Who Owns El Limonar International School?

El Limonar International School was founded in 1990 in Murcia, Spain, as a British international school offering co-educational education to students aged 3-18. The school was established to serve both Spanish families seeking English-medium education and expatriate families living in the Murcia region. From its founding, the school followed the National Curriculum for England and Wales, integrated with Spanish educational requirements to enable students to earn dual qualifications.

The school built its reputation on bilingual education, with approximately 80% of the school day taught in English. Students study Spanish Language and Culture as core subjects, and a third language (French or German) from Year 5 onwards. This multilingual approach has been a consistent feature since the school's founding.

ELIS expanded to a second location in Villamartin, located in San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante. The Villamartin campus serves over 600 pupils aged 3-18 from more than 35 different nationalities. The Murcia campus operates across two sites: the Buenavista Campus, spanning 63,000 square meters, serves Early Years and Primary students, while the Montevida Campus, spanning 15,000 square meters, serves Secondary and Sixth Form students. The Murcia campus has approximately 880 pupils.

Cognita Schools acquired ELIS as part of its strategy to build a portfolio of premium international schools in Europe. The exact acquisition date is not publicly documented, but ELIS has been part of Cognita's portfolio for several years and appears on Cognita's official school directory. The acquisition gave Cognita an established British international school brand in southern Spain, a region with significant expatriate communities and demand for English-medium education.

Under Cognita ownership, ELIS has benefited from investment in facilities and professional development. The school participates in Cognita's quality assurance framework, which includes regular evaluations of teaching standards, curriculum delivery, and student outcomes. ELIS also participates in Cognita's Global Be Well Day, an annual wellbeing initiative observed across all Cognita schools globally, with the most recent edition held in September 2025.

In 2023, ELIS Murcia received three awards at the Cognita Europe and USA Education Summit, including recognition as "Best School of the Year." The school's Executive Principal, Vanessa Grimward, was awarded the European Regional Winner 2023 Pearson International School Leader of the Year. ELIS Villamartin was shortlisted for the Student Mental Health Initiative of the Year category in the Tes International Awards.

In 2026, ELIS continued its academic track record. A student from ELIS Villamartin, Zhang Zhiyou, was admitted to the University of Oxford for Life Sciences in May 2026. The school hosted over 60 leaders from international schools across Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Greece for a Cognita school leaders gathering in February 2026. The Year 13 graduation ceremonies were held at both campuses in June 2026.