The Los Cerros Gymnasium was founded in 1964.
Don Gonzalo Alemani, Regional Vicar of Opus Dei in Colombia, returned to the country in early August after a meeting with St. Josemaría. He immediately summoned professionals Fernando Escallón Azcuénaga (economist), Álvaro Linares Flórez (architect), Ricardo Vargas Acosta (industrialist and cattle rancher), Francisco Casas Manrique (lawyer), Gabriel Largacha Manrique (architect), Arturo Moreno Mejía (engineer), Eduardo Moreno Mejía (engineer), Ignacio Restrepo Posada (engineer), Carlos Mario Londoño Mejía (lawyer) and Sven Zethelius Peñaloza (engineer), to make them aware of a wish and initiative of St. Josemaría: "it would be good for parents to found and promote schools that would allow for the Christian education of their children."
The first rector of Cerros, Dr. Gabriel Carreño Mallarino, who accepted the appointment. He resigned from the Magistracy in the Council of State to devote himself to this task, encouraged by his wife, Mrs. Blanquita Sinisterra, who told him that he could do much more good by accepting the rectorship, because from there he could train the future magistrates of the country.
It began in a farm in the Sabana, on the Central Highway North of Bogota leading to Chia, called La Gloria. A few years later, the school moved to the land where the Iragua Gymnasium is today. It remained there for a short time and later moved to its current location at the foot of the city's eastern hills, in the town of Usaquén, very close to the Bogotá Aqueduct's forest reserve, where students go on expeditions and hikes that contribute to their physical and intellectual development in relation to nature.
Its current headquarters, which was purchased from Mary Mount School, has the main building, which today is considered an architectural heritage of Bogota. In addition, it has buildings in the middle of a campus within the city that makes it unique for its topographical condition and the green that surrounds all its sports facilities.
Gimnasio de Los Cerros, today, is characterized by an excellent academic score in the Saber Tests, which has been consistent over time. Its level of internationalization and its appropriate academic facilities for learning methodologies, where differentiated and personalized education are the axis of its pedagogical work with which good men are formed, with Christian foundations that are cultivated with the values of respect and solidarity, fostering their spirit of leadership based on service to others, an aspect that characterizes most of the graduates of the institution.
In the future, Gimnasio de Los Cerros will continue to be faithful to the legacy of its founders, contributing to society. "happy men who know how to serve and love others."
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