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

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, affiliated to the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

. 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 branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

. 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 Argentina has had many different types of heads of state, as well as many different types of government. During pre-Columbian times, most of the territories that today form Argentina were inhabited by Amerindian peoples without any centralized ...

History

Its origins date to 1661, when it was known as ''Colegio Grande de San Carlos'', when the colonial government entrusted the Jesuit Order with the education of the youth. After the Papal

suppression of the Jesuits The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits we ...

from

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

-controlled South America in 1767, the institution languished until 1772, when governor

Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo (1719 in Mérida, Yucatán – 1799 in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata. Biography Son of a prominent peninsular politician, he studied i ...

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 (, "river of silver"), 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. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

, 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 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 at ...

IChO Icho or ICHO or IChO may refer to: * International Chemistry Olympiad The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IChO was held ...

and IBO.

Alumni

Alumni include many of Argentina's founding fathers, 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 anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...

– 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 Miguel Cané (27 January 1851 – 5 September 1905) was an Argentinian writer, lawyer, academic, journalist and politician. Cané was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where his family was exiled. He moved to Argentina at the age of two following th ...

– writer, diplomat and lawmaker * Gregorio de Laferrère – playwright and lawmaker * Martiniano Molina – chef and elected mayor of

Quilmes Partido Quilmes is a partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, within the Gran Buenos Aires conurbation. It has an area of , and a population of 580,829 (), making it the third-most populous partido in the Gran Buenos Aires. Named after the Quilmes ...

Mario Firmenich Mario Eduardo Firmenich (born 24 January 1948) is a former Argentine urban guerrilla leader and politician. He was one of the commanders of Montoneros group and the most significant figure in the Argentine guerrillas in the 70s. In 1987, He was s ...

– Montoneros guerrilla leader *

Alejandro Korn Alejandro Korn (3 May 1860 – 9 October 1936) was an Argentine psychiatrist, philosopher, reformist and politician. For eighteen years, he was the director of the psychiatry hospital in Melchor Romero (a locality of La Plata in Buenos Aires) ...

– philosopher and lawmaker * Ernesto Jaimovich – politician * Manuel Mendanha – plastic artist * Film directors:

Manuel Antín Manuel Antín (born February 27, 1926) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. Manuel Antín was born in Las Palmas, Chaco Province, in 1926. He first wrote for Argentine television in 1956 and made his directorial debut in 1962 with hi ...

(founder of the

Universidad del Cine Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

Fabián Bielinsky Fabián Bielinsky (3 February 1959 – 29 June 2006) was an Argentina, Argentine film director. Career Fabián Bielinsky was born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1959. Bielinsky started to make films early in life, while still a high school stu ...

Ana Katz Ana Katz (born November 2, 1975) is an Argentine writer, director and actress. Her writing and directing credits include '' My Friend from the Park'', '' Los Marziano'', ''Musical Chairs'', '' A Stray Girlfriend'' and '' Florianópolis Dream''. ...

, Nicolas Entel (winner Festival de Cine de La Habana) * Salvador Mazza – epidemiologist who helped control Chagas disease locally * Father Carlos Mugica – activist priest, assassinated in 1974 * José Pablo Ventura – student activist, assassinated in 1977 *

José Luis Murature José Luis Murature (27 January 1876 – 15 September 1929) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, professor and foreign minister of Argentina from 1914 to 1916. Born in Buenos Aires, the son of José P. Murature and Dolores Legarrete, he was educa ...

– 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 ane ...

* Nicolás Repetto – co-founder of the Socialist Party of Argentina and

Cooperative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

leader *

Lalo Schiffrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical eleme ...

– composer and pianist, born Boris Claudio Schifrin,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winner and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

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 Ana María Shua (born 1951) is an Argentine writer. She is particularly well known for her work in microfiction. Shua has published over eighty books in numerous genres including novels, short stories, microfiction, poetry, drama, children's lit ...

(Shoua) – writer * Aníbal Ponce – psychologist and sociologist. * Ada María Elflein- Poet *

Alicia Moreau de Justo Alicia Moreau de Justo (October 11, 1885 – May 12, 1986) was an Argentine physician, politician, pacifist and human rights activist. She was a leading figure in feminism and socialism in Argentina. Since the beginning of the 20th century, she ...

– political figure, pioneer in women's and human rights. * Roberto Alemann – 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 Mario Roberto Álvarez (November 14, 1913 – November 5, 2011)
was an Ar ...

(1913–2011), architect. He designed the municipal

Teatro General San Martín The Teatro General San Martín (General San Martín Theater) is an important public theater in Buenos Aires, located on Corrientes Avenue and adjacent to the cultural center of the same name. It is one of the major theaters in Argentina and offe ...

(completed in 1960); the

Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel Hernandarias may refer to: * Hernando Arias de Saavedra, the first South American governor born in the Americas * Hernandarias District Hernandarias is a district and city of the Alto Paraná Department, Paraguay. It was named after Hernando A ...

(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 The Salto Grande Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Uruguay River, located between Concordia, Argentina, and Salto, Uruguay; thus shared between the two countries. The construction of the dam began in 1974 and was completed in 1979. Power ...

(1979) and numerous office buildings. * Cartoonists: Caloi (creator of

Clemente Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese 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 Cleme ...

), Nik (creator of

Gaturro ''Gaturro'' is an Argentine comic strip created by cartoonist Cristian Dzwonik ("Nik"). The comic has been published in more than 50 books, magazines and comic volumes. A 3D computer-animated film of the same name was released theatrically in A ...

) * Julio Montaner – AIDS research pioneer

Facilities

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires - Biblioteca detail

The school offers an astronomy observatory, 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 phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable 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 employe ...

, 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, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

, tango, theater, history of cinema, Yoga, piano, chess, band production and martial arts. 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 and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achi ...

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