Barry Cooper

The Global College in Madrid is a brand new IB school that promises a different kind of Secondary education. Focusing on technology, entrepreneurship and career development, the school with its modern digital campus is situated right in the heart of the Spanish capital. We sat down with the founding principal Barry Cooper to find out more about the groundbreaking project.

Barry, The Global College is due to launch in September 2022 and has ambitious plans to become an educational benchmark in Europe. Let’s start with the name and the emphasis you put on being a pre-university academic institution rather than just a regular high school.

Absolutely. My team and I are in the middle of our preparations, a lot of which focuses on what the last two school years can really achieve – we want to think about being pre-university, not the end of school. For example: what allows an 18- year old student to step into university in as seamless a way as possible? How can we help build a set of individualised skills and knowledge, so when they enter a university they do it with confidence?

We feel strongly about offering a pre-university programme rather than exam preparations in the last two years of school. We want to help our students build a fundamental set of aptitudes and expose them to a breadth of areas including technology and entrepreneurship. We offer the IB Diploma with a focus on entrepreneurship and technology; we think of ourselves as a school for entrepreneurs, but we are also injecting careers education into the school: this means visiting speakers are coming in regularly or joining us online, work experiences are made available for our students according to their ambitions and we focus on career planning every day rather than as a result of a single meeting here or there. The most accessible way of introducing students to careers choices is to bring in someone who does it. Getting professionals to talk to our students about what they do and why they love it. Sharing their journeys (usually not a straight line) and how they overcame their doubts and worked through setbacks and rejection. That holistic experience, talking to people who are in the world, helps students to think about their own journeys and where they want to go. Entrepreneurship is equally important and I don’t mean just setting up a company; at its most fundamental level entrepreneurship is about the ability to spot a problem and how to find a solution. It’s about taking ownership of your roles in your family, company, and your life.

Take us behind the scenes. How long has your team been working on the concept and how far have you come?

The driving force behind the idea for Global College is our president Lucia Figar de Lacalle. For the last 3 to 4 years a lot of work went into the general concept and planning. We have a close collaboration with one of Spain’s top academic institutions, the IE University Being based in Madrid and offering an English-speaking programme, we are looking at various aspects of different educational cultures to see what works in different parts of the world. Starting a new school means we can think bigger and create something new. Like our future students, we are thinking about the problems we can solve. We believe that students, in general, are not well prepared for their adult lives. That’s why we focus on introducing core elements like technology education and entrepreneurship. We look at how students can take ownership of their journeys, how we can develop creativity, resilience, problem solving and problem identification skills and a contextual understanding of the world.

You have previously worked in schools in the UK, Scotland, China and Dubai. How does that experience help you find that special formula for The Global College?

We intend to offer the IB Diploma. It the most advanced system to date that allows schools to enhance the student experience and students to drive their own learning. In all my previous roles at Epsom College, Loretto School, Wellington College or Brighton College, I was fortunate to be able to connect with the local culture and learn what it means to be a member of a national and an international community. I am very keen to implement that model of opening up worlds and broadening horizons here at The Global College. Our city, Madrid, in this case becomes another member of the faculty where our students can engage with the local context and this rich landscape of history, institutions, culture and businesses. During my previous postings, I learned one thing - be unafraid of the wider community. Too often schools operate in a bubble and this is a wasted opportunity. There is a wide world out there.

Thank you, Barry. For more information about The Global College visit: www.theglobalcollege.com