Private Secondary (ESO, ages 12–16) education in Madrid

At Highlands Los Fresnos: private secondary school in MadridWe are expanding our national curriculum with the Cambridge International Lower & Upper Secondary (*) programme to provide our students with excellent international training with standards endorsed by the University of Cambridge that are applied in their continuous assessment.

At this stage, 50% of subjects are taught in English:

• Music
• Art & Design *
• Technology
• History
• Geography
• Economics
• Global Perspectives *
• *
• Bilingual Science *

All our pupils begin learning French or German in 6º de Primaria (age 11–12) and continue until 2º de Bachillerato (age 17–18). Our aim is for them to reach an independent-user level (B1/B2); those who wish to can sit external examinations.

We have study abroad programs,for a term, school year or Summer Camp in:

• OAK Academies (USA, Ireland and Switzerland)
• American high schools partnered with our OAK Academies
• Short stays with host families in the United Kingdom

We offer our students a comprehensive Vocational Guidance program to support them in their search for their vocation and their Life Project.

Our students develop skills that will allow them to achieve maximum academic performance, in addition to training as responsible and committed leaders. Interdisciplinarity and experiential learning.

Our pupils develop their competences through interdisciplinary projects, learning to reflect through experiential learning and to connect concepts from different areas, thereby broadening their own knowledge.

• HSLF newspaper and radio
• Music / Arts / Technology project

In Secondary School, the work started in Primary School continues through the subject of “Entrepreneurship” and the “Learn to Undertake” program, where they actively participate in projects with ethical components of economic and social development.

Mastering basic financial skills is an important element to ensure well-being and quality of life. By participating in the “Your Finances, Your Future” program, our students learn to take responsibility for their own finances and acquire basic tools to initiate them in the management of their finances and financial decision-making.

Through specific challenges, our pupils develop independence, decision-making and teamwork, fostering critical thinking and creative skills. The programme promotes new technologies, innovation and industrial prototyping, bringing together multidisciplinary groups to create original solutions based on previous experience.

Debating and public speaking build confidence, critical thinking, leadership skills and a clear foundation from which to defend their ideas and convictions.

Our pupils work on and develop public-speaking techniques in English and Spanish. In the Debate Club they consolidate the strategies and techniques they will later put into practice in the annual Debate Tournament held at the school.

Through a personalized tutoring action plan, at the private secondary school in Madrid, Highlands School Los Fresnos, we accompany each student to guide and help them develop their own personal project, through individualized treatment and appropriate monitoring, always respecting their freedom and personal pace. The figure of the tutor assumes the responsibility of helping and guiding the student in collaboration with the families.

We help pupils to recognise their gifts and opportunities, giving them the keys to their future.

We awaken our students’ vocation with a program that helps them discover their gifts and explore the needs of their environment, providing them with tools to plan their future. From Secondary school, students explore various academic disciplines and, in 3rd year of ESO, they follow a specific program to identify their personal development preferences.

Our culture of support encourages all members of the educational community to get involved in this task. For this reason, we have a peer tutoring program through which students support each other with a specific methodology. The values ​​of respect, empathy and commitment are encouraged.

Our experience in personalised support, together with a multidisciplinary team made up of the academic coordinators, PE teachers and the guidance department, ensures that pupils competing in high-performance sport can combine their studies with their sport and succeed in both.

Through formative discipline, our educators help pupils discover, day by day, the values behind the rules, so that they act out of personal conviction rather than because a set of regulations is imposed on them. In this way, pupils come to understand the meaning and importance of respecting and following the rules in building a good school community.

Pupils take part in social projects that make them more sensitive to the needs of others and let them live the transformative experience of serving the most disadvantaged in our society: the Mano Amiga project, the Altius Foundation (Fundación Altius) and the organisation of charity tournaments.

The Office 365 educational suite turns the classroom into a secure, agile, intuitive and resource-rich collaborative learning environment. It provides a more personalized, creative and autonomous way of teaching.
When students use Microsoft Office 365, they are developing the skills and competencies they will need in their future.

Each pupil uses their own device, which personalises learning, encourages independence and improves mobility. The Microsoft Office 365 digital ecosystem streamlines workflows, assessments and e-portfolios, makes communication and oversight between parents, pupils and teachers easier, and allows daily monitoring of progress and any difficulties.

Our classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art digital projectors, smartboards, as well as webcams for permanent online connections.