Dóra Kovács’s Erasmus+ visit to Spain

Monforte del Cid, March 9-13, 2026

I met Ms Raquel Gutiérrez at a previous joint teacher training session, where she suggested I complete my Erasmus+ professional visit at her school. Thanks to her recommendation, I spent just under a week in Monforte del Cid, a small Spanish town not far from Alicante, from 9 to 13 March.

During this time, I had the opportunity to get to know several teachers and administrators at IES Las Norias, learn about the school’s structure and gain insight into the Spanish education system. I observed English and art lessons, as well as various project presentations, and gained an understanding of how the school’s vocational training programme operates. On the last day of my visit, there was a sports tournament involving local schools, for which the school’s teachers and students had been diligently preparing for weeks, as I learned.

The project-based education typical of the institution made a big impression on me. It was inspiring to see the collaboration between the various subject teachers and how the students divided tasks amongst themselves, as well as how they were able to unleash their creativity while carrying out the projects.

I also witnessed numerous examples of inclusive education: teachers supported students with autism in their work, either by participating in class with them or by working with them in a separate room. The colourful, picture-illustrated signs on the doors also helped them to find their way around.

The school also had students in wheelchairs who were accompanied by their own assistants.

During my time there, I realised just how important environmental awareness is in school life. Several projects were linked to this mindset and sustainability was evident in everyday life. In addition to selective waste collection throughout the school, students in the mechanical engineering department built robots capable of sorting waste made of different materials. Students on the agricultural training programme are already learning how to grow crops that are more resilient to climate change and how to conserve water effectively. The solar panels on the school’s roof were installed by vocational school students.

As well as applying the best practices that we had learned, I set myself the goal of establishing a long-term partnership with IES Las Norias based on a student exchange programme.