High School

Rafa Nadal International School is an authorized overseas school in Spain by the Government of the Balearics and the Ministry of Education and has a code centre number.

Secondary: AISM (Rafa Nadal International School) is accredited by the Middle States Association (MSA), one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education. MSA currently awards accreditation to more than 3.500 schools and to member institutions in more than 85 countries around the world. 

At RNIS we very much welcome the contribution of our parents in helping to create together the community we envisage and work together to help each child reach their potential. The suggestions, comments and support of the parents are encouraged. To ensure an effective flow of information between the school and the parents, we have many channels of communication in place.

• Welcome morning for the parents: At the beginning of each school year, we invite all parents to a presentation. Parents have the opportunity of meeting their child’s teachers and are given an outline of the year ahead
• Parent-teacher meetings are held three times a year. Parents and teachers arrange appointments throughout the year.
• RNIS also takes advantage of the latest technological developments to enable parents to access their child’s progress remotely as well as contacting the teachers directly on email.

In RNIS, we do our best to safeguard and promote the welfare of our students in order to develop their full potential and to provide them with a safe and caring environment. We are very conscious that our pastoral care should be in line with our ethos, where respect should be shown to all; teacher to pupil, pupil to teacher as well as pupil to pupil and to the wider community. All our students have an assigned tutor whom they meet regularly to discuss academic and pastoral issues. Also, students in older grades will be mentoring younger students and newcomers, that way everyone feels welcome and supported.

At RNIS, we do our best to ensure each student is enthusiastic, encouraged and looked after both in the classroom and out of it. The school day is very full – lessons, sports, hobbies, co-curricular activities, excursions, conferences, environmental issues, fundraising etc. At RNIS, something is going on all the time and all our students are involved in many different areas that keep them busy, make them happy and not least important having fun. We believe that happy students make for successful students.

At RNIS, there are cultural and educational trips organized throughout the school year. These trips are based on the topic being studied in lessons and reinforce their learning. The excursions vary with each year group and include trips to museums, farms, local industries, historical monuments, theatres and nature reserves.

Students are assigned a classroom called the homeroom in which they meet daily. These assemblies allow the teacher the chance to not only give messages and announcements to all the students and record attendance but more importantly, follow individually on students’ progress and address pastoral duties so the student is cared for. In addition, various themes are addressed and vary throughout the year and include issues such as sharing, social responsibility, recycling, inclusion, bullying, etc. This assembly time forms an integral part of our pastoral care. Students may also have the opportunity to take turns to direct the assembly in a topic in which they have a special interest in. They may also show some of their work, present a short play or report back to the other grades on a recent excursion.

Our High School program has been specifically designed to prepare our students for entrance to university. RNIS supports and guides our students through the application process and provides the tools required to thrive and excel in higher education be this in the US, Spain or anywhere in the world. To facilitate entry into the US university system, RNIS is an accredited SAT and TOEFL test center offering our students and members of the outside community the ability to take this test here, in Mallorca.

Our Career Counsellor assists our students in developing academic and career goals via career exploration, knowledge of different educational programs and consideration of personal interests, skills and values. The Career Counselor center helps students understand the various ways they can leverage their experiences inside and outside of the classroom to prepare them to be competitive candidates for university programs after graduation, with a focus on specific majors and knowledge of job market conditions.

For those students wishing to go to university in the US with a tennis scholarship, we work closely with I-Con Sports, an internationally-renowned agency, that has over a decade of experience in finding the best universities and scholarships for sports players.

Our Guidance Counsellor assists our students in developing academic and career goals via career exploration, knowledge of different educational programs and consideration of personal interests, skills and values. The Guidance Counselor helps students understand the various ways they can leverage their experiences inside and outside of the classroom to prepare them to be competitive candidates for university programs after graduation, with a focus on specific majors and knowledge of job market conditions.

RNIS requires students to achieve 22 credits to graduate. The graduation requirements are based on NCAA standards (for division 1 universities) and adapted to suit RNIS students. Depending on one-to-one college/career counseling, some students may have a reduced timetable and therefore credits. This is subject to principal, student and parent consent.

