Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (''National School of Buenos Aires'') is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina, affiliated to the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

. In the tradition of the European ''gymnasium'' it provides a free education that includes classical languages such as

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. The school is one of the most prestigious in Latin America. Its alumni include many personalities, including two Nobel laureates and four Presidents of Argentina.

History

Its origins date to 1661, when it was known as ''Colegio Grande de San Carlos'', when the colonial government entrusted the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Order with the education of the youth. After the Papal

suppression of the Jesuits Suppression may refer to: Laws * Suppression of Communism Act *Suppression order a type of censorship where a court rules that certain information cannot be published * Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand aimed ...

from

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

-controlled South America in 1767, the institution languished until 1772, when governor Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo reopened the school as the ''Real Colegio de San Carlos''. Vértiz, already appointed Viceroy of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, renamed the school ''Real Convictorio Carolino'' in 1783, a name that endured until 1806. Thereafter, the school changed its name and program several times. President

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

redesignated the institution as the ''Colegio Nacional'' in 1863, and since 1911 the school has been administered by the

. Originally only for men, the school has admitted female students since 1957. Nowadays, students from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires rank among the best in most science Olympiads, such as the

IPhO The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967. Each national delegation is made up of a ...

IChO The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic Student competition, competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IChO was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1968. The event has ...

and IBO.

Alumni

Alumni include many of Argentina's

founding fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

, Presidents, members of political parties of all ideologies, internationally recognized scientists, artists, and two Nobel laureates. A partial list includes:

Nobel laureates

Politicians and jurists

Heads of State

Other

Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine Canadian, Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former director of the National Library of Argentina. He is a cosmopolitan and polyglo ...

– writer, bibliophile, essayist, journalist * Herman Aguinis – business school professor, researcher, author * Luis Agote – devised the first effective method of blood transfusion * Roberto Aizenberg – Surrealist painter * Miguel Cané – writer, diplomat and lawmaker * Gregorio de Laferrère – playwright and lawmaker * Martiniano Molina – chef and elected mayor of Quilmes Partido * Mario Firmenich – Montoneros guerrilla leader * Alejandro Korn – philosopher and lawmaker * Ernesto Jaimovich – politician * Manuel Mendanha – plastic artist * Film directors: Manuel Antín (founder of the Universidad del Cine), Fabián Bielinsky, Ana Katz, Nicolas Entel (winner Festival de Cine de La Habana), Benjamín Naishtat. * Salvador Mazza – epidemiologist who helped control

Chagas disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily Triatominae, known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change throughout the ...

locally * Father Carlos Mugica – activist priest, assassinated in 1974 * José Pablo Ventura – student activist, assassinated in 1977 * José Luis Murature – Foreign Minister of Argentina, 1914–1916 * Ignacio Pirovano – surgeon, performed first local

laparotomy A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as a celiotomy. Origins and history The first successful laparotomy was performed without ...

* Nicolás Repetto – co-founder of the Socialist Party of Argentina and Cooperative movement leader * Lalo Schiffrin – composer and pianist, born Boris Claudio Schifrin,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winner and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominee * Bernardo Grinspun – economist, Economy Minister (1983–1985) * Journalists: Pepe Eliaschev (award-winning journalist 1945–2014), Martín Caparrós, Rolando Hanglin, Mario Mactas * Ana María Shua (Shoua) – writer * Aníbal Ponce – psychologist and sociologist. * Ada María Elflein- Poet * Alicia Moreau de Justo – political figure, pioneer in women's and human rights. *

Roberto Alemann Roberto Alemann (December 22, 1922 – March 27, 2020) was an Argentine lawyer, economist, publisher, and academic. Twice Minister of Economy, he was also the Argentine ambassador to the United States and director of the traditional Argentine-Ge ...

– lawyer and economist, entrepreneur, antinazi activist, Several times minister of Economy. * Juan Ernesto Alemann – economist, entrepreneur, antinazi activist, Minister of Economy (1976–1981) * Mario Roberto Álvarez (1913–2011), architect. He designed the municipal Teatro General San Martín (completed in 1960); the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel (completed in 1969), the Colón Opera House's labyrinthine production facilities (1972), the Buenos Aires headquarters for the state steel concern, Somisa (1977), the Salto Grande Dam (1979) and numerous office buildings. * Cartoonists: Caloi (creator of

Clemente Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and French surname and a given name. Notable people with the surname include: Surname * Aldo Di Clemente (born 1948), Italian amateur astronomer * Anna Clemente (born 1994), Italian racewalker * Ari Clement ...

), Nik (creator of Gaturro) * Julio Montaner – AIDS research pioneer * Jonathan Cubas Guillen - Neurologist

Facilities

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires - Biblioteca detail

The school offers an astronomy

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, a swimming pool, a cinema, a sports campus with football, rugby, handball, volleyball, hockey and basketball courts. Free classes are available such as

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, languages,

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

, tango, theater, history of cinema, Yoga, piano, chess, band production and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. The sailing team has won many of the local competitions. It also has a choir, which sings in the most important school events.

Enrollment

In accordance with the

meritocratic Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

conception of the school, admission is highly competitive. It involves ten exams after a year-long course, testing in language, mathematics, geography, and history. Every year 1,200 candidates apply but only around 400 gain admission. There are about 2,000 students enrolled, who pay no fees since the school is public and therefore free.

References

{{Authority control University of Buenos Aires Secondary schools in Argentina Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Educational institutions established in 1863 1863 establishments in Argentina