The school Virgen María de las Nieves, which belongs to the congregation of the Augustinian Sisters of Empar, was founded in 1943 as a unitary school like those of the time. In 1972, it moved to a new, larger location for reasons of space. It is located in the parish of San Jorge de Ses Salines, which belongs to the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia (Ibiza). In 1983, with the Ministerial Order of 30 June, the pre-school stage was definitively recognised, and on 14 July 1988, as recognition of EGB. This building has grown in line with the needs established by the various educational laws.
The year 1999 saw the completion of the new ESO building, as an annex and connected to the existing building, making the two buildings a total of 13 classrooms. It also has two large sports areas used for physical education classes and recreational activities. There is also a music room in this new building, which is shared by primary and secondary education, as well as a laboratory and a technology workshop. The initial building houses the management, secretary’s office, PE classrooms, teachers’ room, computer room, multi-purpose room (where meetings, cloisters, talks, etc. are held), the psycho-pedagogical office, the psychologist’s office, the library, EI classrooms, reformed in 2003, at which time a classroom was added for various uses, such as, for example, for split classes, support and activities for the children in the dining room. It is in this room where the digital whiteboard for the Infant Education cycle is located. It should also be noted that all classrooms are equipped with a digital whiteboard, as well as the multi-purpose room.
The centre also has a dining room and kitchen where the daily meals are prepared for the children. There is also a chapel and the nuns’ quarters in this building.
It is a single-track school, three years of EI, six years of PE and four years of ESO.
4 pre-school teachers
7 primary school teachers (with Music and English specialist)
1 PE specialist (shared with ESO)
1 playground monitor in the morning
3 playground monitors at lunchtime
2 people in the kitchen
3 people for the dining room and cleaning
4 nuns live in the centre
Pedagogical Director
General Director (religious)
Primary Head of Studies
Secondary Head of Studies
Children’s Coordinator
The school now has a total of about 328 pupils, spread over the three stages. From the first year of primary school to the fourth year of ESO, all pupils take one hour of religion per week in accordance with the school’s Educational Project. This school year, with the implementation of the LOMCE, two hours of Interdisciplinary Project have been introduced in First, Second and Third ESO. The fact that there is only one line of study means that the range of optional subjects on offer is very limited (due to a lack of students and a lack of teaching staff). As for the language project, in EI, EP and ESO, 50% of the subjects are taught in Spanish and 50% in Catalan, in addition to the corresponding hours in English.
As a charter school, pupils at all stages of the school attend the “sixth hour” or complementary hour, which is voluntarily subsidised by the families with a monthly contribution, which also helps to maintain the school. Mainly, during this hour, workshops are held on oral expression in English and reading comprehension in Catalan and Spanish, computer science, robotics and study techniques.