Who We Are

ELIS Murcia follows the National Curriculum for England and Wales and offers its pupils IGCSE and A-Level examinations. The school is accredited by NABSS (National Association for British Schools in Spain) and is recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Education. The school is an approved examining centre for Edexcel and Cambridge International Exams as well as being a preparation centre for Cambridge English Examinations, Trinity College Examinations and ABRSM music exams.

Education at ELIS Murcia is based on each pupil‘s individual abilities, on their social integration and on academic success.

Students graduate from the school with dual official qualifications: at the end of Secondary, the British IGCSEs and the Spanish ‘Graduate in Compulsory Secondary Education’ certificate; and the Spanish ‘Baccalaureate’ certificate and English A-Level certificates, at the end of their Sixth Form studies.

Message from the Principal: Vanessa Grimward, MEd

Vanessa Grimward - AUG 2022

#WeAreELIS

El Limonar International School was founded in 1990 with the mission statement,

 

‘We educate for democracy, equality, respect and dignity’.

 

Since that foundation, the school has adapted and grown to suit the needs of the Murcian community which it serves, but this central philosophy has remained the same. 

El Limonar International School is the original bilingual English school in the Region of Murcia. We know that a person’s attainment of true bilingualism requires the learning of the second language from a very young age. When children are in the early stages of language development, they do not distinguish so readily between one language and another and are aware instead of the different sounds and meanings given by the person who is producing those sounds. At ELIS Murcia our students have an exceptional command of the English language because they are exposed to it throughout the day from when they first arrive aged three. We do not teach English however, we teach in English; in the classroom, in the playground and in social and cultural activities that characterise our curriculum. This means that the ELIS Murcia educational offer is just as suitable for native English speakers who want a British curriculum education, or for international students looking to learn or improve their English, Spanish or additional languages. The very fact that our students master a second language at such a young age (be it English or Spanish as the second language, as should be the case in a truly bilingual school), it actually becomes misleading to label ELIS as simply providing the best bilingual education in Murcia by the time of graduation, the language acquisition skills of our students mean that they are really trilingual, having achieved as high a level of fluency in a third global language as is available in any other school in the area.

Our exceptional staff and teaching strategies also result in unsurpassed university entry through A-Levels and ‘Selectividad’ results and particularly strong academic achievement in Mathematics, Languages and Sciences.

The ELIS commitment to the highest quality education also drives the constant investment into new, state-of-the-art facilities and resources at our schools: the incredible ELIS Murcia Secondary and pre-university facility at Montevida; investment in 121 digital devices for all students from Year 3 to Year 12, and a commitment to ongoing professional development for all our staff.

At ELIS Murcia there are no ‘tricks’ and we pride ourselves on delivering what we say we will. We are driven by a mission and philosophy of inclusion and inquiry that means our students relish the learning process they experience each day. An experience that opens the doors a child needs to take their place in the global markets and societies of the future.

ELIS Murcia continues to strive to prove itself to be one of the very best internationally focused education providers in Spain. In 2020, ELIS Murcia commenced the process towards international recognition through the highly prestigious Council of International Schools (CIS): an 8 month-period of exhaustive self-evaluation and reporting to CIS and a weeklong visit by CIS inspectors, led to ELIS Murcia being granted Membership to CIS in May 2021. Between September 2021 and September 2022, all staff, students and parents were involved in a comprehensive self-evaluation process aimed at continuing to push the academic standards and ensure continuous development across the whole school to achieve CIS Accreditation during the first term of the school year 2022 – 23.

Global citizenship at ELIS Murcia is a shared responsibility: we aspire for all our students to understand and value cultural diversity. An ELIS global citizen will enact positive change, becoming an active promoter of intercultural learning, embracing creativity and innovation whilst developing a sense of responsibility and compassion towards others. As a community, we aim to promote engagement in local and global issues, such as social justice and environmental and economic sustainability. The CIS Code of Ethics firmly underpins our mission statement encompassing inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism.

vanessa grimward profile

Principal

Vanessa Grimward, MEd

After graduating from the University of Southampton with a First Class Honours degree, my journey at...