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New International Nursery in Barcelona

With English language pre-schools in great demand and very few centres located in Barcelona itself, Hamelin International, in the residential district of Vila Olímpica, is one of the few private international nurseries easily accessible from the city centre. It also offers after-school activities in English for older children.

The new Hamelin International nursery is a Catalan-run centre recognised by the Generalitat as an official trilingual school. Opened in October 2007, the nursery, for children aged up to 3 years, is the latest addition to the Escoles SAS group of infants, primary and secondary schools which offer a language-focused education.   The Escoles SAS group has an existing pre-school in the uptown neighbourhood of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi established in 1981 as well as an infants, primary and junior school, open since 1988, outside Barcelona in the the town of Alella.  The focus of these private schools is obtaining a native level of English (used for half the teaching), Spanish and Catalan.

For pre-schoolers, Hamelin focuses on its trademark method of "Play&Learn".  Pioneered in Spain, the method immerses children into language learning from an early age. It also provides stimulating activities and an individualised attention and adaptation programme aided by regular communication with parents.  The "Play&Learn" method is constantly evolving and is now practised in various educational centres around the world.  Group activities are based around music, emotional intelligence, vocabulary, fine and gross motor skills and numeracy. Children are constantly encouraged to actively participate.

At the new Hamelin International, Vila Olímpica, parents can choose from a flexible timetable of either 9am-12pm, 9-3pm or 9-5pm. The nursery has 500m2 of space for up to 81 children at its location near the beach at Port Olímpica. Meals are cooked on site and each of the rooms have lots of daylight and access to the outdoor play area.  The patio itself has soft flooring, games and a sand pit. Staff are Catalan and Spanish speaking with a native English teacher who interacts with the children during organised sessions throughout the week. Group sizes also compare favourably with the norm. 

Twice weekly, after-school activity sessions in English are run at the centre for children ages 3-12 years.  The nursery is a welcome option for parents looking for a flexible choice of hours and a multilingual environment and is especially appealing to the growing community of international families in the Vila Olímpica and Diagonal Mar areas.  

Hamelin Vila Olímpica, c/ Salvador Espriu, 27 Tel. 93 224 1250

For further information see International Schools and Nurseries in Barcelona

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