Trilema Soria

Innovating education for equity and excellence

Trilema Soria, a partially government-funded independent kindergarten through secondary training school in Soria, Spain, is revolutionising education for vulnerable students with personalised learning and the Rubik Model, dramatically boosting their academic success and confidence. Located in one of Europe’s most depopulated areas with a high percentage families unemployed, the region offers limited opportunities, creating a significant challenge for the school’s 600 students, 40% of whom are non-Spanish, of 32 nationalities. With another 15% having special educational needs, and many coming from social exclusion backgrounds, the school’s mission is to provide educational excellence and equity.

The Rubik Model, named for its multifaceted approach, addresses the specific needs of each student, fostering a personalised learning experience focused on each student. By diagnosing educational needs and implementing targeted interventions, Trilema Soria has significantly improved academic performance, particularly among its vulnerable student population. The school's innovative practices include interdisciplinary project-based learning, Executive Functions pedagogy, and Learning Rotations, Vertical Tutoring and exceptional pastoral care of students and teachers, to improve the autonomy that allows students to work at their own pace and level.

Since the adoption of the Rubik Model in 2016, Trilema Soria has seen a 20% improvement in the learning performance of vulnerable students compared to control groups. The school has maintained a low repeater rate of 2% and reversed an initial trend of low enrollment. These results have garnered recognition, making Trilema Soria a reference point for many other educational institutions and earning accolades from organisations such as UNICEF and the Ashoka Foundation.

Trilema Soria's comprehensive approach extends beyond the classroom. Initiatives like the “En Valor” project empower the entire educational community to become active agents in education for development and global citizenship. Meanwhile, “Fluye” is an ambitious programme to develop healthy habits and emotional wellbeing. The school also supports linguistic immersion for migrant students and provides essential services like a breakfast club and co-teaching during project hours to facilitate personalised learning. Many of their teachers facilitate training for hundreds of educators from more than 15 countries inspiring change around the world. It has created a network of 70 “Escuelas que Aprenden” in Argentina, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Uruguay and Spain.

Should Trilema Soria win the World’s Best School Prize for Innovation, the prize would enable Trilema Soria to consolidate its educational model, optimise spaces for new income streams, and extend its reach into the community and beyond. The prize money would also fund training and research for educational staff and finance a new academic study on the model's impact and transferability, ensuring the long-term sustainability and scalability of their innovative approach.