Character Development at the heart of our 'Be World Ready' promise
At BSB, we know that our pupils grow up to be strong leaders — be it on the world stage or in their local communities. Through a broad range of challenging and exciting curricular and co-curricular character development opportunities, our pupils develop the confidence, compassion and courage necessary to ensure they lead as responsibly and intelligently as they do powerfully.
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Becoming Global Citizens
Our students learn to embrace difference and become principled in their beliefs.
The bedrock of our learning ethos
Building upon the groundbreaking work of Guy Claxton’s 'Building Learning Power', we have developed our own bespoke set of Learning Habits that have become the bedrock of our outstanding learning culture.
By learning, applying and ultimately embodying the BSB Learning Habits from Nursery to Pre-University, our students develop supple, resilient minds which allow them to continuously improve as learners. They develop a strong sense of responsibility for — and genuine investment in — their personal and collective learning. Our students learn because they want to: they are curious, imaginative thinkers.
Happily, like any habit, learning habits are notoriously hard to break! Our pupils retain their love of learning long after they leave us at 18 years old. Quite simply, at BSB, we create life-long learners.
Superb care and support
Our PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) provision is excellent (BSO Inspection, 2024). All pupils take part in weekly, expertly-tailored classes dedicated to pupils’ mental and physical wellbeing, and to the development of healthy social relationships.
The children are active agents in these classes: they learn to develop their voices and express their needs. As the children grow older, pupils learn about, and celebrate, the unique physical and psychological changes and challenges they will undergo on their path to adulthood. In this way, they enter each stage of their development prepared and supported by their teachers, and by each other.
Through the wider curriculum, pupils explore concepts such as collaboration, society, power, identity, resilience, and conflict-resolution as they develop their own healthy relationships and mindsets that ultimately lead to happiness and fulfilment.
Becoming more empathetic and understanding
All pupils, from Nursery to Pre-University, engage in weekly philosophy lessons. Regular engagement in philosophical debate is important for intellectual, social and emotional development. It develops critical thinking and reasoning skills, as well as the child's epistemological understanding.
Through philosophical discourse, children at The British School of Barcelona learn how disagree respectfully, and how-and-when to stand up for what is right. Equally, they question and explore their own beliefs and long-held opinions, ultimately developing their own views and ethical frameworks.
All of these skills and qualities are vital for leadership, harmony and collaboration. We know that we are growing leaders at BSB, through philosophy we ensure we are growing responsible leaders with a social conscience and an excellent understanding of a pluralist world. Ultimately, we are delivering on our promise to ensure they leave us 'World Ready'.
We empower students to be ready to challenge the world
Leadership is one of The British School of Barcelona’s nine fundamental Learning Habits. Our pupils understand leadership as, 'having and realising a vision to inspire positive change' — and we promote this at every age and stage.
Leadership is imbedded into every part of BSB life: from the positive example our pupils set to one another during lessons, to driving group-projects which will positively impact others.
Specific leadership training and experiences is also gained through carefully crafted opportunities for pupils to apply for and carry out official leadership positions in school, be it as a:
Year 6 Prefect
Member of the School Council
Nexus Student Leader
BSB Talks speaker
Digital Leader
House Captain
School Ambassador
or even as a participant in the Model United Nations
An integral part of school life
We offer a rich and varied programme that enables our children to develop a wide variety of essential life skills such as confidence, creativity and collaboration.
Sports
We have a strong sporting tradition that forms a central tenet of our character education. Our varied sporting curriculum, alongside its rich co-curriculum, is designed to develop grit, resilience, team-work and self-discipline in our pupils - as well as enhancing mental and physical good-health.
At BSB, students have opportunities to participate in sporting trips and competitions locally, nationally and internationally on the world stage. Our sports provision also includes the possibility of joining federated teams to represent the school.
We currently have six federated clubs that compete in the Catalan Football Federation in the Prebenjamín (five to seven years old), female Alevín and male Alevín (ten and eleven years old), Infantil (twelve and thirteen years old), Cadete (fourteen and fifteen years old) and Juvenil (sixteen and eighteen years old) categories. We also have the first all-female team in the Infantil category that competes in the School League. In the School League we also have three men's teams competing in the Benjamín (eight to nine years old), Alevín and Infantil categories.
Visual Arts
We inspire pupils to explore creativity and expression through the visual arts.
Throughout the school from Early Years to Key Stage 3, we ensure that students are taught the technical skills and artistic processes that will enable them to express themselves powerfully through a wide range of media. Pupils take an enquiry, portfolio-based approach to developing their own unique artistic-styles and pieces.
This ethos continues through to GCSE and A-Level or IB, where students actively research and design their own personal art projects, culminating in public exhibition.
Performing Arts
Great Performing Arts education not only develops skill and showcases talent, it provides opportunities for creativity and confidence-growth for all. At BSB, every pupil learns to perform in front of others.
In Primary, specialist performing arts teachers ensure that all children develop musicality, confidence, and oratory skills at an early age. They partake in multiple performance opportunities throughout the school year including: plays and concerts; Carnival dances; talent-shows; and all-singing-all-dancing musical theatre productions.
In Secondary, we continue to offer music and drama as timetabled lessons which children can elect as specialist subjects at GCSE and A-Level or IB. Additionally, any pupil — regardless of the subjects they take — can audition to perform in various school plays, musicals and concerts throughout the year.
Other co-curricular opportunities throughout the whole school include choir membership, peripatetic musical instrument lessons, drama societies and clubs, and LAMDA tuition. During the 2023-2024 academic year, all students who sat the LAMDA examinations passed, including twenty-four with Distinction and one with Merit.
Additional opportunities that develop greater agency
We want our students to be resourceful, curious and resilient.
House System
All BSB pupils, and by extension their families, belong to a House.
- In Primary, there are four houses: each named after an inspirational person
- In Secondary, there are six houses: each named after a famous British Street
What both systems have in common, is how they instil a sense of belonging, camaraderie and loyalty amongst the students. They are also hugely fun! From earning house points in the hopes of winning the House Trophy, to competing in sporting and dramatic arts competitions, the House System fosters team spirit and celebrates success.
Societies
In Secondary, all students have weekly, timetabled co-curricular Society time where they are given the opportunity to pursue talents and interests outside of the curriculum.
A hugely popular time of the week, Society sessions allow children to try new things and develop new passions in a safe environment - all within the school day.
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
CAS stands for Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and is one of the three essential elements that every Pre-university student must complete as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP).
The opportunities for character development that CAS provides as a subject are unrivalled. As such, all BSB students undertake it as a compulsory requirement in Year 12 — regardless of their pathway (be it the IBDP or A-level).
Through its emphasis on non-paid, voluntary service to others, the CAS programme teaches students how to lead the kind of rewarding, socially responsible lives that make the world a better place — now and in the future.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (DoEIA)
All BSB pupils in Years 10, 11 and 12 have the opportunity to participate in The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (DoEIA).
The DoEIA requires commitment over time - a commitment rewarded by unforgettable experiences, and the development of a soft-skills-set that is both vital for life in the world beyond school, and highly regarded by universities and future employers.
As a DoEIA participant, students:
- Design their own award
- Set their own goals and record their progress
- Make a positive impact on the lives of others through community service
- Develop valuable practical and social skills for future career development
- Connect with other participants at home and abroad
Research at DoEIA www.intaward.org shows that by engaging in voluntary service, taking part in physical recreation, discovering new interests, and learning about leadership through adventurous activity, young people become more confident, reflective, and engaged. In short, they become World Ready.
