BSS establishments top 2024 rankings of the best international schools in Spain
Quality teaching plays a key role in students’ all-round development. Each year, a number of organisations and publications create rankings to identify and recognise academically excellent schools that have a steadfast commitment to young people’s education. In 2024, Best Schools in Spain (BSS) establishments have once again been awarded top positions in these prestigious rankings, thereby consolidating their leading position in the field of education in their country.
BSS is a network of private schools that have an innovative pedagogical approach, modern infrastructure and high-quality educational programmes. With a long track record of academic excellence and an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement, this network’s schools are at the top of the Spanish educational field.
Spain’s best international schools encourage good practice
One of the most distinctive aspects of BSS schools is their focus on giving students an all-round education. More than just academic knowledge, these schools place great importance on students’ overall development, fostering skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and leadership. Thanks to the innovative educational programmes and enriching extracurricular activities offered by these schools, students are able to explore their interests, develop their talents and reach their full potential.
Another factor that contributes to the success of BSS schools is their highly qualified and committed teaching staff. Teachers not only have a solid academic background but have also received training on innovative educational methodologies that foster active and meaningful learning. In addition, they care about students’ emotional well-being and personal development, thereby creating a trusting and supportive classroom environment.
BSS schools top the rankings
This year, BSS schools have once again topped the ranking of the 100 best schools in Spain recently published by the magazine Forbes. To create this ranking, Forbes carried out an analysis of more than 300 schools across Spain “based on the criteria that best define excellence in the 21st century”. A committee made up of teachers, psychologists and educational professionals drew up this list, focusing on “36 objective criteria separated into seven blocks”, including the student-teacher ratio, level of attention given to students’ needs, support teachers, percentage of students who complete schooling, foreign languages, areas of digitalisation, infrastructure, tutoring and other services, as well as the average mark at the end of primary education, secondary education and in the Spanish university entrance exam selectividad.
The Spanish news outlet El Mundo also publishes a yearly ranking of Spain’s top 100 schools. The 2023–2024 school year marked this ranking’s 25th anniversary. It features 165 schools in three categories — “the top 100”, “outstanding” and “international” — and is based on a detailed analysis of nearly 1,000 establishments. El Mundo uses 27 criteria to create this ranking, including the educational model, educational options and available resources. Moreover, according to the news outlet, this ranking is the result of a “rigorous journalistic study and is totally free of charge. None of the participating schools has paid to be included in the ranking or for their position”. BSS schools also hold some of the top positions in this ranking.
Excellent results in PISA for Schools
Finally, and although it is not really a ranking, BSS is a useful tool for families who want to find the most suitable international school for their children. BSS schools are fully committed to continuous innovation and creating new methodologies that aspire to achieve educational excellence. In the OECD’s latest PISA for Schools external assessment, BSS schools achieved much better results than other establishments in Spain. What’s more, they even outperformed students in top-scoring OECD countries such as Ireland, Japan and Korea in reading. In mathematics they were on a par with Korea, which ranks second worldwide, and in science, the BSS establishments that took part in the CICAE PISA for Schools group report were also among the top performers, only behind the educational powerhouses of Japan and Korea, as well as Estonia.
