Cities / Barcelona / Hamelin-Laie International School
Hamelin-Laie International School
Nord Anglia school on the Maresme coast, 20 minutes north of Barcelona by train. Around 600 students from 45+ nationalities, ages 1 to 18, with boarding available for up to 45 students. Offers IB Diploma alongside the Spanish National Bachillerato.
In brief
Large trilingual day and boarding school on a 26,000 square metre seafront campus in Montgat, twenty minutes north of central Barcelona. Operated since 2022 by Nord Anglia Education, with around 1,300 pupils from nursery through to IB Diploma and Spanish Bachillerato.
The school built its reputation as a pioneer of trilingual learning in Catalonia, and Mandarin is taught from primary as an additional language through a Confucius Institute classroom. The campus is genuinely impressive: an indoor auditorium, an outdoor amphitheatre, a dance school, a separate language school and a residential boarding option.
Parent voice is mixed in a way buyers should know. Strong threads on the warmth of teachers and the academic results through to IB, set against a recurring concern that the student body is around 80 percent Spanish or Catalan, which makes the international tag feel thinner than the brochure suggests. Native English teaching across the school is the other recurring complaint. Fees roughly 11,000 to 15,500 euros.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Nursery (ages 1-2, includes lunch) | 1 | €11,454 |
| Early Years / Nursery / Reception / Year 1 (ages 3-6, includes lunch) | 3 | €11,186 |
| Primary Year 2-7 (ages 7-12, includes lunch) | 7 | €12,920 |
| Secondary Year 8-11 (ages 12-16, includes lunch) | 12 | €14,370 |
| National Bachillerato (ages 16-18) | 16 | €12,764 |
| IB Diploma Year 1 (ages 16-17) | 16 | €15,491 |
| IB Diploma Year 2 (ages 17-18) | 17 | €15,493 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Registration / Re-enrolment Fee (Pre-Nursery) | €696 | |
| Annual Registration / Re-enrolment Fee (Primary) | €840 | |
| Annual Registration / Re-enrolment Fee (Secondary) | €960 | |
| Annual Registration / Re-enrolment Fee (Bachillerato) | €1,064 | |
| Annual Registration / Re-enrolment Fee (IB Diploma) | €1,291 |
Reviews
A long-running Maresme school, now under Nord Anglia, with a recognisable split in parent feedback. Early Years families tend to talk warmly about caring teachers and a genuinely trilingual classroom. Higher up the school, and from some expat families, the picture is more uneven: questions about how international the cohort actually is, mixed reviews on language support for non-Spanish speakers, and a stretch of bruising parent-management disputes in the years after the Nord Anglia takeover. The campus in Montgat is generous and the trilingual model is real; the rest is variable by family and stage.
Positives
- Early Years and primary experience. Younger-stage families speak warmly about attentive Early Years teachers and visible English progress in the first year or two. Parents describe children settling quickly and moving comfortably between Catalan, Spanish, and English.
- Trilingual model. The Catalan, Spanish, and English mix is genuine, not branded. Children who start young tend to come out functionally trilingual, which is the school's clearest distinguishing feature in the area.
- Site and facilities. The Montgat campus is large and well-equipped, with grounds and sports facilities that comfortably outpace most city schools.
Considerations
- How international the cohort really is. The student body skews local Catalan and Spanish despite the international branding. Expat families landing here expecting a majority-international classroom sometimes describe a mismatch with the marketing.
- English-language teaching and support. Native-English teaching is patchier than the trilingual label suggests, and support for children arriving with little Spanish or Catalan is described as thin by some expat parents. Other families report strong English outcomes, particularly when children join early.
- Parent-management relationship. There is a documented history of friction with parents in the years after the Nord Anglia takeover, including a 2023 dispute over contract clauses (children attending at their own risk, mandatory medical and psychological disclosure) and resistance to an independent parents' association. The school later withdrew the most contested clauses. Communication and a more commercial tone are recurring threads in parent talk.
- Catering and add-on costs. Lunch and extras have drawn pushback, with parents flagging monthly catering bills that feel high for what's delivered. Add-on costs are something to price out before signing.
- Ownership and group context. Part of Nord Anglia since 2022. The shift from family ownership to a global group has shaped much of the recent parent commentary, both in tone and in disputes about contracts and fees.
Leadership
Mrs. Sarah Osborne-James
As the Principal of Hamelin-Laie International School, Mrs. Sarah Osborne-James leads with a visionary and student-focused approach, adapting seamlessly to diverse situations through her strength in flexibility. With an active presence, she fosters trust and collaboration among students, colleagues, and the community, emphasizing the importance of relationships. As a progressive educational thinker, she makes decisions centered on students, valuing the impactful tool of Student Voice.
Academic results
- IB Diploma average score 2025 30 points
- National Baccalaureate 2025 average score 11.024 out of 14
- National Baccalaureate 2025 highest score 12.842 out of 14
- IB Diploma highest score 2025 43 points