Our Mission

At Hopscotch, we believe every child is unique and special. We provide a preschool education  that enables each one of them to reach their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual potential in a caring and creative environment. We believe children should be inspired to become life-long learners, problem solvers, creative thinkers, and caring, empathetic citizens.

​Every child in our care is taught to love and respect each other and the world around them. We nurture an instinctive love of learning that encourages them to explore, discover, create, practice skills, and develop mastery through a strong foundation in their early years. We provide a holistic play environment both indoors and outdoors to stimulate their imagination and extend their sense of wonder and joy.

Are we forming children who are only capable of learning what is known, or should we try to develop creative and innovative minds?

— Jean Piaget

​Nuala McGuinness
​DIRECTOR

As a full time teacher and mother of 3 children, I can clearly remember how terrified I was sending them off to nursery school as tots. Would they receive the same level of care and nurturing that I offered them at home? Would they feel loved and appreciated? It was a leap of faith for sure. This and 24 years (19 of which have been in Barcelona) teaching, in a variety of settings, has gifted me with an acute awareness of what it means to entrust any educational establishment with your child. I am committed to providing the quality of care that I feel all children deserve. So, it is with immense pride that I present to you Hopscotch International Preschool, a new, family-run venture in the heart of Saint Pere de Ribes in beautiful Catalunya. ​​
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I am bi-lingual (English and Spanish) and hold a BA Honours degree in Psychology, a postgraduate certificate in Education, a diploma in Reflexology and a certificate in Aromatherapy.  My previous positions held in Barcelona are Head of Preschool at St Peters School, and teacher at The British School of Barcelona.

Our Team

Our team is led by our director and founder Nuala McGuiness. We are a small dedicated group, chosen with care so that  staff members have strengths and skills that complement each other to create an enthusiastic team who love their jobs.

Our staff of native and bi/trilingual teaching professionals are experienced, respectful, supportive educators and are graduates in education and disciplines related to early childhood education. We also have in-house specialists who teach dance, drama, language, and an in-house chef.

​All of our staff are caring, creative, experienced, and skilled at identifying and responding to the individual needs of each child. ​

Louise Clark

Ian Craggs

Sinead Dunne

Angeles Palma

Gillian Curley

Thembi Luhana

Katharina De Strobl

Katie Ferdinand

Saika Bukhari

Gary McMullan