The Guide
Wed, 24 June 2026

Cities / Madrid / Colegio Brains

Colegio Brains

Colegio Brains is a Spanish private bilingual group founded in 1979, running three campuses in Madrid and additional sites in the Canary Islands.

Colegio Brains campus
Colegio Brains, San Blas-Canillejas. Photograph · School

Curriculum
IB
Ages
0 to 18
Pupils
Est. 77
Founded
1979

Colegio Brains is a Spanish private bilingual group founded in 1979, running three campuses in Madrid and additional sites in the Canary Islands. The Arturo Soria campus is the IB Diploma site, with the network also offering PYP and MYP at La Moraleja.

Bilingual rather than fully immersive English, with mathematics and Spanish taught in Spanish and most other subjects in English. Ages from 9 months through to 18 across the group. Fees not consistently published.

Parent voice is genuinely split. Some families describe close, responsive teaching with strong personal attention, especially in upper secondary. Others have flagged that the English immersion is thinner than the marketing suggests, that extended-day hours run mostly in Spanish, and that the network feels commercially driven across multiple campuses and add-on services. Best fit for Spanish families wanting a bilingual rather than international-medium education and who are comfortable with a multi-campus group structure rather than a single dedicated school.


  • A long-established Spanish private school group with a campus on Arturo Soria and a larger one in La Moraleja, teaching most subjects in English from primary onwards and offering the IB Diploma.
  • One former student said Brains has nursery in central Madrid and primary plus secondary in La Moraleja, with a fee around 700 euros a month at the time of writing in 2021. They flagged the rush-hour commute to La Moraleja as the main practical issue.
  • Parents average 3.5 of 5 across about 31 reviews. Positive comments centre on the IB framework, approachable teachers and counsellors, family feel and modern facilities.
  • The recurring negative is the volume and start-age of technology: parents describe iPads from primary and feel the device-led approach tilts too far in early years. Some parents also question consistency of academic standards and parental influence on curriculum decisions.
  • Reviewers position the school as one of Madrid's mid-tier international options, well above the public-school baseline but below the most selective international circuit.

Positives

  • Approachable staff and family feel. Parents describe teachers, counsellors and directors as cercanos y resolutivos, with a small-school atmosphere despite the group structure.
  • IB and bilingual framework. The IB pathway and English-medium subject teaching from primary onwards are repeatedly cited as the school's main academic draw.

Considerations

  • Technology start-age. The most consistent negative is the introduction of iPads from primary and a feeling that the school relies on devices more than parents would like.
  • Standards and consistency. Some reviewers flag inconsistency in academic standards and a sense that vocal parents can sway curriculum decisions.
  • Madrid-Moraleja split site. The two-site model means an early-years experience in central Madrid and a longer La Moraleja commute from primary onward, which is a planning constraint for families.

Leadership

Paqui Molinero


  • IB Diploma 2024 average 34 points
  • Session pass rate 94%

C/ de María Lombillo, 5, San Blas-Canillejas, 28027 Madrid, Spain

School website