Our team of teachers at the Grand Association is the driving force behind life at our College. Our teachers are above all educators who put quality in education first and foster personal effort and integrity alongside good values and positive attitudes in our students. Our teachers carry out their work, offering a quality education and stimulating our students to be well integrated people. They do this with personal integrity while adhering closely to the ethos of the school.
Students’ individual needs are met within the school curriculum and they receive guidance and careers advice in close cooperation with their parents. We believe in lifelong learning, teamwork and sharing experiences al of which make our College a forum for professional improvement and excellence.
Departments
Our College has different departments which work at all levels of education.
The head of department coordinates the particular activities and responsabilities of his own department. There are different departments at the school:
Training department
The training department acts as both a planning tool and strives to improve the quality of teaching in the school. The main objectives of the training department are:
Moral, civic and intellectual training of our students beyond the classroom.
Continuous training of teachers and the promotion of research in education.
Providing activities for educational innovation and improvement and the close cooperation with the APA, the parents’ association.
The training department provides a space for reflexion and new ideas and is open to all kind of purposes.
Quality department
The mission of the Quality Department is to supervise the functions of the education we provide according to a model for quality and efficiency.
To achieve this aim, our Quality Department meets on a regular basic in order to design and carry out plans for guaranteeing the continuous improvement of the quality model for the College and also to offer an excellent educational service to answer the needs and expectations of our students and parents. Our College has been awarded the quality standard Premio a la Calidad +400 by the Spanish Confederation of Schools (Confederación Española de Centros de Enseñanza) and also the standard EFQM or Excellence in Quality Systems by the quality consultancy firm Bureau Veritas Quality. The views and opinions are taken into account within our Quality Plan by means of surveys to measure the success of innovations and to receive feedback and suggestions for improvement.
This approach linking teaching staff and parents allows us to make a better school for our children.
Harmonious relations at school
We consider a harmonious atmosphere between all members of our school community a fundamental element to the success of our mission as educators.
The department is in charge of ensuring harmonious relations determined by the Education Administration. In the Regulations, the rules for coexistence, as stipulated by the Education Community, define what is considered to be unacceptable behaviour and also what possible action can be taken to deal with this including disciplinary action. The Rules of Coexistence define what is considered the correct approach to carrying out academic activities, respect for all members of the college community, the correct use of school facilities as well as the attainment of the objectives of the Educational Project of the College. The Team of Directors and the Commission for coexistence monitor adherence to these rules, although this is considered a task for all members of the school community.
Department of Guidance Counselling
The Grand Association College has its own Guidance and Counselling Department authorized and recognised by the Ministry of Education.
The Department offers support and professional advice to students, teachers, parents and the team of directors. The Department offers the following services:
Counselling Evaluations
Counselling Evaluations of groups and individuals help us know our student better and foster more efficiency among our teaching staff as well as helping us improve our guidance for each group and to provide vital information to the teaching staff.
Evaluations for instances of specific learning difficulties
Parents and teaching staff receive special advice about what action should be taken from the Department. The Department also coordinates special activities and helps adapt teaching content where necessary.
Early Detection and Guidance for the students
The Department prepares individualized programs such as Prevention Programs TCA against bulimia, anorexia and other serious conditions; Prevention of Conflict in the Classroom programs; Programs to develop social and intercultural skills and others.
Assistance for parents
The Department helps parents whose children may be suffering from hyperactivity, eating disorders, addictive behaviours and problems relating with other children.
Disciplines
In secondary school and high school, the teaching staff organise Teaching Departments which coordinate their own teaching plans for each area and different activities to develop.
Each department is assigned its own calendar of meetings throughout the year to guarantee the correct application of its syllabus.
Humanities department
The Humanities Department comprises the subjects of social sciences, geography, history, Latin, ethics and religion.
This Department provides students with the acquisition and development of a knowledge about their spatial and temporal surroundings focussing on human societies and manifestations of culture and ideologies of classical civilization. In the same way, an international mentality, an awareness of their role in society, their place in nature, taking care of themselves and the development of different parts of their being are fostered in our students in order to construct a better world. In the subject of religion, students are taught catholic morals as well as the life of Jesus Christ as an example of behaviour.
Sciences
The Science Department is responsible for developing teaching activities in the areas of the natural sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, geology and mathematics.
Students acquire the basic concepts for interpreting natural phenomena, the ways of argumentation in the different forms of mathematical expression are incorporated and they discover the existence of procedures of inquiry common to the different fields of scientific knowledge. They also learn to use correctly materials and basic instruments in a laboratory. The Science Department has fully equipped laboratories with all safety requirements fully met.
Languages
The Language Department consists of teaching specialists in English, French, Valencian and Spanish.
The Department shares a common aim which is the acquisition of a set of communicative language skills to be able to use the different languages competently in everyday communicative situations. The department uses an innovative methodology, interaction in real situations and the teaching of grammar in context. Other objectives include reading for pleasure.
Concerning foreign languages, the College is at the vanguard of language learning programs. The projects initiated in pre-school (multi-language project) are continued in primary, secondary and high school. On the other hand, the Academic Exchange Program, the incorporation of native British and American English speakers into our teaching staff and the development of many different language projects puts the Grand Association at the forefront of schools in terms of language teaching.
The Art department
The Art Department includes the subjects of technology, art and music.
All subjects in the Department are evaluated by continuous assessment and combine classes of theory with practical classes where student participation is paramount. Students learn about the importance of design in our everyday lives. They learn to plan the different phases of their work, analyse the components in order to adapt them to their objectives and to be aware of the cultural, social, material and economic aspects related to their work.
In addition, students discover the fundamental importance of music in their education. They learn to appreciate, understand and value different types of music from different cultures, styles and times. They learn to represent sound graphically as well as to use their voices and to dominate musical nomenclature.