Frequently Asked Questions

9.15 am to 4.15 pm.

A maximum 25 students per class and 3 classes per academic year, so that our students can benefit from a more personalised education.

88 per cent of our students are Spanish and 12 per cent are from abroad, of which approximately half are British and the rest from other parts of the world. There are currently 48 different nationalities in the school.

The English National Curriculum, the British education system. In addition, the following subjects from the Spanish curriculum are taught: Spanish language and literature, Galician language and literature, Social Sciences. In secondary school, geography and history are also taught in Spanish.

All teachers who teach the English National Curriculum are qualified teachers with experience in teaching that curriculum. Those teaching the Spanish curriculum are qualified Spanish teachers. 

All students at O Castro British International School study Spanish. From Reception all students are introduced to reading and writing in Spanish. From Year 2 all students study Spanish. Students whose first language is not Spanish are taught Spanish as a foreign language at all ages.

Our students learn English, Spanish, Galician, and French (from Year 5 onwards). French can be studied up to IGCSE and A-Level. In addition, the school offers Portuguese at A-Level. 

O Castro British International School is a secular school. As a British school we introduce our students to the cultures of the world, teaching them their values through PSHE (personal social and health education).    

The school has a 2,000 square metre multi-sports field and an indoor pavilion which is fully equipped for a wide range of sporting activities including football, basketball, rugby, skating, tennis, paddle, rhythmic gymnastics, equestrian, judo, Spanish dance and ballet, among others.

Cambridge Checkpoint - Year 9, IGCSE - Year 11, A-Level & Spanish university entrance exams - specific part (PCE) - Year 13. 

Students who complete their education at O Castro British International School go on to universities all over the world, from prestigious British universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and LSE, to Spanish universities (both public and private), or continue their higher education in other parts of the world, such as the USA or Canada. 

Yes, it is possible.

O Castro students are usually very welcoming to newcomers. The heads of the different departments make sure that there are always "buddies" to help newcomers from the very beginning. This may also depend on the attitude of the new student and how he or she wants to make new friends and integrate with the others.

The first step in the admissions process is to submit an application form which can be downloaded from our website or by contacting the admissions department. Admissions procedures vary slightly depending on the age of the candidate (please refer to the admissions section).

Primary and secondary students must take a non-graded English level test, which will allow us to assess whether the student needs any learning support. School marks from the two years prior to entry are also taken into consideration.
 

Our students have the possibility of accessing universities all over the world depending on the academic results achieved in Secondary and Sixth Form, more specifically with the Year 11 and Year 13 assessments taken at O Castro British International School.

At the end of Year 11 our students sit the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education), the official tests in the British secondary curriculum. At the end of Year 13 (equivalent to the 2nd Baccalaureate) they sit the A-Level (Advanced Level) examinations. The results of both tests are key to university entrance.