Globeducate adds two schools to 55+ network
K12 education group Globeducate has made acquisitions in recent months in the UK and Spain as it seeks to expand its global learning offer to more students.
The provider has acquired independent, co-educational day school in Hampshire, Boundary Oak School, as well as Princess Margaret International School in Barcelona.
The day and boarding school near Fareham on England’s South Coast enrols some 450 students, and is the provider’s third school in the UK.
The announcements come after a number of acquisitions in recent years, including in Cyprus, Spain and Southern Europe.
Chief operations officer of Globeducate, Paddy Jansen, noted that Boundary Oak School’s “ethos and culture echoes that of other Globeducate British International Schools”, as well as their “strength in programs that build character and nurture global perspectives”.
“Boundary Oak School offers students fantastic opportunities to complete their Duke of Edinburgh, to join residential trips and challenge expeditions, and the school has a unique outdoor learning program that is devised to celebrate the pleasure that comes from nature, wildlife and horticulture,” he added.
Extracurricular opportunities have long been an important factor for Globeducate schools and its students.
The Princess Margaret International School was the first international school in Barcelona to be certified to develop Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme for IB curriculum. With Globeducate, it will now introduce an IB Diploma Programme, which will be designed to develop students as global citizens.
It also offers students opportunities with partnerships with VEX Robotics Competition, The European Youth Parliament, Save the Children, Agenda 21 BCN for Sustainability and Animal Welfare Approved to ensure they are ready for the 21st Century workplace.
“Princess Margaret’s team has built an exceptional school, and I am sure that together we will not only become stronger as a group, but also provide PMIS students with a wider range of learning opportunities, both nationally and internationally, ensuring they can become global citizens prepared to shape the world,” Carolina Rodríguez Inciarte, Globeducate CEO Spain & Andorra, said in June when the deal was announced.
Executive head of School at Boundary Oak School, James Polansky, stated that “at a time when most schools are facing financial headwinds” becoming part of Globeducate’s family has “safeguarded the long-term vision for Boundary Oak School to become the premier destination school in Hampshire”.
“In Globeducate we have found a partner with the same values and ethos as ourselves: aiming to prepare pupils for life, not just for examinations,” he said.
Princess Margaret International School headmaster, Àlex Cerdà, noted the “added value” of joining such as “internationally recognised education group”.
“Our horizons, and particularly those of our students and staff, will grow exponentially, generating opportunities that would otherwise have been impossible to achieve, such as completing the educational offer by reaching the ‘continuum’ with the extension and expansion of the Baccalaureate stage, including the IB Diploma Programme,” Cerdà said.