SPAIN:
HAVING A GLANCE AT IES MESA Y LÓPEZ
IES Mesa y López high school is situated in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria. It was born
as a Vocational Training high school in 1986-87, as a result of transferring the Administrative and Commercial Branch of the
Polytechnic High School. The change of name from Vocational Training high school to IES Mesa y López takes place in
1998- 1999 as a consequence of the implantation of the LOGSE teachings in the centre (ESO, Bachillerato and Formative
Cycles of Vocational Training). The name of the high school is in honour to José Mesa y López, an important lawyer and
politician who was President of the Island Council of Gran Canaria and Mayor of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on
two occasions.
Our high school is situated in a very lively street
which is a commercial area near Las Canteras beach. In the
area, we can find many coffee shops, restaurants, delicious
bakery´s, brand shops, parks and the most famous
department store in the island, “El Corte Inglés”. Since most
students live nearby the school we meet in the area, there are
so many options! After exams periods, we even go to the
beach to have a bath and relax. Here weather is nice most of
year and we can do it.
The high school is divided into three different
buildings: The first one, where you can find the
headmaster’s office and the administrative staff´s office; then, you can find the main building where the classrooms are
located; and finally, the building where the cafeteria is placed. Besides, there are two sport courts and a nice garden inside the
main building.
The main building has three floors. In the first floor, you can find the teachers’ room, the library, the Assembly hall, the gym,
and the Physics and Chemistry, Biology, Technology, Latin and Music classrooms. Then, in the second floor you can find the
English, Geography, Arts, Philosophy, Maths, Spanish language classrooms and some others. On the top floor, you can find
the computer classrooms and the vocational courses classrooms. It is quite a large high school. Each classroom has got a
computer, a digital board, a digital cannon and some specific material depending on the subject is taught there. So, in the
English classroom we have some dictionaries, a radio player and some reference books (we also have a nice typical English
telephone box
). In the Arts classroom, there are canvas, pencils, rules, watercolours and our works hanging on the
walls. In the Music classroom instruments like a piano, a xylophone, a guitar, some flutes, drums, triangles and maracas. Can
you imagine party time here?