International School Admissions in Madrid

The application calendar

Madrid's international schools follow the Spanish school year, September start to late June finish. No January cohort, no rolling intake in the way US or British boarding circuits sometimes run.

The planning timeline:

• 18 to 12 months before September: research, visit, apply at the schools you would take a place at. The senior-tier names (Runnymede, King's, ICS Madrid, British Council School, ASM, Hastings) work to this lead time at the popular year groups.
• 12 to 6 months before: assessments, interviews, sibling-priority decisions. Offers go out roughly January to March for a September start.
• 6 months to start: paperwork, residency documents, language placement, uniform and books. For non-EU families a TIE residence card and the school's own enrolment file run in parallel.

Mid-year transfers happen, but availability is the lottery. A family arriving in March for a corporate posting will find places easily in Years 4 to 6 and Years 10 to 11 at most schools, and almost none at age 3, Year 1 or Year 7 in the popular north-Madrid cluster.

Year-group bottlenecks

The pressure points are predictable:

Outside those points, pressure flattens fast. Years 3 to 6 and Years 8 to 10 typically have places at most schools, including the top names, because diplomatic and corporate families rotate every three to five years and open places where there was a waitlist eighteen months earlier.

Waitlist mechanics

There is no central register for Madrid international school applications. Each school runs its own list, on its own logic, with its own definition of priority.

Common priorities, in roughly the order they appear in school policies:

1. Siblings of current students. Near-universal at the top tier.
2. Children of alumni. Stated at Runnymede and the British Council School; informal at others.
3. Passport or programme fit. ASM weights US passport holders; the Lycée Français and Deutsche Schule work to national-system catchments first.
4. Date of completed application within priority band. Lists run in order of completed application, not initial enquiry.

Most schools will not tell you your position. They will tell you the band you sit in, the rough size of the queue ahead, and whether the year group is "full with a waitlist" or "full, no further applications". The second is the harder signal: the school does not expect movement that year.

Assessment practice

Assessment at the entry point is universal at the top end. The format varies:

• English-medium schools (ICS, ISM, Hastings, ASM): age-appropriate assessment in English. CAT4 and MAP at upper primary and secondary. A short head interview and play-based observation in Early Years.
• Bilingual and Spanish-stream schools (BCS, Kensington, Highlands El Encinar, Aravaca, SEK): English assessment alongside Spanish-language screening. Spanish proficiency is the gate at Year 3 and above; below age 6 the screening is observational.
• Runnymede: explicit on the entry test, especially at higher year groups. The school states that places at later entry points are hard to get and admissions checks whether a child can cope with the British curriculum.
• The Global College: sixth-form admissions only, IB DP placement, with subject-choice interview rather than a generalist exam.

A child who reads as fluent enough to follow lessons but flagged as needing language support typically gets a conditional offer with an EAL or Spanish-support plan attached.

Top-tier read

The waitlist names cluster in the La Moraleja corridor north of central Madrid, with one outlier in Pozuelo de Alarcón to the west and one in central Salamanca:

• Runnymede College (La Moraleja). Madrid's oldest British school and the academic name on the circuit. Family-owned, selective, explicit that places at higher year groups are hard to get.
• King's College Madrid (La Moraleja, Soto de Viñuelas). Two campuses in the King's network: La Moraleja for ages 1 to 16 and Soto de Viñuelas for sixth form. Inspired-group operator since 2019. Strong feeder pipeline locks early-years places.
• International College Spain (La Moraleja). The IB-only continuum in the same suburb, around 1,200 pupils across 70 nationalities. Nord Anglia operator since 2013. Persistent demand at PYP entry and Year 7.
• British Council School (Pozuelo, Somosaguas). Founded 1940, bilingual British curriculum, deep Madrid alumni network. Long-standing demand in the early years.
• The Global College (Salamanca). IB Diploma sixth-form only, opened 2022, linked to IE University. Day and boarding for 15 to 18; sits as a separate market from the other names.

The remaining English-medium and bilingual schools, Hastings, American School of Madrid, International School of Madrid, Kensington, St. George and Aquinas, generally have movement across most year groups, with bottlenecks concentrated at age 3 and Year 7.

How to maximise chances

• Apply to two schools, not one. Families with offers at both King's La Moraleja and ICS at age 3 are a common pattern. Holding both for a term costs the deposits; missing both costs the year.
• Treat the secondary tier as a real option. Hastings, ASM, Kensington and St. George are credible English-medium schools with stronger availability. Many families who land at one of them initially never move.
• Have the documentation file ready. Spanish residency paperwork (NIE, TIE, padrón), translated school reports, vaccination records. Schools call from waitlists with short notice; the families with files ready move first.
• Ask about Year 2 or Year 8 if Year 1 or Year 7 is full. Adjacent year groups regularly have space at the same school. A child entering one year later or earlier than planned is not ideal, but it is the school.

NABSS versus concertado: a real distinction

Two regulatory categories that look the same outside and behave differently in admissions.

NABSS-authorised British schools are private, English-medium, authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Education to teach the English National Curriculum to non-British residents. Fees are the international-school market price. Top-tier places are scarce and held to the academic year. Examples: Runnymede, King's College Madrid, Hastings, ICS (IB rather than British, but the same private-fee market), Kensington, ISM.

Concertados are private schools part-funded by the regional government, teaching the Spanish curriculum. Fees are a fraction of NABSS rates. Most carry some bilingual programming, often labelled English Bilingual or Cambridge-streamed. Mid-year places turn up routinely because cohorts are larger, funding less selective, and families more mobile within the local Spanish system. Highlands, SEK and many bilingual concertados across the metro sit in this category.

For expat families whose children will return to a British or American system at secondary, NABSS is usually the answer. For families settling in Spain, particularly those with Spanish, the concertado route offers genuine quality at materially lower fees and easier mid-year entry.

Related reading

• Best international schools in Madrid
• Best British schools in Madrid
• International school fees in Madrid

FAQs

When does the Madrid international school year start? Early September, in line with the Spanish school calendar. Term runs to late June. No January cohort.

How far in advance should I apply? 12 to 18 months for popular year groups (Early Years, Year 1, Year 7) at the top names in La Moraleja and Pozuelo. 3 to 6 months is usually enough at less competitive year groups and at the broader English-medium tier.

Can I apply from outside Spain? Yes. Every top-tier school accepts overseas applications with video assessments and document-based files. Most ask for residency paperwork to be in motion by the time the offer firms up.

Are mid-year transfers possible? At the NABSS English-medium top tier, rarely at the popular year groups. At concertados and less-pressured year groups, regularly. The honest answer is school-specific and year-group-specific.

Do schools assess Spanish on entry? Bilingual and Spanish-stream schools do, especially at Year 3 and above. Pure English-medium international schools do not. A child without Spanish at age 8 should expect a placement conversation before entry to a concertado.

Is there a central admissions register? No. Each school manages its own list. Sibling priority is near-universal; everything else varies by school.

What about SEN or learning support? Madrid's English-medium tier varies sharply on capacity. ICS Madrid and Hastings both name learning-support provision; smaller schools may not have the resourcing. Raise it in the first conversation with admissions, not after offer.

Sources

• School websites and admissions pages for the named Madrid international schools
• National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS) directory and authorisation framework
• Spanish Ministry of Education listings of authorised foreign-system and concertado schools in the Comunidad de Madrid
• Aggregated parent-forum signal on Madrid international school admissions, La Moraleja and Pozuelo