‘Miss – there’s a goat in our yard!’ It could be a school production of Tennessee William’s The Rose Tattoo.  Instead, the cry comes from a young student scrutinizing the animal calmly munching grass outside the gymnasium. The year is 1978 and there are 11 pupils on the school’s roll. Earlier, the establishment’s two teachers unloaded the desks, blackboards and books from the hire truck and arranged them in the picturesque, 200-year-old Andalusian cortijo that, for the next 23 years, will be home to Sotogrande International School. The metamorphosis of the school from its humble rural beginnings into a 21st century hi-tech school is an extraordinary journey. It serves to illustrate how, with clear vision and great tenacity, a school can achieve revolutionary change and prepare for the next century.

Poised for change

In those early days, local schools descended for hockey tournaments armed with anything that remotely resembled a hockey stick, while the rustic stonework of the cortijo’s Andalusian patio provided the perfect backdrop for shows and concerts. The foreign sounding code that constituted the National Curriculum had successfully been cracked, and it was tempting to become complacent. The roof of the cortijo leaked, the drains were blocked following Mediterranean storms and the classroom walls had turned a ghostly grey as they became enveloped in mould. But the school had passed its National Association of British Schools in Spain inspection.

It would have been easy to sit back and continue to deliver the teaching programme. Staffroom life would certainly have been more relaxing. But as teaching methods and the curriculum came under scrutiny, the school entered a new era and, in the words of one teacher, ‘life has never been the same since’. As with all modifications, for some it was a welcome challenge, for others it presented the threat of new demands. The new concept for the school took an innovative approach to teaching and learning and embraced a more thematic approach to the curriculum. It included a transition to an inside-out learning style, the incorporation of a multiple-intelligences approach to teaching and a focus on accelerated learning. In all, a revolutionary change. During this period, fibre optics were being laid, a wireless network installed, electronic whiteboards put in place and provisions made for a cyber café. Once the theatre and swimming pool were completed the school moved to its impressive new, purpose-built, hi-tech campus. Teachers and students were issued with laptops, a mission statement evolved and the school was successfully authorized to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma and Primary Years programme.

Maintaining the rapid rate of growth, it was suddenly accreditation time. Accreditation can be linked to something that good schools routinely do well – assessment. Schools are familiar with everyday assessment of students, but those same principles of assessment should apply at all levels – for students, staff and the school as an organization. Sotogrande International School named this its ‘goose–gander’ principle. By embracing the accreditation process a school demonstrates that it is a learning organization and that, like students, it is subject to evaluation.

A bright future

No longer a quaint British school serving British expatriates on the Costa del Sol, Sotogrande International School has metamorphosed into a leading international institution serving more than 30 different nationalities from a wide catchment area. Still based in its stunning Andalusian location, it is at the forefront of educational innovation and technology. And the price of this success? Well, the goats have moved on. However, they may still be found a few kilometres down the road – on the site of the school’s proposed second international project. The journey continues.

Fact file 2008/2009 Founded: 1978 Head: Christopher T J Charleson
Programmes offered: International Baccalaureate Diploma, Middle Years and Primary Years programme Age range: 3-18 years No. of pupils enrolled: 680 Summary: SIS is a leading international co-educational day and boarding school located in a stunning corner of Andalucia , Spain. Fully accredited by CIS and NEASC, it offers high quality education to students from over 30 countries. Contact: Sotogrande International School, Apartado 15, 11310 Sotogrande, Cádiz, Spain. Tlf +34 956 795 902, Email: info@sis.ac Website: www.sis.ac