OUR SCHOOL

Forty years ago, in 1981/1982, the Sakoneta Public School and the Mendibil Pre-Primary School were almost overcrowded with 1130 students. During these years, the expansion of the building and the neighbourhood made the need for a new school a priority, in order to provide an adequate response to the situation.

Because of this situation, in 1981 the Basque Government began to study where a new school could be built, buying the necessary land. So at that moment they managed to surround themselves with green spaces and a perfect area of position.

CEIP Txomin Aresti School was built as a building in a very innovative and unique form, the original form of which is now standing out. It consists in most of a triangular construction, with an inner courtyard, which allows it to enjoy extraordinary clarity. Apart from this, each room has windows facing outwards, which offer enormous brightness. As the year progressed, and as the cycle of Pre School Education moved from Mendibil to this building, due to the shortage of space, another cubic building was added to it, adding new facilities and new spaces. These new spaces consist of a reform room, an English room, a library, a teacher’s room, and several toilets.

As for the opening of the school, it should be on 15 October 1984, but due to the unfinished works, it could not be held on that day. As a result of this delay, at Christmas of that year, a number of proclamations were made in front of the City Hall by the family, teachers ( Prego Axpe, who was then the principal) and students, calling for the opening of the school. In January 1985, when Iñaki San Juan was mayor of Leioa, the school was officially opened, with 384 students.

As far as the course of the school was concerned, there were a number of different and innovative activities, one of which was the principal at the time, who organized the competition for the design of a logo, with the intention of giving the school its own identity. It is important to mention the high participation of the student body, although in the end the choice was made by Iñigo Lopez. Then, with the celebration of his 25th anniversary, Felix Ortiz de Zarate, a great janitor and collaborator of the school, updated it and gave it the impression it has today.

After 10 years of solo career, in 1995/1996, a new Txomin Aresti was created with Mendibile and Sakoneta. This merger was not complete until 2013-2014, when all the Children’s and Primary Schools were finally assembled in the same building. Today at our school we have 403 students from Preschool to Primary, where the language model is D. As for the staff, it is now composed of 41 people, and there are also non-teaching staff.

As for the person who gives the school its name, Txomin Aresti was appointed mayor in 1979, becoming the first mayor of democracy. In this situation, he had to swim against several currents, always thinking of the best of the residents of the municipality. He worked continuously for change, but unfortunately he could not achieve his goals, because he died young. So he couldn’t make the dreams that led him to become mayor come true, even though the legacy he left behind was well-known.

Staff

Non-teaching staff