Centro Docente María (CDM) is an institution founded by Maria Luz Arenas Casas in September 1975 with a personal commitment: to collaborate in the education of our children wherever it is most needed. Recommendation given to her by her mother, transmitting her great concern for the instruction and education of boys and girls. The centre bears her name in her honour.

Aware of the educational needs of Spanish society at the time, she travelled through Europe contacting centres pioneering in educational innovation. After discovering and analyzing how different solutions addressed problems in learning, she built an educational project open to new pedagogical trends that adapted to our idiosyncrasy and culture, creating a pedagogical model that is continually updating and improving. The acquisition of information was subordinate to the shaping and development of the student as a whole.
M ª Luz Arenas created this new institution with the help of a group of teachers, non-teaching staff and parents excited about the project. This is the origin of our current centre and, despite the many years that have passed, its educational aims are still in force today.

The motto that still prevails in our institution is a quote from “The Little Prince” by Antoine Saint Exupery: “You must merely ask each what each can give.”

In 1978, and at the request of the parents, a centre for primary education (EGB) called Celemín is created and established in another building also at the Palmera. That same year, the school’s Parents Association is created and put into operation.

Given the considerable increase in families interested in the new educational project, we moved to the new facilities in the Aljarafe for the first phase (for grades Pre-School to grade 8) in 1980.

In 1995, and due to administrative changes by Education, we tackled the second phase of our planned project with our facilities for Secondary education by fusing Maria Pre-school and Celemin.

Our complete project concluded in 2013 when were able to finally incorporate the area of Science and Technology and Humanities and Social Sciences, publishing our final authorization (Order 15.07.13; BOJA no 166 of 26.08.13). This leaves us with the following as our final and current configuration:

Owner: Centro Docente María, S.L.

• A) Early Childhood Education Centre: 6 total.
• B) Primary Education Centre: 12 total.
• C) Secondary Education Centre: 8 total.
• D) Baccalaureate Centre: 4 total.