The British Schools of Montevideo
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The British Schools of Montevideo is a private, coeducational, non-profit school, which aims to give an intensive bilingual education, combining the Uruguayan national curriculum with an English language program.


Educational programs and governance

The school offers various English and international examinations, such as the IGCSE and IB (
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
) programs. The school is governed by the Board of Governors, elected by the British Schools Society in Uruguay, whose honorary President is the British Ambassador to Uruguay. The school also provides Portuguese classes for High School students.


History

The School was founded on 8 October 1908 to satisfy demand from the British community in Uruguay, who had already made their presence felt with the establishment of the British Cemetery, British Hospital and Montevideo Cricket Club. The first classes began in February 1909 at a building located in Juan Blanes Street in downtown Montevideo. Initially there were two separate schools for boys and girls, which is why, despite now being
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
, it recalls its roots with the word ''Schools''. The schools relocated to Pocitos in 1917 and finished new premises in 1926, with the main building dedicated by President
José Serrato José Serrato (September 30, 1868 – September 7, 1960) was a politician who was elected President of Uruguay. Background Serrato was a prominent member of the Uruguayan Colorado Party which had long dominated the politics of the country. H ...
at the official opening. Ten years later the boys and girls schools were merged. In 1958 the senior school moved to a purpose built campus in Carrasco and was joined by the junior school in 1965. The 70s saw a major change: The British Schools was among the first cohort of international schools to introduce the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
(IB). According to former student Ernesto Talvi, the presence of the IB — in addition to the prospect of learning English — was a pull factor in drawing ambitious parents to send their children to the British Schools, as the IB was seen to open up access to globally prestigious universities. José Amorín Batlle, a fellow alumnus, later recalled that while attendance at the British Schools was associated with the rich and connected, his generation also saw many pupils from professional, middle-class families that were not regarded as wealthy. While the British Schools is not the most expensive in Montevideo (that is the Uruguayan American School), it is known to be popular with the
nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
who, beyond academic excellence, are also looking for a school with social prestige. Politicians who enroll their children tend to be from the Colorado Party or National Party. Today, though the bulk of students do not have a personal connection to the United Kingdom, a few are still descended from British families. The British school was the first school to play rugby union in Uruguay, and nowadays its alumni club, Old Boys & Old Girls Club, gives the national squad a lot of important players.


Prominent alumni

Prominent alumni include the current president of Uruguay,
Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle P ...
, current finance minister Azucena Arbeleche, and former government ministers Ernesto Talvi,
Pedro Bordaberry Juan Pedro Bordaberry Herrán (born 28 April 1960) is a Uruguayan attorney, lecturer and politician, who served as a Senator of the Republic from 2010 to 2020, as Minister of Tourism and Sports from 2003 to 2005, and as Minister of Industry, Ene ...
,
Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon (born 1961) is a Uruguayan industrial engineer, business executive and politician, serving as president of the National Administration of Telecommunications (ANTEL) since 17 June 2020. Background He studied industr ...
and José Amorín Batlle. Charles Benham Larrabee, from an American expatriate family, was a trial lawyer and Justice on the
New Mexico Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decisio ...
. English author John Andrews, designer
Gabriela Hearst Gabriela Hearst (née Perezutti) born in Paysandú Department, Uruguay, (November 3, 1976) is a women's luxury ready-to-wear and accessories designer. In addition to designing her namesake collection, she runs and operates her family's ranch in Ur ...
, and tennis player Patricia Miller also attended the school. There are numerous examples of students who have played rugby for Uruguay, including at least five members of the Uruguay squad at the
2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
: Santiago Civetta,
Juan Manuel Gaminara Juan Manuel Gaminara (born 1 May 1989) is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Personal Gaminara was educated at The British Schools of Montevideo. Honours ;Uruguay U20 *World Rugby U ...
, Manuel Leindekar, Juan Manuel Cat, and Andrés Vilaseca.


Noted activities

Each year the school plays different theater musicals, such as Grease,
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
or Fame. For its 100th anniversary, most of the school participated on a version of
Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...
. In 2018, the school celebrated their 110th anniversary and the 20th anniversary since they had performed their first senior musical by presenting Grease once more in their theaters. On 2019, the school performed Mamma Mia: The Musical. In 2020 the musical was canceled due to the coronavirus. In 2022, the senior musical productions resumed with
The Wedding Singer (musical) ''The Wedding Singer'' is a musical with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. It is based on the 1998 film of the same name. The musical revolves around Robbie, who sings at weddings, his fa ...
.


See also

* Old Boys & Old Girls Club


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Schools of Montevideo Schools in Montevideo Private schools in Uruguay International schools in Uruguay Carrasco, Montevideo 1908 establishments in Uruguay Educational institutions established in 1908 British immigration to Uruguay