational journey.

Academic Culture and University Outcomes

Hastings School's academic culture is defined by high expectations within a supportive, non-selective environment. Unlike many selective private schools, Hastings does not filter its intake by academic ability at entry — yet it consistently achieves results that would be competitive at selective institutions.

Examination Results

In 2024, 64% of IGCSE grades achieved A*–A, and 47% of A-Level results were graded A*–A. The IB Diploma programme, offered through the Nexus Sixth Form since 2019, has also performed strongly: the school's first IB cohort achieved an average score of 35 points with a 100% pass rate, significantly above the global IB average of approximately 30–31 points.

University Destinations

The school reports that 100% of its students proceed to university in most years — a remarkable statistic for a non-selective school of over 1,300 pupils. Graduates matriculate at a wide range of prestigious institutions, including:

• UK: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, UCL, and other Russell Group universities
• Spain: IE University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad de Navarra
• Europe/International: Leiden University, Trinity College Dublin, and others

Teaching Approach

The school employs native-speaking teachers across its year groups, a key differentiator in the Madrid international school market. Class sizes average 20 students with a maximum of 24, and the student-to-teacher ratio is approximately 10:1 — allowing for meaningful individual attention within each classroom.

In the Sixth Form, the Nexus approach encourages students to develop the independent study skills required for university-level work, with seminar-style teaching supplementing traditional instruction. This transition pedagogy appears to be a key factor in the school's strong university preparation record.

Ranking Recognition

The school's academic reputation has been recognised externally: it ranked #1 among private schools in Spain in the MiCole 2025 rankings and has been featured in Forbes and AS among Madrid's best schools.

Admissions Culture at Hastings School

One of the most distinctive features of Hastings School's admissions philosophy is its explicit non-selectivity. The school states clearly: "Hastings School no es selectivo" — it is not a selective school. This is a considered policy choice in a Madrid private school market where many institutions filter heavily at entry.

The Four-Step Process

The admissions process is described as four straightforward steps:

1. Request information — contact the admissions team
2. Visit the school — attend an open day or private tour
3. Assessment — complete a written test and interview (Year 1–13 only)
4. Enrol — confirm a place by paying the registration fee

Age-Differentiated Expectations

While the school is non-selective in philosophy, it does assess students to ensure appropriate placement and support:

• Nursery and Reception (ages 3–4): No prior English required. Children are welcomed into the immersive English environment from scratch.
• Year 1 (age 5): An age-appropriate level of English is expected.
• Year 2 and above (Primary): Both English and Mathematics are assessed at an age-appropriate level.
• Secondary (Year 7–11): Students sit a written assessment and interview. Non-native English speakers may be placed in separate EAL groups.
• Sixth Form: Similar assessment process; students with non-native English backgrounds receive dedicated support.

EAL and Learning Support

The admissions framework is underpinned by robust support structures. Non-native English speakers in Secondary are grouped separately for targeted EAL instruction, allowing students with varying English proficiency to access the curriculum while developing their language skills. The school also has a published Special Educational Needs policy, confirming that learning support is available to students who need it.

Fees and Financial Accessibility

Registration fees vary by year group (€950 for Pre-Nursery up to €1,850 for Year 1 and above). A sibling discount of 20% applies to the third and subsequent children from the same family, providing some relief for larger families. No scholarship or bursary programme is publicly advertised.

Overall, Hastings presents itself as an accessible, welcoming school for international and ambitious local families, with the structures in place to support students whatever their starting point.