Baghdad College () is an elite

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., ...

for boys aged 11 to 18 in Baghdad, Iraq. It was initially a Catholic school founded by and operated by American

Jesuits 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 ...

from Boston. The 1969 Iraqi government nationalization and expulsion of Jesuit teachers changed the character of the school. It has been compared in the British media to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and is arguably Iraq's most famous secondary school for boys, having produced an Iraqi prime minister, a deputy prime minister, a vice president, two dollar billionaires and a member of the British House of Lords, among many other notable alumni.

History

Baghdad College was founded in 1932 by William A. Rice, S.J. (who would later become Bishop in Belize, Central America).

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

requested the establishment of a Catholic school in Baghdad to serve the Muslim population there, and the church sent four

to establish the school.MacDonnell, Joseph.
The Jesuits of Baghdad: 1932-69

Archive
. ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

''. May 26, 2003. Retrieved on April 29, 2015. One of them was Fr. John Mifsud, who was of Maltese origins. The school originally had four Jesuit teachers and 107 students. The school

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

was "An Iraqi School for Iraqi Boys". The school was initially located in ten buildings, located at 11/45 Murabba'ah Street in Baghdad, on the east bank of the Tigris River, on of land in the northern part of the city. Father Leo Guay designed the campus buildings, using Iraqi architecture as an influence. Courses were conducted in English.

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

stated that at the time it was Baghdad's "premier high school." Soon after its founding the teaching staff included 33 Jesuits and 31 Iraqi lay teachers. Some of the Jesuits were fluent in the Arabic language, and others had established Arabic classes to try to teach themselves the language. The student body became over 1,100; Most of the students were children of the Iraqi elite. Filkns, Dexter,
Boys of Baghdad College Vie for Prime Minister
(). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 12, 2005. Retrieved on April 29, 2015. Historically about 20% of the students received scholarships. About half of the students were Muslims and half were Christians; Jews were also students. Baghdad College's pupils included Iraqis, Armenians, Egyptians, Iranians, Palestinians, and Syrians. The school did not attempt to convert Muslims into Christianity, and students were not required to attend chapel services. Richard Cushing, a cardinal from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, privately criticized the school for not getting converts. Laith Kubba, an Iraqi activist and former student, stated that the school helped him become a better Muslim. Anthony Shadid, an American, stated in an essay that the school symbolized a secular-at-the-time Iraq, the manner in which the two countries perceived each other, and the notion that the U.S. and Iraq "could allow themselves an almost idealistic version of each other. I think that's impossible today, and I say that with a certain sense of sadness."Baghdad College And America's Shifting Role In Iraq

Archive
.

. September 7, 2011. Retrieved on April 29, 2015. During the Baathist Iraq era, students were required to take courses on

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

. The classes about Saddam ended after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As of 2005 the school still accepted the top students in Baghdad. Dexter Filkins of ''

'' stated "Today, Baghdad College is becoming more its old self." In 2012 Anthony Shadid stated that the school had experienced "disorderly decline". The graves of five Americans are located in the school's cemetery. One of them is that of a teacher who was employed by Baghdad College for 35 years.

Enrollment and regulations

Students can only enroll during the first year of study as students who wants to transfer are usually deemed as below the standards of the school, specially in their English language skills as the majority of the subjects taught in the school are taught in the English language. Students who wants to enroll are required to have accumulated a minimum of 475 marks, and go through few tests in (IQ, Science, Math, Arabic language and English language) to determine the most fit among the applying students.

Notable alumni

* Nemir Kirdar, financier, billionaire businessman * Nadhmi Auchi, billionaire businessman and philanthropist * Loris Ohannes Chobanian, composer, conductor, classical music teacher and performer * Ali Allawi, writer and politician * Dr. Ayad Allawi, neurologist and former Interim Prime Minister of Iraq * Ahmad Chalabi, PhD, Iraqi politician, former Interim Oil Minister, and former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq. * Adil Abdul Mahdi, PhD, Iraqi politician, economist, and Vice President of Iraq from 2005 to 2011. * Mithal al-Alusi, Iraqi politicianhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/133fae9c-d78d-11d8-9eb0-00000e2511c8.html * Kanan Makiya, PhD, author, academic, and founder of the Iraq Memory Foundation. * Nizar Hamdoon (1944-2003): Iraq's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, a deputy foreign minister of Iraq, and under-secretary of its Foreign Ministry *Professor Jim al-Khalili, PhD, OBE, British theoretical physicist, author, and broadcaster * Professor Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, member of British Parliament, surgical pioneer * Dr.

Munjed Al Muderis Munjed Al Muderis (born 25 June 1972) is an Australian adjunct clinical professor in orthopaedic surgery, author and human rights activist. He has done pioneering work on Prosthesis, prosthetics, especially on titanium devices. Al Muderis was ...

, pioneering osteointegration surgeon and human rights activist. * Qusay Hussein, son of

* Uday Hussein, son of

Campuses

Since 2007 Baghdad College High School Have had opened several campuses around the capital, Mostly because of the ongoing civil war back then and the increasing number of students, it has to be mentioned that these campuses act as separate schools with their own systems and principals, but share the same name of the majestic Baghdad college, and all are considered part of the distinguished students high schools in the ministry of education. *1-Al-Adhamyia campus, the first and original campus. *2-Zayona campus, the second campus, was founded in 2007 to provide security for the students after the attack on the original campus in 2006. *3-Bab Al-Sharqi Campus, the third campus, and the first campus of the school to be for Girls only, and it is shared with Al-Aqida High school of Girls, was founded in 2008 *4-Haai Al-Jihad campus, the fourth campus, and the first campus in Al-Karkh, was founded in 2009.

References

Notes

Sources

*MacDonnell, J.
Jesuits by the Tigris.
1994. Boston, MA: Jesuit Mission Press
Baghdad College And America's Shifting Role In Iraq
(radio transcript
Archived
.

. September 7, 2011.

External links

official website

America
{{Schools in Baghdad Boys' schools in Iraq Educational institutions established in 1931 Schools in Baghdad 1931 establishments in Iraq Defunct Jesuit schools