All RNIS courses are NCAA accredited and accepted but RNIS will not take responsibility for courses and credits completed at other institutions. At RNIS, we have a college counselor who can advise you on the process but RNIS cannot guarantee NCAA eligibility for students based off credits taken in their previous school. Students who want to apply for an NCAA eligibility and a tennis scholarship to a US university will need to ensure they are NCAA eligible.

The American university system is unique in that it allows a combination of competitive sport with a university degree. Teams representing universities in the US compete at an elite level. To achieve the best possible results, these universities recruit players from all over the world and, as they are not allowed to pay players, they offer sports scholarships to finance students’ studies. The academy works closely with I-Con Sports, an internationally-renowned agency, that has over a decade of experience in finding the best universities and scholarships for sports players.

Requisites:

• Graduation from High School with a minimum of subjects per year in specific areas of study.
• A competitive tennis level and holding amateur athlete status.
• Necessary grades in entrance exams (SAT & TOEFL).

The universities are divided into three organizations (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA) and each has its own set of distinct rules regarding eligibility to compete. I-Con Sports and the Academy will guide the students at all times to ensure all rules and regulations are met and that there is no risk to their eligibility.

What is a complete scholarship? A complete sports scholarship covers all costs of the university, such as:

• Registration and fees
• Books
• Accommodation
• Meals
• Training and competition
• Sports equipment
• Travel to tournaments
• Tuition
• Sports medical assistance

Athletes that do not receive a complete scholarship (100%) will obtain a percentage of the annual university costs.

What is the process?

• A high level of tennis is key to obtaining a better scholarship. The high-performance training at the Rafa Nadal Academy seeks to maximize the potential of our students. At the same time, a strategic tournament calendar and promotional video of the student will be prepared, in order to raise the interest of the university coaches.
• Academic results are another determining factor in terms of eligibility for the University-level sports, entrance to certain universities, and the receipt of academic scholarships (which can be added to sports scholarships).

The Academy follows the American academic system in order to facilitate the process of incorporation to the US university system. The curriculum of each student is also monitored, guiding them to choose the subjects that assist in meeting the eligibility requirements of certain leagues. The Academy will prepare its students for the US university entrance exams.

RNIS is a fully accredited Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) test center offering both students of the school and members of the outside the community the opportunity to sit this test which is used for college admissions in the United States. 

The SAT test measures the literacy and writing skills needed for academic success in college. It is intended to asses analysis and problem solving – skills they learned in school – that they will need in college. The test is administered under a time limit in order produce a range of scores. The SAT consists of three major sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200–800.  The test is 3 hours and 45 minutes in length divided into timed sections, with questions ranging from easy, medium and hard. 

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardized test used to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions. TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the IELTS.

The test is four hours in length, and scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points and consists of four sections: (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing), each measuring one of the basic language skills. All tasks focus on language used in an academic, higher-education environment. Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process, with a college or program within a college often setting a minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University) to 111 (University of Oxford).

Student Athletes who are pursuing athletic competition in a variety of fields including preparing for competitions will want their course work in high school approved by the NCAA to meet academic eligibility requirements for scholarships and participation.

These student athletes must balance the demands of a challenging sport training and competition schedule, while being able to devote the necessary time to their academic program. RNIS understands these unique students needs and provides a program of academic quality while allowing the student athlete to devote the necessary time to their athletic pursuits.

The NCAA has established regulations for courses that these student athletes take. RNIS is a pre – accredited school by the Middle States Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools and core courses in the RNIS High School are approved by the NCAA to meet athletic eligibility as they enter college. The student is responsible for ensuring that he or she meets NCAA Core Course requirements.

RNIS students should consult with our Career Counselor for information about meeting NCAA Core Course requirements. The NCAA recommends that students set up their own personal account with the NCAA and the student can do so by visiting the NCAA Eligibility Center. The publication by the NCAA of NCAA Division I Initial-Eligibility Requirements should be downloaded and reviewed by the parent and student.

RNIS has worked to ensure our courses meet the requirements of the NCAA. You can see our courses, which are approved to meet NCAA Core Course Eligibility. If you have questions check with the RNIS Career counselor office. You may visit the NCAA Eligibility Center as a student or parent and search for RNIS to see the courses listed on their site.