We’ve got some big news to share. Learnlife is a top 10 shortlisted school in the World’s Best School Prizes 2026!
We’ve been selected in the innovation category and are the only school in Spain and in Catalunya recognised for it. We’re one of just 50 schools selected across five categories, chosen from thousands of applications.
Run by T4 Education, the World’s Best School Prizes are considered the world’s most prestigious education awards. Dubbed ‘the Oscars of education’, the prize carries a lot of weight. Learnlife’s shortlisting reflects what we’ve been building in Barcelona over the past nine years.
Why the innovation prize?
The judges recognised Learnlife for tackling one of education’s most fundamental challenges: moving away from systems built around control towards an innovative model grounded in trust, responsibility and learner ownership.
Since 2017, we’ve been building a learning community where deep relational trust is the foundation of learning and responsibility. It’s a design principle that shapes everything from how learners are assessed to how they spend their day.
Our CEO, Leigh Fitzgerald, explains it this way:
“Trust is often spoken about as a critical value in education, but very few schools are willing to build it into the core learning environment. In many schools, trust is treated simply as an aspiration or a slogan, but at Learnlife it’s a primary design principle that shapes how young people learn, grow, and prepare for life.”
In practice, that means learners design their own pathways alongside Learning Guides who genuinely know them. Assessment means a curated portfolio of real work and demonstrated capability shown through the Learning Vitae, 360s and showcases.
Although we don’t have exams, some learners choose to sit them voluntarily because they own their learning journey and understand what they need to get to where they want to go. They choose the exam. The exam doesn’t choose them.
A school leader who visited us described it this way:
"Until I saw Learnlife’s graduating requirements, I did not believe examinations could be replaced with something of greater rigour.”
What people who know education say about Learnlife
Lord Russell Rook, a member of the UK House of Lords, offered this:
“When teachers build real relationships, build trust with their students, it’s possible not only to change lives but to change communities and change the world. And that’s what you’re doing at Learnlife.”
Valerie Hannon, Board Director of the Innovation Unit and one of the world’s leading education thinkers, put it simply:
“Learnlife is a truly wonderful school. It shows what schools can be and do, and intentionally sets out to model brilliant education in practice to help others.”
And Haifa Khamis, Board Chair of Academia Cotopaxi in Ecuador, who has worked closely with Learnlife, summed up what makes the approach matter:
“When learners genuinely own their journeys, they become life-ready, not just exam-ready. And that, truly, is the education every young person deserves.”
Some numbers about Learnlife worth knowing
Near-100% graduation rates and 96% Learning Guide (teacher) retention, in a profession where most educators leave within five years.
For three years running, HundrED, one of the world’s leading education innovation organisations, has recognised Learnlife’s work, and we received Montessori STAR endorsement in 2025.
Earlier this year, an independent LEAPS Student Voice Survey ranked Learnlife above global school benchmarks across all seven measures assessed, with particularly strong results in agency, relevance, and whole-child development.
And in our 2025 graduating interviews, every single learner talked about the quality of relationships and sense of belonging at Learnlife as central to their motivation and learning outcomes.
What learning at Learnlife can look like
Storm joined Learnlife’s Urban Hub in Barcelona after feeling lost in traditional schooling. Through Learnlife's passion-based learning and studios, he discovered coding and 3D modelling.
His Learning Vitae, a portfolio of real work and reflection, earned him a scholarship to Harbour.Space University. He now interns as a Flight Dynamics Intern at Thailand’s Space Agency.
He didn’t follow a prescribed path. He built his own. His story isn’t exceptional. It’s what happens when learners feel trusted and take charge of their learning journey.
What this means for families considering Learnlife
We’re incredibly proud of this recognition. Being shortlisted alongside brilliant schools from around the world is further recognition that what we’re doing here is working and that others are taking notice.
If you’ve been curious about Learnlife, or you’ve been quietly wondering whether there’s somewhere your child could genuinely thrive, this is a good moment to look more closely.
We’d love to learn more about your family and tell you about one of the best schools in the world. We can say that now, right?
Written by
