At Gaztelueta we work with an educational model that seeks personalised attention for all pupils. In this way, each student can achieve an integral development of his or her abilities and personality.
EVAU results and access to top universities
100% of our students complete Bachillerato and the vast majority enrol in their first-choice degrees. 88% of the pupils who are currently studying Bachillerato entered the school in the first year of primary school or in the infant stage.
Ranking best schools
In the Course 24/25 Gaztelueta has been selected as one of the 100 best schools in Spain according to the ranking published by The Worldranking 4th in the Basque Country.
Other awards this year and in previous editions have been the inclusion in the prestigious list of the 100 best schools in Spain according to the Forbes and El Español rankings.
In the Course 23/24 Gaztelueta has obtained notable recognitions, including its inclusion in the prestigious list of the 100 best schools in Spain according to the rankings Forbes y El Español.
In January 2024, Gaztelueta was also awarded the "Micole 2024" Seal, a school search platform with more than 5 million users. With this seal, Gaztelueta is recognised as one of the best schools in Spain in 2024.
Science Olympiad Awards
The school's track record in scientific competitions is significant, with eight medals in Physics and Chemistry Olympiads in the last seven years. Active participation in Olympiads at both regional and national levels highlights the pupils' academic performance. In 2023, four pupils were classified as finalists in the Physics Olympiad, obtaining gold and bronze medals in the regional phase and qualifying for the National Physics Olympiad. In 2024, one pupil came third in the Basque Country Physics Olympiad, also qualifying for the National Phase.
Official qualifications English
Gaztelueta is recognised as an official examination centre by the British Council for Cambridge qualifications. 80% of the pupils finish 2nd Baccalaureate with the FCE (First Certificate) and 55% also do so with CAE (Advanced) or Higher. It has different projects of internationalisation as well as exchange.
Personalised attention and educational reinforcement
Personalised attention is a fundamental pillar for us. We dedicate more than 265 hours per week to reinforcement hours, small work groups, conversation assistants... (If we also add the hours of tutoring we would be talking about 490 hours per week in total).
Sports in Gaztelueta
Facilities: Gaztelueta has 17,000 m2 dedicated to sport, a third of its total surface area. Football pitch, swimming pool, 2 paddle tennis courts, indoor multi-sports courts and a complete sports centre are some of our facilities.
More than 400 students, distributed in more than thirty football, basketball, handball and athletics teams, participate in federated sports activities representing Gaztelueta.
We compete in four sporting disciplines:
Football125 pupils compete in official tournaments in the categories of Alevín, Infantil, Cadetes and Juveniles. Sportsmanship is the hallmark of our teams.
HandballWe have seven handball teams in the whole school. It is a sport with a great tradition, as we managed to be in the honorary division in the 60s.
BasketballThere is a high level of sportsmanship in our basketball teams. The coaches manage to get the best out of the kids. Many pupils play in these teams.
AthleticsCompatible with the other three sports, different athletics disciplines are learnt and pupils can take part in local, regional and national competitions.
More than 400 students participate in Gaztelueta in our Sports Campus and activities that are organised every year during the holidays in June, July and the first days of September.
National and international educational innovation projects
Bachillerato students have been awarded in the 2023-2024 academic year in the Startinnova competitiona business ideas competition that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship among young people. This success is part of the Simulated Enterprise Project of the Economics course. Students have the opportunity to form teams and create their own virtual company with the aim of providing them with a realistic experience of the business world. The final took place in the Aula Magna of the University of the Basque Country.
Forensic ScienceFinalist of the 1st STEAM Euskadi Sariak 2020 Awards. International educational project in Baccalaureate and supported by institutions such as Innobasque, the Ertzaintza or the University of the Basque Country, among others, in which 450 students from 15 countries and more than 13 schools and institutes in the Basque Country participate. The aim of the project is to foster students' STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) skills through Forensic Science.
Greenpower: Bizkaia Business Association (Bizkaired) Innovation Award 2019. More than 20 schools take part in the Greenpower competition, backed by different companies. 130 racing cars built by teams from England, Singapore, China, USA, Poland and Portugal at the Silverstone race. This project aims to instil in students, in a very attractive way, a commitment to the environment, through the construction of non-polluting electric cars made, as far as possible, with recycled or biodegradable materials.
First Lego League: The students take part in the international competition every year. FIRST LEGO League (FLL), using thematic challenges to engage students in research, problem solving and science. In the last edition they won 1st prize for robot design and behaviour.
