International Schools Directory

The American School of Barcelona is a private, nonprofit institution and was the first and largest trilingual school in Barcelona, Spain. It was founded in 1962 by Dr. Josep Maria Poal, an eminent physician and co-founder of the North American Institute in 1951. Dr. Poal's vision to provide the local Spanish society with an American educational system has contributed greatly to academic and cultural relations amongst Spain's international community. Ever since its establishment, ASB has been a non-profit organization owned and run by a parent's association which elects a Board of Governors. The school was established to provide an American education to students from the local and international communities of Barcelona. The American School of Barcelona is authorized by the Spanish Ministry of Education and accredited by Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. The school provides a basic American instructional program. The nature of the school permits it's students to follow the US curriculum from preschool to grade 12 while at the same time enables them to become integrated in the culture and language of the host country. The school curriculum is based on the US educational system and the medium of instruction is English except for the Spanish and Catalan requirements. In upper level classes the school offers the International Baccalaureate Programme leading to an IB Diploma. It is one of the few international schools in Barcelona that offers this diploma and the only one that does so in English. Staff specialties range from Counseling to Learning Disabilities. The school also offers many special programs and extracurricular activities including dance, drama, physical education, newspaper, student council, community service, soccer, golf, basketball, and tennis.