About Us​​​
Why was BHS founded?
The Covid pandemic clearly exposed that the traditional education system was broken and incapable of meeting the needs of students in the modern world.
Consequently, BHS was founded by American entrepreneur, Harvard graduate, and Barcelona resident, Akida Mashaka, who wanted the best education model for his teenage son and students in general to be prepared for the world they will live in, instead of for a world that no longer exists.
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What is the Mission of BHS?
BHS was created to be the school to specifically solve the failures of traditional education so all students not only have the opportunity to excel academically to attend the world's most elite universities, if desired, including universities in Spain and Europe with programs in English, but also to excel socially and psychologically in equal measure to truly find their superpower to have control over their own destiny.
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What is the BHS Pedagogy?
BHS uses its own entrepreneurial pedagogy known as the BHS Method™. In this methodology, the BHS stands for "Build. Harvest. Succeed." which means that students learn better by doing, rather than long and boring lectures and memorization, as the best way to obtain the skills they will need for the world they will be in.​
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What is the BHS Philosophy?
At BHS, our philosophy is that the students are our customers. Our goal is to empower students, instead of always trying to exert power over them. Therefore, our responsibility to our students is to make sure they don't just like school, but that they absolutely love school. This also creates a one-of-a-kind relationship between students and teachers. This philosophy is much different from that of traditional schools, where these schools are only concerned with what anxious parents want, which is not always the best way for students to find their superpower to take control of their own destiny.
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What kind of school is BHS?
Barcelona High School is an accredited American school in Spain by the Spanish Ministry of Education and also an accredited US curriculum school by the United States. Additionally, BHS Elementary School is a trilingual school, and BHS Preschool is a bilingual school.
Most importantly, BHS is the first Social Wellness School™ in the world.​
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BHS Middle & High School Campus
BHS started as only a high school, hence the name "Barcelona High School", and quickly added a middle school to keep up with the growing demand of families who wanted the best modern education in Barcelona for their children. For this 2025-2026 school year, the middle and high school students are in our new secondary school campus in the innovative startup zone of Barcelona known as District 22@ in Poblenou that aligns perfectly with the culture at BHS.
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BHS Elementary & Preschool Campus
Also for this 2025-2026 school year, BHS has a primary school campus with a trilingual (English / Spanish / Catalan) elementary school and a bilingual (English / Spanish) preschool, in the upper zone of the Gracia district of Barcelona in the school building of the former Spanish private school, English School, to fully serve as collectively the best international school in Barcelona for creating global citizens of the world and to fully revolutionize education as we know it.​​​
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Why is BHS considered the best international school in Barcelona?
BHS is the only school in Barcelona that focuses on the social life and emotional wellbeing of students in equal measure with academics.
Moreover, BHS has a flexible schedule and teaching style, and the school makes decisions based on what is best for the student, and not based on the preservation of the outdated traditional school system.
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Additionally, BHS has the most internationally diverse student population from around the world while still maintaining a small student-teacher ratio, unlike the other international and American traditional schools.
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Furthermore, BHS embraces neurodiversity through BHS Learning Support, which recognizes that traditional, neurotypical educational models do not allow students to thrive. BHS does not see neurodiversity as a deficit, but instead as a powerful and untapped strength for greatness.
This unique focus on flexibility, academics, and social and emotional wellbeing in equal measure, combined with small class sizes and unity in diversity, creates the most amazing student life, community, and core values.
This is why BHS students say:
"BHS feels like one big family where we get to make new friends everyday". ​​​
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BHS is the fastest-growing school in Barcelona
Besides its unique pedagogy and philosophy, the student experience and school culture are the best in the world. BHS is the only school in Barcelona that fully embraces the flexibility, uniqueness, and diversity of its community, and has a mandate for teachers to inspire their students and to do what is best for the child instead of strictly following outdated norms.
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Founded as an official school in Spain in 2024, BHS started with only 5 students and now has over 500 students between its 2 campuses.