SEK EL CASTILLO

Boarding in Madrid

Great students, great athletes, great people

Information request

Life in residence

Living in the SEK-El Castillo International School Residence is a life-changing experience for students. The day begins at 08:15, with breakfast, and enough time to get ready before attending classes, which take place over the usual academic timetable. From 17:30 though, the residence becomes a truly remarkable place:

After tea, students can explore their interests and pursue their passions. The whole school campus is at your service: from the elite-level sports facilities, to the academic and leisure areas, within an enormous open air campus.

The weekends are a chance to participate in unique activities in the incredible city of Madrid and everyone, every day of the year, can soak up the relaxed, open, and positive atmosphere, where students from different countries share their cultures, languages and concerns.

At the SEK-El Castillo International School Residence, lifelong friendships are made, and memories are forged that our students will treasure throughout their lives.

 

Boarding at SEK-El Castillo

SEK-El Castillo boarders feel completely at home, living an unforgettable and enriching experience, which encourages their self-reliance and allows them to reach their maximum academic potential and, more importantly, a personal development that will turn them into citizens the world.

The main linchpins of our educational approach are cultural exchange, recognition of diversity and mutual acceptance and respect.

SEK-El Castillo is a member of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA). This international association represents and accredits, through a rigorous evaluation process, international boarding schools that meet its demanding quality standards in terms of infrastructure and facilities, services, staff, security and well-being of boarders.

BSA

Where to find us

In Villafranca del Castillo, a privileged area Northwest of Madrid. The location is ideal for boarders, living in contact with nature, a stone’s throw from the capital.

Facilities

SEK International School El Castillo boarding houses are built to the strictest quality standards.

We are currently in the process of remodelling our spaces to ensure our boarders are given the best service. Both dormitories and common areas (for female and male boarders) will be renovated in the coming months.
Both houses boast study rooms; nurse and doctor’s offices; daily laundry, ironing and sorting of clothes; TV room; student service and 24-hour security, as well as excellent sports and recreational areas.

The boarding houses are located on SEK International School El Castillo grounds, where students enjoy all they need for study, leisure and enjoying their free time: TV rooms with satellite channels, WI-FI connections, games, music, reading, library, radio studio, auditorium, as well as everything necessary to enjoy a well-deserved rest in their dormitories, distributed according to students’ age and year.

Programs

1. International Experience

The experience of being part of our community affords foreign students opportunities that will be crucial for their education.

This programme includes Spanish language learning support, so that students can develop greater agility and speed in their mastery of the Spanish language. In addition, it prepares them to successfully sit official external Spanish language exams.

Foreign students share a room with Spanish students.

Tailored programme

The students will be able to tailor the programme
to their needs, choosing subjects that cater to their
academic interests.

Special programmes

Students can enrol in programmes such as the
White Weeks, or opt for stays at our international
schools of SEK-Dublin or SEK-Les Alpes.

Aimed at:
Students between 11 and 18 years of age who:

• Are looking for their first International experience in preparation for a possible university future in an international environment

• Wish to improve their level of English or Spanish by language immersion

• International students who want to take advantage of their stay in the Boarding House to get closer to, and to better understand the local culture
Spanish

2. High-performance Sports

Professional sports are very demanding. Which is why SEK boarding schools offer an all-round education through their High Performance Sports programmes for athletes who wish to combine high-level sports training and their studies.

Each student has a tailored programme based on individual interviews with students, their academic and sports tutors, guidance department and families.

Students who are part of the programme enjoy greater flexibility in their school timetable, providing them with the necessary time to meet their sports commitments, training and competitions.

Extra tuition: once the school day is over, boarders have extra tuition for school subjects.

Study techniques: to make the most of the hours dedicated to the study, the school provides boarders with coaching in time management strategies.

Aimed at:
Young athletes between the ages of 10* and 18 who practice a sport professionally or semiprofessionally, and therefore:

• Have to devote part of their day to training

• Require specific physical and psychological preparation, different from other boarders

• Participate in various competitions, events, tournaments…

• Must combine their studies and training obtaining the best academic and sporting results

• Require flexibility to meet their commitments

• Need support in the development of their sporting career: SEK International Sports Academy

www.seksportsacademy.com

* Although the minimum age for SEK boarders is 11, in the case of students on the SEK International Sports Academy programme, children from 10 years of age are admitted, in order to offer them the necessary support in their sports career.

3. Academic Excellence

The academic excellence programme offers personalised high-quality teaching to students who do not settle for anything but the best and is based on three fundamental pillars:

1. A personalised, demanding, exciting and motivating curriculum that adapts to the needs, interests and objectives of each student.

2. A first-class teaching team, ensuring students are afforded the highest levels of academic quality in cutting-edge facilities and the latest technology. Teachers ensure students are given the support necessary for their demanding academic expectations, both inside and outside the school day.

3. Guaranteeing a first-rate education: Students are given an outstanding education, providing a solid foundation from which to achieve success in their pre-university studies. Boarders are provided University Career’s Guidance programmes for studying in Spain or abroad.

Aimed at:
All those students between 11 and 18 who:

• Have an outstanding academic record

• Are foreign students or from education systems from outside Spain with good academic grades

• Wish to attend pre-university studies in an educational model that lives up to their expectations

• Aim to guarantee their access to higher education and their chosen university

• Wish to receive effective preparation for a successful professional future

4. Academic Enrichment

Students can opt for the Academic Enrichment Boarding Programme from Monday to Friday or Long-stay Boarding (Monday to Sunday).

The objective is to significantly boost academic performance, adding four hours a day of study outside school hours, which are divided into:

1. Extra study or tuition, in small groups and with specialised teachers in the different science and humanities subjects

2. Supervised study sessions, in which students perform tasks in groups or work individually. They also receive tuition on study techniques to acquire good working methods, which helps them to better manage their time.

