Colegio San Bartolomé La Merced

Colegio San Bartolome La Merced is a private Catholic bilingual and co-educational school located in Bogotá, Colombia. The school is affiliated with the Society of Jesus and is often known as "San Bartolo". The school campus, founded in 1941 by Jesuits, is located in the traditional neighborhood of "La Merced" in downtown Bogotá.

The school is considered one of the most traditional and prestigious schools in the country. The education has been recognized for taking a humanistic and social approach. Since its foundation, the school has been ranked among the top high schools in the nation. San Bartolo Alumni has reached high job positions in Colombian politics, including former presidents, congressmen, ministers, and ambassadors. Others have become scientists, journalists, academics, artists and entrepreneurs.

History
In the 1930s the Society of Jesus was facing serious financial challenges due to political pressure from the government about the management of the National School of San Bartolomé, currently called "Mayor de San Bartolomé". The Society of Jesus started the construction of the building for the school at the farm La Merced in 1941.

Until 1997 the school was an all-boys boarding school. The school later entered into a modernization process, turning into a co-educational and bilingual school.

The school operates under the guidelines and directions of ACODESI (The Association of Jesuit Colleges in Colombia) and the school is run according to the General Education Colombian Act 115 of 1994. The school is a founding member of UNCOLI (The Association of International Schools in Bogotá).

Academics
The school offers pre-school, preparatory, secondary, and high school education within the same campus. All-year programs provide basic liberal arts education and electives. In addition, the school partner with selective institutions across the world to offer English as a second language (ESL) programs overseas. Previous destinations have included the United States, Canada, England, and New Zealand.

Notable alumni

 * Adolfo Carvajal Quelquejeu, politician
 * Lorenzo García, industrialist
 * Enrique Luque Carulla, entrepreneur, former owner of the Colombian supermarket chain, Carulla
 * Fernando Londoño Hoyos, former minister of Colombia
 * Juan Camilo Restrepo, former minister of Colombia
 * Carlos Eduardo Ronderos Torres, former minister of Colombia
 * Guillermo Fernández de Soto, former minister of foreign affairs of Colombia
 * Anibal Fernández de Soto, former mayor of Bogota
 * Augusto Ramirez Ocampo, former mayor of Bogota
 * Fernando Panesso Serna, ambassador
 * Salomón Hakim, neurosurgeon, professor and researcher
 * Rene Van Hissenhoven, geologist
 * Crístobal de Araque Ponce de León, perpetual chancellor of Our Lady of the Rosary University
 * Rodrigo Losada Lora, political scientist
 * Fernando Garavito, journalist
 * José Fernando Neira, journalist
 * Julio Sánchez Cristo, Colombian radio personality
 * Hernán Peláez Restrepo, journalist
 * Felipe Zuleta Lleras, journalist
 * Gustavo Gómez Córdoba, journalist
 * Fernando Hinestrosa Forero, attorney, former justice of Colombian Supreme Court, President Universidad Externado
 * Roberto Suárez Franco, attorney
 * Rodrigo Noguera Calderón, attorney
 * Ernesto Barrera Duque, attorney
 * Diego López Medina, professor at Universidad de los Andes, Faculty of Law, judge ad-hoc of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
 * Antonio Barreto, professor at Universidad de los Andes, Faculty of Law
 * Aquiles Arrieta, Judge Ad-Hoc Constitutional Court of Colombia
 * Nicolás del Castillo Mathieu, historian
 * Antonio Abello, former minister of Colombia and governor of Atlantico department
 * Jaime Herrera Pontón, physician
 * Jaime Pastrana Arango, physician
 * Alejandro Martinez, artist
 * Nicolás Montero, artist
 * Héctor Osuna, architect
 * Luis Ernesto Lobo-Guerrero, Professor at University of Groningen (Netherlands)
 * Juan Diego Soler, astrophysicist at the Institute d'Astrophysique Spatiale Universite Paris Sud
 * Mario Andrés Salazar, Biologist at the Ozcan Laboratory (Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School)
 * Jorge Troncoso, Executive Director Market Access and Economic Affairs at Merck & Co., Inc.