École internationale de Sotogrande

I would like to leave a review about my son's admission to a school  in Spain - Sotogrande International School. It all started with the reviews of all schools, long work, search) A large amount of information was read, videos were watched, and so on. My choice fell on a private English school in Sotrgrande.Why in this small, almost unknown town in Spain. Given the rating of the school and the great geographical location, as well as good reviews, our choice stopped at it) But, where do we start and how to get to study, this is the question we asked ourselves. I started looking for companies that studied abroad. Out of all the companies I reviewed, I liked SMAPSE EDUCATION. I contacted the manager, who immediately called me and sent the necessary information about this school. Any of my questions did not remain unanswered. And, if suddenly David (this is the name of the manager of this company), could not answer my questions (and I had too many of them, like any worried parent), then David wrote to the school and all the answers were immediately given to me. As usual, I was interested in questions - what exams are required for admission, living conditions, of course, food (since my son has gluten intolerance). Everything was prepared clearly - we knew in advance the dates of passing exams for admission. Although our manager left at that time on official business, he left us all the coordinates, in case something goes wrong) There were three exams - mathematics, English and interviews. My son was enrolled in the IB program. I advise you to study it very well before applying for this program.  The exams were held on the same day, so the school set us - about 3 hours online. It was very hard, there was a break of 15 minutes. Everything went well, we waited for an answer - Danila entered. We were very happy. Danila entered in 2023, when problems with obtaining a student visa began. Here we had to be very nervous, since the Spanish visa center did not work for some of its own reasons. But, David advised me in his company a visa specialist - unfortunately, I don't know the last name, but the name Valeria is our sorceress) This girl broke through the walls of the visa center) She wrote a bunch of letters to the Spanish visa center so that we were registered. There was a month left before the start of school. Thanks to her, a miracle happened. We were quickly issued, Valeria clearly made the necessary documents, just smart! Thank you, David, for advising us such a specialist. Although there, I think, everyone is really professionals in their field. The day of our departure to school came. At school, everything is perfectly organized - in the definition of days - the school prescribes these days, the child is met at the airport by a school bus and taken directly to school. The school has a closed area, beautiful green, well-groomed, with a swimming pool, cameras everywhere, serious security, you can't just go out, especially you can't enter without a pass. We went with my son to get acquainted. We were very worried about how we would find someone who would tell us, tell us, and so on. David solved this problem, found the same specialist, only at school. I warned him, gave him contacts. We wrote to him (his name is Pavel), as well as everyone in the Smaps company, who knows and answers any question, who knows how to calm down and cheer up) I will say right away - the school is great both inside and out. Good conditions for foreigners - two people live. Everything is clean, the room is cleaned once a week. There is a kitchen where the children can cook if they want, there is everything they need for this. True, no one does this almost)) three meals a day of the buffet system. Here I will stop a little - having arrived, we talked with a student who has been here for more than a year - the only thing that suffers here is food! Well, Danila also talked about this during the year. It's just monotonous, as in all school institutions. After watching a video that Danila sent once, it seemed to me that it was not so bad. A lot of fruits - in season. There is always something to choose. Therefore, you won't be completely hungry here) As for studying, not everyone can withstand such a load - here you have to work hard, that's the word. But, if you succeeded, you can be proud of yourself. This is a strong program. Teachers - what can I say - are different, as everywhere - there are better, there are worse) No one will persuade you to study. A lot of independent work teaches the child to think a lot, to be able to discuss, to prove his position. This is very interesting. The program provides for the choice of 6 subjects - three at a high level, three at an intermediate level. You choose yourself, they send you a list. But, I warn you right away, if you do not know how to study and do not like to learn, this is not for you. It was very difficult for Danila to get used to it. Thinking that if you are the best in class in English here in Russia, it does not mean anything that when you come here, you will immediately understand everything. Not at all - you will understand almost nothing. But, after three months, which were psychologically difficult for my son, he began to understand and speak English fluently. All subjects are in English, so I advise you to prepare for admission in advance. Since Danila chose one of the subjects - business and economics, it was a real nightmare for him, since not only did the subjects themselves never change to him, but also in English) mathematics also with its terms in English. I advise you to study in advance!! If you write in general, during the year I always had questions and David always supported me, all my questions were resolved. Also, Pavel is always in touch in Sotogrande. Read about this town - it is magnificent. Why didn't I send my child to study in the big cities of Spain, rather you will ask a question? Because I sent them to study, not to have fun. This school is conducive to this. Teachers will always help, but if you ask, there are additional lessons (you can buy) if you do not have time in something.

We were introduced to the school in the company at the initial consultation. They came with a request: international schools in Spain with teaching in English. This school had been heard about before, so it was interesting to know what its differences and advantages are. Since, at the moment, the child is studying at this school for the second year, I can name the main advantages of Soto. First of all, this is, of course, the level of teaching and the availability of the IB program. Several acquaintances had children who studied in Spanish schools, and complained very much about the low level of education. Soto has no problem with that. The child is always loaded, they give a lot of materials, explain well. Also, a big plus for us was that you can enter school even with zero Spanish, since all teaching at school is in English and children communicate with each other, too, mainly, in it. The child did not know Spanish at the time of admission, but it can be studied at school from any level.

My children have been in school for five years now, and we are satisfied with the school. An excellent school principal who lives his own business and strives to make the school the best in its category. Excellent conditions for sports, including at a professional level. My daughter plays tennis professionally. It is convenient that everything is in one place, and you do not need to think about how to take her to a sports school. The cost of the school is not small, when compared with similar options. But we are completely satisfied with the quality of teaching and infrastructure. I believe that the school is worth the money.

A school where teachers give their all and do not leave students alone with themselves

My daughter Valeria studied at Soto. She graduated from high school this year. There were very pleasant impressions of studying in this place. Before that, she studied at our school in Barcelona on a full-time basis, but in high school they decided to send her to a school with a boarding school, since they could no longer live permanently in the country. In Barcelona, we did not find normal options for guest houses. We turned to consultants from smappse with a request to find good options for us. We were recommended Soto and another school. Both we and my daughter liked soto immediately. Since we were in Spain, we were given a school visit and testing on the same day. Testing was not very easy, unlike testing at our first school in Barcelona). My daughter was delighted with the school, and when they found out that they were ready to accept her according to the test results, they were very happy and almost immediately accepted the offer. About the school itself: the beautiful campus is a large area with sports grounds and courts near the coast. The school has many sports programs, there are professional sports academies for an additional annual fee. But this is more for professional athletes, because then they help, for example, to get sports scholarships. Excellent level of teaching. I recommend the school.