Oak House School
🇪🇸 Barcelona · Founded 1968 · British / IB / National · Ages 3-18
A high-performing trilingual British-and-Spanish school in Barcelona with one of the strongest IB Diploma records in Spain, suited to families wanting genuine English-Spanish-Catalan fluency alongside an international pathway.
Curricula
British, IB, National
Age range
3-18
Languages of instruction
English, Spanish, Catalan
Annual fees
SGD Admission process fee 3,500 EUR (one-time, non-refundable); annual tuition published separately by the school (not stated as a fixed figure on the public fees page)
Enrollment
1,100
Boarding
No (day school)
IB authorised
DP
NABSS (National Association of British Schools in Spain) 2026
Accredited member
Accreditations
NABSS, IB World School, Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel, Departament d'Educacio (Generalitat de Catalunya), CICAE, ACADE
Tier Profile
We only tier dimensions backed by a public inspection verdict or verifiable accreditation. Other dimensions show a data flag — never a guessed score.
BrightKey's Assessment
Oak House School is a private, non-profit school in Barcelona founded in 1968, serving more than 1,100 students from age 3 to 18 on a single urban campus. Its defining feature is a fully integrated trilingual model: the British national curriculum and the Spanish national curriculum run alongside one another, and instruction is delivered across English, Spanish and Catalan, with an optional fourth language. This means graduates leave genuinely fluent in three languages rather than studying one as a foreign-language subject, which sets it apart from purely English-medium international schools in the city.
At the top of the school, students choose between the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (taught in English) and the Spanish Bachillerato, giving families both an international and a national university pathway. The IB results are a standout: the school reported an average of 36 points for the class of 2025 against a world average of 30.6, a 97% pass rate, a top student at 44 of 45 points, and it describes itself as the highest-scoring IB school in Spain that year. Independent recognition supports the academic claim, with El Mundo ranking it the best British school in Catalonia.
On assurance, Oak House is an IB World School and a member of NABSS, the National Association of British Schools in Spain, which is the relevant quality body for British schools operating in the country, and it works with Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel as examination partners. Spain has no single graded inspection band equivalent to a UK 'Outstanding' rating, so the school is best read as accredited rather than independently graded, which is why its accreditation dimension sits at a solid but not top tier.
The campus is well resourced for an urban site, with two basketball courts, two football courts, two indoor gyms, an indoor swimming pool, a climbing wall, seven music rooms, three science labs, an auditorium and an outdoor amphitheatre. It is a day school with no boarding provision, so it best fits families already living in or relocating to Barcelona rather than those seeking residential education.
Why These Ratings?
Inspection & AccreditationA — Excellent
Rated 'A' rather than 'S': the school is a confirmed NABSS member and IB World School with Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel partnerships, but Spain has no graded inspection band yielding a verbatim 'Outstanding' or 'Excellent' rating, and no independent graded inspection report was located, so the evidence supports a strong accredited standing rather than a top tier.
Strengths & Trade-offs
Strengths
- Genuinely trilingual outcome in English, Spanish and Catalan, not just English-medium teaching with a foreign-language class
- Exceptional IB Diploma results, with a 36-point average for 2025 well above the 30.6 world average and a 97% pass rate
- Dual British and Spanish curricula plus a choice of IB Diploma or Spanish Bachillerato at sixth-form level
- Confirmed NABSS membership and IB World School status, with Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel as exam partners
- Strong, well-equipped urban campus including pool, multiple gyms, science labs and dedicated music rooms
Trade-offs
- Annual tuition is not published as a clear figure on the public fees page, reducing cost transparency for prospective families
- No explicit published EAL programme detail, which matters for families arriving with little English or Spanish
- Single urban campus means more limited outdoor grounds than suburban international schools
- Spain's lack of a graded inspection band makes independent quality benchmarking harder than for UK-inspected schools
- Day-only provision rules out relocating families who need boarding
Is It Right For You?
Best For
- ✓Families wanting their child to leave genuinely fluent in English, Spanish and Catalan
- ✓Academically ambitious students targeting a high-scoring IB Diploma pathway
- ✓Local and relocating families already settling in Barcelona who want a British-international option
- ✓Parents wanting a choice between the IB Diploma and the Spanish Bachillerato at sixth form
Not Ideal For
- ✕Families needing boarding or residential provision
- ✕Parents requiring fully published upfront tuition figures before enquiring
- ✕Students arriving mid-school with no English or Spanish who need a heavily documented EAL programme
- ✕Families wanting an American or fully English-only international curriculum
Curriculum
Oak House integrates the British national curriculum and the Spanish national curriculum from Early Years (age 3) through Secondary (to age 16). At sixth form (16-18) students choose the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, taught in English, or the Spanish Bachillerato. Teaching spans English, Spanish and Catalan with an optional fourth language, and the school works with Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel for examinations.
Fees
The public fees page states a one-time, non-refundable admission process fee of 3,500 EUR, payable only when a place is offered, plus small annual charges such as a 15 EUR family AFA membership and a 38 EUR yearbook fee. Annual tuition is billed in 11 instalments from July to June with sibling discounts from the third child, but the specific tuition amount is held in a separate school document rather than stated on the public page, so an exact annual figure is not publicly confirmed.
Admissions
Admission involves a 3,500 EUR non-refundable process fee paid only once a place is offered. The school spans ages 3 to 18 across Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Bachillerato/IB, so entry points exist at each band. Prospective families should request the separate tuition fees document directly from the school for current annual costs.
Campus Life
The single Barcelona campus is well equipped for an urban day school, with two basketball courts, two football courts, two indoor gyms, an indoor swimming pool, a climbing wall, seven music rooms, three science labs, an auditorium, an outdoor amphitheatre and a dining area. Co-curricular life includes the Duke of Edinburgh programme. There is no boarding; it is a day school.
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Oak House describes its class of 2025 as the highest-scoring IB cohort among all IB schools in Spain that year, with a university-entrance exam average of 7.11 against a Catalan average of 5.21 and a position among the top 20 schools in Catalonia.
Sources
Every verifiable fact carries a public source — verify it yourself.
- Oak House School - official site (founding, curricula, trilingual, enrollment, partners) · 2026-06
- Oak House School - IB Diploma programme & 2025 results · 2026-06
- Oak House School - School Fees (admission process fee, payment terms) · 2026-06
- NABSS - British schools in Barcelona (membership confirmation) · 2026-06
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