With this programme boarders improve their academic performance while receiving the benefits of a healthy coexistence, within the framework of an education in values and respect for the diversity of other cultures.

In addition, boarders enjoy large open spaces and excellent facilities, which provide everything necessary to optimise their learning and for the development of sports, leisure and the establishment of bonds of friendship and camaraderie.

Feel supported, since the school provides each student with personalised and tailored attention, ensuring they feel perfectly integrated.

Aimed at:
All those students between 11 and 18 who:

• Seek a quality educational system that guarantees the best academic performance

• Are not able to continue their studies in their places of origin for logistical or structural reasons

• Need to continue their studies in a boarding school for geographical transfers or family reasons

Services

Medical Service
The school has a medical service (doctor and nurse) in addition to its insurance policy with a major insurance company and with 24-hour coverage.
At the start of the school year, all students undergo a general medical examination to determine their health condition.

Meals service
The school has its own kitchen (certified in accordance with ISO Standard 9002:1994), ensuring that the food provided meets all quality and hygiene regulations.
The boarding house blog features the meals, dietary guidelines and the different services of the dining room. Students with special dietary needs must be given express authorization from the school medical service.

Weekend transport service.
On weekends, students can use the school coach service, with pick up and transfer of students to airports or main bus and train stations.

Laundry service
All garments must be marked with the identification number given to students by the school secretary. Laundry must be sent in a personal cloth bag (it is advisable to have two), identified with the student’s identification number.

Sport activities

Sports are an essential pillar at SEK Education Group. The greatest example of this commitment are our boarding students who belong to the High-Performance Sports Academies, combining their studies with high-level sports at national and international levels.

But all boarders can use the tennis, padel tennis and squash courts, indoor pools, gym, basketball court and football pitches and all the sports facilities of SEK-El Castillo and UCJC Sports Club.

Taekwondo / self-defence
Taekwondo is the most popular Korean martial art in the world. A very all-round sport on a physical and spiritual level, which includes self-control techniques.
At SEK-El Castillo, students who practice this sport prepare to take their exams to obtain Spanish Federation ranks and belts, headed by Coral Bistuer, 7th Dan and EU gold medal winner in Taekwondo.

Gym/Fitness
Fitness and sports preparation with individual programmes.

Aerobics.
Lessons and training with SEK Sports Club instructors.

Tennis/Padel Tennis
The SEK tennis and padel tennis academies cater for students from different levels, who must be federated to be able to participate in different tournaments in the Madrid Region. And courts stay open all day for them to be able to train whenever they want.

Swimming
Boarders can sign up for lessons from specialised instructors from the school’s sports academies and SEK Sports Club.
Golf A sport that develops precision, global perception and balance, students receive instruction from specialised instructors from the SEK Sports Club.

Horse riding
As well as learning to ride and compete, students learn how to care for the animals and use equipment correctly from specialist instructors from SEK Sports Club.
Accomplished riders can take part in local and regional championships. Students may train with their own horses or those of the school.

Ballet / funky
Offered in partnership with the Víctor Ullate Dance Foundation, this activity offers instruction and training from one of the greatest masters of this artistic discipline.

Cultural, leisure and free time activities

Drama
Students learn acting and drama techniques and perform rehearsals for the staging of theatrical adaptations or original works.

Music
In the music school for boarders, students are can take up or continue their studies in different instruments: violin, piano, cello or percussion. violin, piano, cello or percussion.

Creative Arts
This activity aims to foster students’ creativity through working with different techniques, such as oil paints, watercolour, tempera, carving and modelling.

Reading Club
Students taking this activity improve their reading skills and expression, applying diction and comprehension techniques.
Current Affairs Workshop Know and interpret the world that surrounds you. This activity aims to encourage students to analyse and debate the most relevant news and current affairs from Spain and abroad.

CAS Activities
An opportunity to train as responsible and caring citizens, participating in Community and Service Activities, through working at the boarding house or school itself, or collaborating directly with official bodies: UNICEF, Red Cross, Environmental groups …

Weekend activities

Boarders enrolled in the Full-time Boarding Programme (from Monday to Sunday), will enjoy different activities aimed both at enriching their leisure and their personal development:

Academic activities: timetables are established for students’ study sessions and academic tuition. Study hours are scheduled according to the student’s performance and personal agenda.

Co-curricular activities: Visits to museums and places of cultural interest, sporting events, exhibitions, film forum, theatre …

Leisure activities: social afternoons, cinema, shopping, parties or birthday celebrations, because having fun is also part of the personal development of students.

Sport activities: Boarders can take part in sports such as tennis, swimming, padel tennis or fitness classes at the school or the SEK Sports Club.

Outdoor activities: Hiking, mountain biking, skating, or visits to theme parks (adventure, attractions, wildlife, etc).

A first-rate teaching team

SEK International School El Castillo school and boarding house staff have extensive experience and share a true passion for learning.

The entire team’s commitment is to enhance the academic performance and personal development of students, planning and mediating in their learning, diagnosing strengths and weaknesses, to ensure boarders enjoy a comfortable and familiar space to develop academically and as people.
In the over 20 years of the boarding house’s history, teachers and educators acted as guides, examples and a positive influence for boarders, creating life-long memories.

SEK team training
The ongoing training of the over 10,000 teachers who have taught at SEK Education Group, has been, for over 50 years, one of our hallmarks.
Another hallmark of SEK schools are our ongoing efforts in education research and innovation. And that, in today’s learning society, is not just something that stands us apart, it is a model in its own right.

An unforgettable, captivating experience

SEK El Castillo Madrid

Information request