In the small town of Alovera, Guadalajara (Spain), a public secondary school of 1,000 students has quietly rewritten what a state school can be. IES Carmen de Burgos Seguí has transformed itself into what its community calls "an agent of equality and wellbeing" — a lighthouse for mental health, dignity, and emotional education in the Castilla-La Mancha region.
Five years ago, facing rising rates of adolescent anxiety, self-harm, depression, substance use, and misunderstood gender identity, the school made a bold choice: to place student wellbeing at the heart of every decision. The result is a coherent ecosystem of care woven into daily life, not a project, but an identity.
- A whole-school architecture of wellbeing. The school created a dedicated Wellbeing Coordinator role, weekly mindfulness sessions, "Emotional Pills" in tutorials, restorative practices, and a peer-mediation programme called Alumnado Ayudante (Student Helpers). Tu Espacio de Expresión ("Your Space of Expression") is a room where any student in emotional crisis can pause, breathe, and be heard without judgment, reframing help-seeking as an act of self-care.
- Pioneering inclusion. The school was an early adopter of a gender-neutral bathroom, offering dignity to trans and gender-questioning students. The Rincón de Igualdad y Bienestar (Equality and Wellbeing Corner) and an LGTBIQ+ library further signal that every student can belong.
- Movement, creativity, and service. Recreos Activos (Active Breaks) have slashed playground conflict and reduced anxiety through daily cooperative sport. A school garden, emotional rap workshop, chess, robotics, debates, and the award-winning Radio CBS — recognised for educational innovation — give students a voice and purpose. The flagship project, Música que Acompaña ("Music That Accompanies"), sends students to perform for patients at Guadalajara University Hospital, building empathy while easing suffering. Students with severe anxiety have found purpose by discovering that their music can heal others.
- Safety and family partnership. A trained Risk Coordinator, annual CPR and first-aid workshops, and drills with Civil Protection sit alongside emotional-crisis protocols. Families receive training on anxiety, gender identity, digital coexistence, and bullying prevention; the school coordinates directly with paediatrics, mental health services, and social services.
- Measurable impact. The school reports fewer disciplinary incidents, reduced anxiety crises during lessons, stronger attendance among vulnerable students, more successful peer mediations, and markedly improved family-reported confidence and self-esteem.
- Looking ahead. Prize funding would establish a permanent Emotional Wellbeing Centre, scale Música que Acompaña to more hospitals and care homes, launch a specialised programme on healthy masculinities, train teachers in trauma-informed practice, and build a digital platform for early detection of emotional crises.
IES CBS proves that a modest public school in a small town can become a replicable model of dignity, resilience, and hope. Here, education is not only teaching — it is accompanying, caring, and building hope, ensuring no young person faces their hardest moments alone.
