MHS/THS School History

Our high school, known mainly as either "Madrid High School" or "Torrejon
High School" (see below for details) was located in Madrid, Spain, and
was established and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. Most of
the students were U.S. military (primarily Air Force) dependents. Even in
the early years, however, the school was also open to U.S. Embassy
dependents, and to dependents of U.S. government contractors. In later
years, the school became more widely open to other American, and in some
cases Spanish, students.

Our school is not to be confused with the American School of Madrid. That
was (and, as far as we know, still is) a privately-run school. Some
students may have attended both schools, some students at one school had
friends at the other, and as mentioned below the American School of
Madrid for several years occupied the same physical location that had
previously been occupied by Madrid High School; otherwise, the two
schools have no connection to each other.

A brief history of our school:

Starting in early 1954, American military personnel with school-age
children began arriving in Madrid. At first, parents enrolled their
children in the available schools (the American Institute [about which we
have no further information], the British Institute, and Spanish
schools). These soon reached their saturation point, and temporary
arrangements were made for school space while a more permanent location
was being prepared.

This more permanent location was in an apartment complex that occupied an
entire city block in Madrid. (The same complex also housed the in-town
branches of the BX and Commissary, and many apartments were occupied by
personnel who lived in town). One of the four streets that bounded the
complex was then called Avenida del Generalissimo Franco (it has since
been renamed as an extension of Paseo de la Castellana). Thus, the entire
complex was often referred to (informally, and primarily by Americans) as
the "Generalissimo" building.

In November 1954, the high school, which had been located at 18 Juan
Bravo, was moved to 7 Felix Boix, where the elementary school had opened
the previous September. The first official graduating high school class
was the Class of 1955.

When the next school year started in September 1955, the junior and
senior high school (grades 7-12) moved around the corner to 37 Doctor
Fleming. To the best of our knowledge, the high school's formal name was
then "Madrid Dependents' Junior-Senior High School," but it was usually
referred to as "Madrid High School" or "MHS."

In September 1959, the high school moved to a converted barracks at
Torrejon Air Base. For at least the 1959-1960 school year, the 7th and
8th grades were still part of the high school. By not later than the
1961-1962 school year, both of those grades had been moved to Royal Oaks
Junior High School, located at the Air Force's then-new suburban-Madrid
housing development at Royal Oaks. (We have sketchy information regarding
whether both grades moved to Royal Oaks at the same time; there may have
been one year [1960-1961] in which the 7th grade was at Royal Oaks and
the 8th grade was still at Torrejon.) After several years as part of a
separate junior high school or middle school, the 7th and 8th grades may
once again have been included in the high school, but we don't have
definitive information regarding whether that happened, and if so when.

In the meantime: Shortly after Madrid High School moved to Torrejon in
1959, the private American School of Madrid (ASM) mentioned above
occupied the same space in the "Generalissimo" building that had formerly
been occupied by Madrid High School. We understand the ASM later moved
elsewhere in Madrid.

For several years after the move to Torrejon, our high school continued
to be known as "Madrid High School." Sometime in the 1970s, the name was
officially changed to "Torrejon High School"; to the best of our
knowledge, the school was not referred to by that name, or as "THS,"
until after the official name change. We have no reliable information on
exactly when the name change took place; our best guess is that it was
around 1974. Even after the official change, it seems that for at least a
couple of years the high school continued to be referred to (informally
and occasionally) as "Madrid High School" (or "MHS"), and those
who attended the school, or taught or worked there, before the name change continue to use the old name.

Sometime in the late 1960s, a dormitory was opened for high school
students whose parents were stationed in locations where there were not
enough people to justify opening (or continuing) a high school. Even
though most "dormies" continue to feel a special connection to other
"dormies," we consider all the high school "dormies" to be part
of our MHS/THS "family," because the high school they attended was either MHS or THS (or both, for those whose high school years overlapped the name change). Again, we don't have definitive information as to exactly when
the dormitory was opened (our best guess is that it was just before the
1966-1967 school year), or when this arrangement ended.

In the early 1990s, the U.S. acceded to Spain's desire for greater
sovereignty over what had always officially been a joint air base at
Torrejon, and the U.S. presence there began to be phased out. As a
result, Torrejon High School graduated its last class in June 1992, and
the school then closed its doors forever.

Note: The above history is based on the best information we now have. We
know there are some gaps and omissions, and there may be some errors. If
you have additional information or corrections, we would appreciate your
sending them to M/THSA, P.O. Box 5925, Vallejo CA 94591-5925. Because we have (and may get) conflicting information on some points, we would also
appreciate any supporting documentation or other reliable substantiation
you can provide. Gracias!