The Olive Tree Sant Pere de Ribes

The Olive Tree Sant Pere de Ribes is an International British School located in Sant Pere de Ribes, between Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrù.

Our much-loved school for 3-16 year-olds is now in its fourteenth year!

The Olive Tree School began life in a small house near the Sitges beach, with the aim of providing a warm environment where learning was incredibly exciting.

Now, fourteen years later, we have spacious premises with beautiful grassy gardens, a science lab, two ICT rooms, a busy art studio, two peaceful, plant-filled libraries, several outdoor classrooms, two thriving vegetable plots and an indoor and outdoor theatre.

There are also two ancient olive trees to read under or to climb!

We follow the British Curriculum and are members of The National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS), who inspect both our Primary and Secondary schools in collaboration with the British Council every four years.

We have grown significantly, and currently have around 200 pupils. However, our aims remain the same: Our priority for all ages is excitement for the world of ideas and learning.

Additionally, we have small classes (a maximum of 20 pupils) to ensure your child’s learning is personalised, and to provide the best emotional support possible as your child grows.

In the local community, we are known for our creative approach: our gallery of artwork, our theatre productions, our concerts and our engineering projects where maths comes to life. We are also committed to regular Forest School, fieldwork and other outdoor learning opportunities.

And, when young adults complete their time with us at 16, our GCSE exam results are well above the British schools’ average, both internationally and in the UK.

High academic standards and performance are the result of an environment where learning is everyone’s passion.

We’d love to meet you and your child, so please come and visit us at one of our Open Days to find out more.

Our approach at Pre-primary (Saplings)

Our Saplings are our little trees, children aged between 3 and 5.

In Saplings, we have 24 children and 3 teachers, making for a ratio of 1 teacher: 8 children.

We create a warm, caring environment for their first steps in reading, numbers, and awareness of the
environment, music and movement, art, and drama.

Saplings children have their own large garden with a vegetable plot, trees, a natural adventure
playground, and outdoor classrooms for those who prefer to learn outdoors.

How we learn
Shared Experiences
Our experiences shape us as people. The Saplings classroom is a space to share stories, hobbies, passions, feelings, culture, food and languages.

Free Play
Free play is an essential and powerful motivator for learning. It encourages children to be creative and to develop their ideas and their language. Play is flexible and adapts to suit the preferred learning style of the child. Play builds pathways in the brain for critical thinking, creativity, empathy and flexibility.

Activity Design
Activities are designed to allow children to discover, explore and investigate. In play, our children have opportunities to apply new knowledge.

Active Learning
Young children learn best when they are active and involve all their senses. Active learning involves other people, objects, ideas and events. At this age, education must be practical and based on learning through play.

Find out more about Saplings here, or read about a typical week in Saplings here

Our approach at primary

Small is beautiful

We have a maximum of 20 children per class and, between ages 5-7, we have two teachers in the classroom at all times, making for a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:10.

Close bonds mean we guide each child supportively through each new stage of their learning.

We love story making, song, creativity with numbers, a dynamic approach to science, and exciting project work led by the children’s own interests.

At ages 7-11, children fuse their understanding of literacy, mathematics, science, history, and social sciences in high-level project work.

In addition, pupils learn music, art, drama, choir, PE, Spanish and Catalan.

Outdoor learning such as Forest School, and trips to the local coastline, cities and towns are essential too, we always have exciting clubs and enrichment.

Pupils have a voice in their School Council, where they have input into the running of their school.

Find out more about primary at The Olive Tree here

What kind of primary school are we?

Do contact us to learn more about our school. We’d be delighted to hear from you!