• Foundational Knowledge – some basic knowledge and understanding that is necessary for other kinds of learning

• Application – learning how to engage in various kinds of thinking and developing certain skills

• Integration – connecting ideas, people and different realms of life giving learners a type of intellectual power

• Human Dimension – learning about one’s self and others, teaching students about the human significance of what they are learning

• Caring – developing new feelings, interests and values through the learning experience

• Learning how to learn – how to be a better student, how to engage in a particular kind of enquiry or become a self directing learner enabling students to continue learning in the future and to do so with greater effectiveness

By following these basic steps of significant learning, it is the student that builds on his/her own knowledge, step by step.

Apart from all of the above and regardless of the educational cycle in which a student finds himself, there are some very basic educational principles which hold true throughout Castelar College;

We

• Encourage autonomy and participation
• Develop the capacity to give and receive positive criticism
• Form moral values in our students
• Encourage cooperation
• Educate our students to attain socially desirable values
• Cater for the diversity of learning rhythms
• Enhance each student’s potential in all areas

For non native speakers of English, the first term of the school year will be dedicated to intensive English classes in an effort to bring the student’s level of English to an acceptable standard so that he/she will be able to follow a mainstream curriculum through the main language of instruction in our school.

The same process holds true for non native speakers of Spanish, but the classes will be focussed on the Spanish language.

Parents are informed on a daily basis of the progress of their child and the homework he/she must carry out that evening by means of the school journal.At least one parent must sign the journal at the end of the day and return it to the teacher the next day.

Parents are sent five written academic reports throughout the school year in October, December, February, April and June.