Beebots and robotics from the age of 3 years oldThe school's project in Early Childhood Education to work on analytical skills through STEAM competences and robotics, has been recognised as a winner of the 5th Nursery School Magazine Awards.
Gaztelueta is part of the International Boy's Schools Coalition (IBSC), an international coalition of schools of differentiated education for boys that brings together hundreds of schools from 20 countries (on 5 continents) and allows, on an international level, to exchange experiences and to evolve together towards more applied and real-life teaching systems.
In October 2023, secondary students from the school became finalists in the "Law and Society" awards of the RocaJunyent Law Firm's RSA Programme. This recognition underlines the school's participation in programmes that promote knowledge of the civic value of the law.
In June 2023, the primary school pupils have been awarded the first prize by the President of the European Commission. RepsolAntonio Brufau, in the 2nd edition of the Zinkers Awards The primary school pupils won the first prize in June 2023 from Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau in the second edition of the Fundación Repsol's Zinkers Awards on energy and sustainability. This award recognises the best primary and secondary school initiatives.
The recent application for International Baccalaureate (IB) authorisation in the pre-primary and primary stages and the recent application for authorisation at the secondary stage, underlines the school's commitment to academic excellence.
Emphasis is also placed on continuous teacher training through courses. The latest specialised in Reggio Emilia (Italy), Cooperative Learning and Positive Discipline. Training in Digital Competences for all teachers reflects the adaptation to contemporary educational demands.
Responsibility for the professional development of the faculty is reflected through other international programmes, such as the Great Books Programme of the University of Navarrawith visits to Harvard y Boston or also pby means of the Erasmus Programme, through which students actively participate in projects and collaborate with students from other countries through exchanges. This initiative has led teachers, who also benefit from the programme, to visit European schools to explore innovative educational spaces and participate in innovation projects. In turn, the school has received visits from various countries interested in its educational project.
Solidarity and service to others
More than 340 hours a year are dedicated by the students to solidarity and service to others.
The Ireki Associationwhich helps to coordinate the various solidarity activities in the school, has been awarded the Barakaldo Solidarity Award XIII edition for its work of social interest. Among its various social initiatives, which it has been promoting for many years, is the accompaniment of elderly people in the residence that the Foundation manages in Barakaldo by students from the school.
In addition to all the actions planned for all stages during the academic year, in November 2024 former students coordinated an aid campaign for the Valencia DANA. In February 2023, they carried out a similar action after the earthquake in Turkey, demonstrating a strong social and solidarity commitment.
Services
Canteen Service. Gaztelueta has two dining rooms and two kitchens of its own, equipped with the necessary equipment to prepare healthy and natural cuisine. It also has the advice of a nutritionist who supervises each menu and offers a balanced nutritional proposal, including dinners, taking into account the school's daily lunch menu. Monthly, families are sent the MEALS MENUS.
More than 25 different menus are prepared daily in order to meet everyone's nutritional needs.
Bus Service. The bus service has 10 routes that allow us to cover large geographical areas: Getxo, Barakaldo, Santurce, Bilbao, Berango, Sopelana, Plencia, Laukariz, Castro Urdiales, etc.
Extension of the range of extracurricular activities: in recent years, the offer has been extended to include paddle tennis, ballet, sports gymnastics and roller hockey, as well as a wide range of other activities.
General information about Gaztelueta
Number of pupils: 1213. The 88% students spend their entire school years in Gaztelueta.
Number of families: 740
Number of teachers: 108 (two teachers for every 15 pupils in the 0-2 years stage and one teacher for every 15 pupils from the second cycle of the infant stage).
Class size: The maximum number of pupils per class varies according to the age of the pupils. For example, the number of pupils in the crèche classrooms does not exceed 8 pupils and in the 1 year old classrooms it does not exceed 13 pupils. In the 2 year old classrooms there are no more than 18 pupils and from the 1st year classrooms (3 year olds) onwards, the classrooms do not exceed 25 pupils.
Average age of teaching staff: 41 years.
Average professional experience: 17 years.
No. of old (Alumni Association): more than 7,000
Percentage of students enrolled who are children of former students: 33%
Overall level of satisfaction of families with the school: 8.8
How the school staff rate their pride in belonging to the school: 9
No. of square metres of green area: 52,969 m2.
Interviews between parents and tutor: Three interviews per year is the average number of tutorials that each family has with the tutor. This is one of the aspects that makes Gaztelueta one of the best schools in Bizkaia.
More than 10,000 interviews with parents and pupils every year.
Number of training and educational sessions for parents, family counselling courses each year: 140.
