Without emotional stability, real learning cannot happen
En un pequeño municipio a las afueras de Madrid, un instituto público ha ganado uno de los premios educativos más prestigiosos del mundo no por sus calificaciones ni sus infraestructuras, sino por haber decidido que el bienestar emocional de sus estudiantes es el fundamento de cualquier aprendizaje real. El IES Carmen de Burgos, en Alovera, Guadalajara, fue reconocido en Londres con el Global School Prize tras superar a más de 3.000 candidatos de 113 países. Su historia invita a preguntarse si la educación del siglo XXI está dispuesta a medir lo que realmente importa.
- Tras la pandemia, el centro detectó que el deterioro psicológico de sus alumnos estaba erosionando directamente el clima de aula y el rendimiento académico, y decidió actuar antes de que la crisis se normalizara.
- En lugar de endurecer la disciplina, el instituto creó un 'aula de la calma' donde los estudiantes en crisis emocional aprenden herramientas concretas para autorregularse, convirtiendo la interrupción en aprendizaje.
- La red de apoyo se extendió más allá del aula: radio escolar, huerto, ajedrez, debate y un programa de alumnos ayudantes que vigilan activamente el aislamiento de sus compañeros.
- Los resultados son contundentes: los incidentes disciplinarios cayeron un 48% desde 2021, con una reducción del 78% solo en primero de la ESO.
- El premio llega con 50.000 dólares destinados íntegramente al bienestar emocional y con una oleada de interés internacional hacia el modelo español, incluida la figura del coordinador de bienestar, aún novedosa en muchos sistemas educativos.
- El reconocimiento global sitúa a un instituto público de una localidad pequeña en el centro del debate mundial sobre qué debe priorizar la escuela del futuro.
Un instituto público de Alovera, en la provincia de Guadalajara, acaba de ganar el Global School Prize en la categoría de salud y bienestar —un galardón que muchos consideran el Nobel de la educación— tras imponerse a más de 3.000 candidatos de 113 países. La ceremonia tuvo lugar en Londres, pero la historia que la hizo posible comenzó mucho antes, en las aulas de un centro que decidió tomarse en serio lo que sus alumnos sentían.
Todo arrancó después de la pandemia, cuando el equipo directivo constató que el malestar psicológico de los estudiantes se traducía directamente en conflictos y en dificultades para aprender. La respuesta no fue disciplinaria, sino terapéutica y comunitaria. Crearon el 'aula de la calma', un espacio al que cualquier alumno puede retirarse cuando la ansiedad o el desbordamiento emocional le impiden estar en clase. No es un castigo ni una sala de espera: es un lugar donde se aprenden técnicas de regulación para que la próxima vez no haga falta salir. Desde 2021, los incidentes disciplinarios han caído casi a la mitad; en primero de la ESO, la reducción llega al 78%.
Pero el aula de la calma es solo una pieza de un sistema más amplio. El centro ha construido una red de actividades —radio escolar, revista, huerto, ajedrez, debate— pensadas para que ningún alumno quede al margen. Un programa de alumnos ayudantes, formados para detectar conflictos y acercarse a quienes parecen solos, completa el tejido. La coordinadora de bienestar, María Ángeles Barquita, resume la filosofía: encontrar para cada estudiante la actividad que más le puede ayudar. El objetivo es que nadie se sienta aislado.
El premio incluye 50.000 dólares destinados exclusivamente a iniciativas de bienestar emocional durante cinco años. Pero quizás más relevante que la dotación económica es la atención que el centro está recibiendo de educadores de todo el mundo, muchos de los cuales se sorprenden al descubrir que España cuenta ya con la figura oficial del coordinador de bienestar escolar. El instituto que lleva el nombre de Carmen de Burgos —pionera del periodismo español— ha añadido ahora su propio legado: el de demostrar que cómo se sienten los jóvenes no es un asunto paralelo a la educación, sino su condición de posibilidad.
A public secondary school in a small town outside Madrid has just won one of the world's most prestigious education awards—and it did so by fundamentally rethinking what a school is supposed to do. IES Carmen de Burgos, located in Alovera in the province of Guadalajara, was recognized in London with the Global School Prize for health and wellbeing, an honor often called the Nobel Prize of education. The school emerged victorious from a field of more than 3,000 applicants representing 113 countries.
The prize came as recognition for a program built on a simple conviction: without emotional stability, real learning cannot happen. This philosophy took shape after the pandemic, when administrators noticed that their students' psychological deterioration was directly undermining both classroom behavior and academic performance. Rather than respond with stricter discipline, the school chose a different path. They created what they call an "aula de la calma"—a calm room—where students experiencing anxiety, emotional dysregulation, or psychological distress can step away from class. The space is not a punishment. It is a place where young people learn concrete techniques they can use the next time they feel overwhelmed, so they won't need to leave the classroom again.
The results have been measurable and substantial. Since 2021, the school has cut disciplinary incidents by nearly half. In the first year of secondary school, the reduction reaches 78 percent. But the calm room is only one piece of a much larger ecosystem. The institute has woven together a network of workshops and activities designed to catch isolation before it takes root: a school radio station, a student magazine, a garden project, chess club, debate league, and a peer support program where trained students watch for conflict and reach out to classmates who seem alone. The coordinator of wellbeing, María Ángeles Barquita, explains the underlying logic: they try to match each student with the activity most likely to help them. The goal is simple and uncompromising—no one should feel isolated.
The international recognition comes with $50,000 in funding spread across five years, money that must be devoted entirely to emotional health and wellbeing initiatives. But perhaps more significant than the prize money is the attention the school is now receiving from educators around the world. International visitors have been particularly struck by one aspect of the Spanish system: the existence of a dedicated wellness coordinator—a role that Spain only recently incorporated into its official education structure. That a school would employ someone whose sole responsibility is to tend to students' emotional lives struck many observers as novel, even radical.
The school itself carries a name with historical weight. Carmen de Burgos was one of Spain's first female war correspondents and a pioneering figure in Spanish journalism. The school marks her legacy with a dedicated day so students understand who she was and why she mattered. Now the institute bearing her name has become known for something different: for insisting that how young people feel is not separate from education but central to it. The prize has brought that conviction into the light.
Notable Quotes
Without emotional wellbeing there is no real learning— María Ángeles Barquita, wellbeing coordinator
We try to recommend to each student the workshop that can help them most. Our goal is that no one feels alone— María Ángeles Barquita
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made this school decide to build a calm room instead of just handing out more detention slips?
They watched what happened after the pandemic. The kids were struggling emotionally, and that was showing up as behavior problems and failing grades. They realized you can't punish your way out of anxiety.
So the calm room isn't a timeout?
Not at all. It's a place where a student learns actual tools—breathing techniques, grounding exercises, whatever works for them. The idea is that next time they feel it coming, they have something in their toolkit.
And the workshops—radio, chess, debate—how do those fit in?
They're designed to catch kids who might otherwise disappear into isolation. The school is deliberately trying to find a place for everyone, not just the kids who naturally fit in.
Why did international judges find the wellness coordinator role so striking?
Because most countries don't have someone whose entire job is to think about student emotional health. It signals that this isn't an add-on or a nice-to-have. It's structural.
A 48 percent drop in discipline incidents is significant. What does that actually mean in a classroom?
It means fewer interruptions, less conflict, more time actually teaching. But more than that—it means students aren't being pushed out of the system for struggling.
Does this approach work everywhere, or is it specific to this school?
That's what the world is watching now. The school won the prize, got the funding, and now educators from other countries are asking how to replicate it. Whether it scales is the real question.