Asti Leku Ikastola is a Basque private school, created in 1963, located in Portugalete (

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

). It currently has 1,800 students (approx.) and is one of the largest

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in the Basque Autonomous Community and in the whole

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

. It is a primary and secondary school and it offers

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, primary education, secondary education, Baccalaureate education and Selectividad (from 2 to 18 years). Nowadays it is one of the private schools most known and prominent in the

. The school was created in the

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and its objective was to instill the Basque language, the Basque culture and the historical and cultural values of

. The owner of the school is the enterprise "Asti Leku co-op" ( consumers' co-operative business) and is associated in Ikastolen Elkartea, association of all the

's co-operative owned private schools.

History

The school arose in a complex process, through which several private schools of the territory were incorporated until arriving at the great school that is nowadays, a reference in

. Everything arose from the initiative of a group of families, who undertook a long journey in the teaching of Basque by their own private homes. These families wanted to build an innovative educational project, which includes the cultural, social and linguistic values of the

. Among the promoters of Basque culture, like Sabin Ipiña, Juantxu Beitia, Alejandro Echevarría, Pablo Escudero, José Miguel de Barandiaran ... It began in 1963 with the creation of the Elai-Alai school in Portugalete. The priest and promoter of Basque folklore and culture,

José Miguel de Barandiarán eu, Jose Miguel Barandiaran Aierbe, es, José Miguel de Barandiarán y Ayerbe known as and eu, Aita Barandiaran, lit=Father Barandiaran, label =none (31 December 1889 – 21 December 1991), was a Basque anthropologist, ethnographer, and ...

, and Sabin Ipiña were some of the many people involved in the project, they took their first steps in the

, and they have to look for a student in their homes. Soon after, the ''Bihotz Gaztea'' school in

Santurtzi Santurtzi ( es, Santurce; eu, Santurtzi ) is a port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on its left bank, 14 km dow ...

, the ''Umeen Etxea'' children's school in Sestao (in 1968), the ''Itxaropena'' school in Trapagaran and the ''Alkartu'' school in Barakaldo were created, which were integrated into Asti Leku in the following years and in 1971, the children's schools were unified in the ''Patronato de Sestao'' in Sestao. In 1975 the enterprise ''Asti Leku S. Coop.'' ( consumers' co-operative business) was created, as holder of the school, at whose first Annual general meeting the first outline of what would be the new school was presented and the land was bought. That design responded to the intention of combining sport, culture, leisure and education and once approved, the advertising campaign was launched throughout

: "''Let's see if we can / Denon artean egiten badogu, danona izango da''". In 1978 the school moved to Portugalete and the current Primary Education building was inaugurated. That same year, the first general director of the company and the director of the ikastola were hired. In 1980 the schools Elai-Alai, Repélega (Urepelaga) and Lora-Barri ( Portugalete) and Umeen-Etxea ( Sestao) entered the Asti-Leku school. In 1982 the school celebrated its first

Ibilaldia Ibilaldia ( eu, Ibilaldia), meaning ''trip, journey, or march'' in English language, English, is a festival organized every year the last Sunday of May or first of June to help the ikastolak (schools in the Basque language) in Biscay, Basque Countr ...

, and the following year, in 1983, Asti Leku Club became a Sports Society. In 2006, the school receives the "Quality Silver Q" prize awarded by Euskalit. In 2013, it celebrates the second

, and in addition, its 50th anniversary. In 2014, the Town Planning Agreement was signed with the Municipality of Portugalete, for the expansion of Asti-Leku, and the project "Batxilergo Berria / Nuevo bachillerato" was launched.

Nowadays

The school has four classes per course (A, B, D, E), with about 100–120 students per course and has, around, 1,900 students in total. The school has kindergarten building, pre-school education building, primary education building, secondary education building, Baccalaureate education building, four football fields, three basketball courts, a pediment, an athletics track, indoor and outdoor parking, three dining rooms, four gyms ... The school is also the official exam center of

Trinity College London ESOL Trinity College London ESOL is an international English Language examinations board delivering assessments in English language learning and teaching and has been offering English language examinations since 1938. Trinity College London's exams are t ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, as well as numerous other projects. With regard to the dining service, the school hires the services of the business ''Auzo-Lagun S. Coop.'' (belonging to the Ausolan Group, part of the Erkop Group). The school is a reference in

and it is known for its good results and qualifications in Selectividad (similar to the

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, required for university entrance). The school has also been criticized for being considered "elitist and posh" and for expelling bad students from the school. In July 2019 there was a fire in the Primary Education building.

Notable teachers

Notable teachers: Urkullu lehendakaria 2

* Iñigo Urkullu, teacher and politician, Lehendakari (President) of the Basque Government and President of the EAJ-PNV *

Laura Mintegi Laura Mintegi Lakarra (born October 26, 1955) is a Basque author, politician and a professor at the University of the Basque Country. Although she was born in Navarre, she moved to Biscay at an early age and has lived there ever since; first in B ...

, author, teacher, professor and politician,

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

of the Basque Parliament * Txusa Padrones, historian and politician,

of the General Assembly of Biscay * Fernando Valgañón, actor and stage director * Txus Bilbao, philologist, teacher and politician * Jon Lazkano, philologist, teacher and politician * Miren Matanzas, philologist, teacher and politician * Guillermo Vio, teacher and politician

Notable alumni

Notable students: * Ainhoa Basabe, politician, mayor of the City of Sestao * Aintzane Urkijo, politician, mayor of the City of

* Imanol Pradales, sociologist and politician * Gorka Egia García, politician,

of the General Assembly of Biscay * Patricia de la Torre, politician * Fernando Valgañón, actor and stage director * Lohitzune Rodríguez, dancer and choreographer * Nahikari Rodríguez, actress * Roberto Berrocal, pianist * Ivan Jiménez Aira, lawyer and businessperson, managing director of

Bizkaia Talent Bizkaia Talent is a public body, attached to the Department of Economic Promotion of the Foral Government of Biscay, established as a talent recruitment agency, with the aim of attracting, linking and retaining highly qualified people in the in ...

* Mikel Santiago, novelist *

Xabier Eskurza Xabier Eskurza García (born 17 January 1970) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder. He achieved La Liga figures of 256 games and goals in 11 seasons, with Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia, Mallorca and ...

, footballer * Ander Alaña, footballer *

Iñaki Goitia Iñaki Goitia Peña (born 2 March 1982) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his professional career in Segunda División, totalling 265 appearances for Málaga B, Málaga, Betis, Mirandés and Alavé ...

, footballer * Eva Martín, singer * Ibabe Beristain, dancer and musician * Iholdi Beristain, singer * Asier Zaballa, musician

Awards

* 2006, "Q de plata de Calidad" otorgada por EUSKALIT

References

{{Reflist

External links

Basque Government
Education in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Buildings and structures in Biscay