Scandinavian School of Madrid

A small, family-feel school in Alcobendas with a Swedish-curriculum section and a Cambridge international section. Suits families wanting Nordic pedagogy and small classes rather than a big-school international experience.

Founded in 1944 by Scandinavian families in Madrid, with around 400 pupils today. The Swedish section follows the Swedish national curriculum in Swedish, the international section runs Cambridge IGCSE and A Level. All pupils take Spanish language and culture alongside their main track. Roughly 80% of families are now Spanish, with Nordic families forming the next-largest group.

The Scandinavian section is a genuine Swedish-school transplant rather than a marketing label, which matters for families moving between Sweden and Madrid. Parents describe small classes, individualised attention, and a wellbeing-led tone. Sports and academic facilities are modest by Madrid international-school standards, so families weighing it against Runnymede or ICS should visit and feel the scale difference.

• Coverage is small and consistently positive, weighted toward Nordic expat families. Reddit and PullPush returned no school-specific discussion.
• Parents describe a small, family-feel school in Alcobendas with two sections: a Swedish-curriculum stream taught in Swedish and an international section following the Cambridge programme. Children pick up languages quickly and the small cohort means individualised attention.
• The Scandinavian pedagogy is the main draw cited by parents; reviews mention self-esteem, empathy, music and student wellbeing as priorities, framed as a deliberate alternative to mainstream Spanish or international schooling.
• Good Schools Guide write-ups treat the school as well-run and stable, with a long history dating to 1944 and a head supported by Nordic government funding.
• Volume is the main caveat: positive reviews are repetitive and the pool of public commentary is small. Families looking for a high-pressure academic environment may not find it here.