Click here for our official press release about the British Council – Ministry of Education, Culture & Sports agreement for the Bilingual Schools Project in Spain.
Bilingual education can give young people a huge boost, preparing them for a future where they’ll work, study and live in an increasingly multilingual and integrated Europe. The Bilingual Schools project has been running in Spain since 1995 and has introduced a bilingual, bi-cultural curriculum in 80 infant and primary schools and 44 secondary schools.
How it works
The idea is simple:
- students are taught in both Spanish and English for roughly the same number of hours each week
- the curriculum includes subject areas from both the Spanish and the English National Curriculum
- the English language lessons are taught by UK teachers alongside a growing number (now over 1300) of Spanish teachers of English
How it helps
With the project now well-established, we’ve now seen the impact of the project on tens of thousands of children at all ages. A recent evaluation report has noted the following successes:
- interest and motivation on the part of the children
- the enthusiasm of the parents
- a growing sense of satisfaction from head teachers in schools, many of which are in economically deprived areas
- learning in two languages not only contributes to the progress of the children in their first language, but seems to assist in the children's cognitive development.
Teach with Bilingual Schools
Candidates should:
- be EU nationals or have a valid Spanish residence permit and
- possess a native or near-native command of both spoken and written English and
- have classroom experience with children aged between 3-12 or 12-16 years. and
- have achieved recognised European primary QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) or
- for Secondary level, have a first degree in the relevant subject as well as recognised European secondary school QTS
For further information contact:
Pilar Medrano, Project Manager & Educational Adviser
Instituto de Formación del Profesorado, Investigación e Innovación Educativa Ministerio de Educación
General Oráa, 55
28006 Madrid
Learn more
Bilingual education Project Spain (PDF 1929kb).
Evaluation online supplement (PDF 2,593KB).
Hand in Hand. Bilingual Schools Project magazine. 9th edition (pdf. 3.21Mb).
Bilingual Schools project website. A closed forum for Bilingual Project teachers to share information and materials, and to set up joint projects between Spanish and British schools.