MADRID, 9 November 2026. SEK International School El Castillo, in Madrid, announced on 1 October that two of its teachers have presented a study carried out with Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC) on the Arrowsmith Program's Symbol Relations task, with 24 children aged 8 to 12: 12 with dyslexia and 12 high achievers.
The study, titled Cognitive Benefits of Arrowsmith Symbol Relations Task In Two Groups: Children with Dyslexia and High Achievers, was carried out by teachers Elin Mariana Velasco and Gloria Hernández together with Laura Herrero, of the Department of Psychology at UCJC, and was presented at the annual convention of the APS. Its aim was to find out whether this cognitive task produced benefits in both profiles and whether the impact differed between them.
For five months, the participants worked on the task with an average of two hours a week of supervision at school, complemented by independent work at home. Before and after the programme, the research team assessed processing speed, attention, short-term visuospatial memory, response inhibition and planning skills. Fluid intelligence, measured with Raven, was used as a control variable, and at the end of the programme a short survey gathered the views of the children and their families.
Before the intervention, the high achievers scored significantly higher than the children with dyslexia on every cognitive measure except planning. After working with Symbol Relations, both groups showed significant improvements in attention, short-term visuospatial memory and response inhibition. The effects were similar in the two groups, with slightly larger effect sizes among the children with dyslexia, who also improved significantly in processing speed; in the high achievers, that result came close to statistical significance.
Planning was analysed separately against the total time worked, controlling for fluid intelligence, and showed a significant relationship between the two, which suggests that the length of training may be a relevant factor for complex processes such as planning. In the surveys, children and families reported perceived improvements in self-efficacy, perseverance, understanding of concepts, oral comprehension, use of language, emotional intelligence and school performance.
Overall, the results suggest that the Symbol Relations task can benefit children regardless of their starting cognitive abilities, both those with specific learning difficulties and high achievers. Presenting the work at the APS convention also strengthens the research collaboration between UCJC and SEK-El Castillo in education and psychology.
The study is part of a wider relationship between the SEK Institution and Barbara Arrowsmith Young, founder of the Arrowsmith Program, an approach based on assessment and cognitive exercises designed to identify, stimulate and strengthen areas of cognitive functioning linked to different learning difficulties. Arrowsmith Young sits on the SEK International Advisory Board, the advisory body created to support the strategic direction of SEK Education Group and UCJC. SEK-El Castillo is also a provider of the Arrowsmith programme for school-age students, delivered in person.
About SEK International School El Castillo
SEK International School El Castillo is a school of SEK Education Group in Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid. It teaches children from 4 months to 18 years within the International Baccalaureate framework: the Primary Years Programme up to age 12, the Middle Years Programme from 12 to 16 and, from 16 to 18, the IB Diploma Programme, the IB Career-related Programme or the Spanish Bachillerato.
School life includes the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, SEKMUN and the arts, and students can combine their studies with high-performance sport through SEK Sports Academy. The school also offers an intermediate vocational training course in horse riding.
What this means for families
For families in Madrid whose children have dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties, and for those looking for ways to challenge high-achieving pupils, the study shows a school measuring the effect of a cognitive programme together with university researchers, before and after the intervention.
Families comparing schools in the region can consult the best international schools in Madrid.
