Information about Colegio Nacional De Buenos Aires

The Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the tradition of the European gymnasium it provides a free, rigorous, multi-disciplinary education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Argentina. Many well known personalities, like two Nobel laureates, four presidents of Argentina and a four-time Grammy awardee and six-time Oscar nominee have studied there.

History

Its origins date to 1661, under the name of “Colegio Grande de San Carlos”, when the Colonial Spanish government entrusted the Jesuit Order the education of the youth. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish-controlled South America in 1767, the institution stagnated until 1772, when governor Juan José Vértiz reopened the school as the “Real Colegio de San Carlos”. Juan José Vértiz, already appointed viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, renamed the school as “Real Convictorio Carolino” in 1783, name that survived until 1806. Thereafter, the school changed of name and program several times.

The current "incarnation" was founded by president Bartolomé Mitre in 1863 under the name of “Colegio Nacional”, and since 1911 the school has been a part of the University of Buenos Aires. Originally only for men, the school has admitted women as students since 1957.

Nowadays, students from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires rank among the best in most science Olympiads, such as the IPhO, IChO and IBO.

Alumni

Alumni include many of Argentina's founding fathers, presidents, members of political parties of all ideologies (including guerrillas), internationally recognized scientists, artists and ideologists, and two Nobel laureates:

• Bernardo Houssay - Nobel laureate
• Carlos Saavedra Lamas - Nobel laureate
• Jose Luis Murature - Foreign Minister of Argentina (1914-1916)
• Lalo Schiffrin - Composer and pianist, Grammy-award winner
• Mario Firmenich - Guerrilla leader in the 1970s

Facilities

The school offers a wide variety of activities and resources for the students, including a fully-equipped astronomy observatory, a swimming pool, a cinema, a sports campus with soccer, football, rugby, handball, volleyball and basketball courts. Many free classes are available such as astronomy, photography, languages, sailing, and martial arts. The sailing team is especially important, as it has won most of the local competitions.

Enrollment

Admission is a highly competitive process involving multiple exams after a year-long course. Every year 2,000 candidates intend to enter the school but only around 400 gain admission. Currently there are about 2,000 students, who pay no fees since the school is public and therefore free.

Building

Some of the most recognizable features of the French neo-classical building (pursuant to a project of the French architect Norbert Maillart), include the two symmetric white marble main staircases, the water fountain in one of the courtyards, the ornately-decorated assembly hall and its organ; and the Colonial-era tunnels that are accessible from the basement, notably from a hidden entrance behind the projection-screen area in the film auditorium.

Reading

Miguel Cané, Juvenilia

Santiago Garaño & Werner Pertot, La otra Juvenilia

See also

• Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini
• Instituto Libre de Segunda Enseñanza

External links

• School official webpage