CCB History

The Colegio Colombo Británico was founded in Cali, Colombia, the summer of 1956. Thanks in large part to the initiative of a group of eminent citizens who had been educated in England and developed a great respect and affection for the English education system.

They wanted for the city a Catholic school that would offer its students the advantages of English as a second language, education that guaranteed equal opportunities for men and women, the development of critical thinking and the guidelines of English education, while responding to the needs and requirements of the community of Cali.

The Consul of Great Britain, Mr. A.E.B Laurence, offered all his support to this educational project proposed by Mr. Luis Emilio Sardi, Mr. Bernardo Garcés and Mr. Luis Alfredo Restrepo. On June 6th, 1956, the Corporación Colegio Colombo Británico was founded. The School opened its doors to students for the first time on October 1st of the same year. The first school site was located in Normandía. For the kindergarten section, another house was purchased at the same time in the neighborhood of El Peñón.

There were 150 students distributed between the grades of Kindergarten and five in elementary school. Those first five primary students (Pietro Filesi, María Consuelo Díaz, Lyda Esther Urrea, Olga Lucía Gurisatti and Olga Lucía Villegas) later made up the first ever CCB Senior Class and graduated on the morning of July 22nd, 1963.

By the end of 1957 the kindergarten was moved to a house rented in the neighborhood of Granada. The following year the entire school was relocated to Hacienda Santa Ana, Cañaveralejo.

In 1964 the school acquired its own lush campus on Avenida La María No. 69, Pance sector where it still stands today. The CCB was envisioned to be a school with sports fields and green areas. The construction project began with the basic buildings, and year after year it expanded with classrooms, physics and chemistry labs – thanks to the support of the British Council-, library and multiple services kiosk.

As part of our ongoing search for excellence, in the year of 1976 we implemented the Diploma Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), which was created in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Diploma Programme allowed our students to better prepare to face the challenges of Higher Education both nationally and internationally. We were the first school in Colombia to offer this educational program and the second in Latin America to do so. Subsequently, between 2005 and 2011, the CCB made the decision to implement the Primary Years Program (PYP) and the Middle Years Program (MYP) offered by the IBO. Each one brought greater rigor to the personal and academic growth of our students. The PYP is for students from three years of age until the last year of Primary while the MYP is for students in grades 6 to 10. This is how we consolidated the IB Continuum – PYP, MYP, DP – with international quality standards.

Currently nearly 4000 schools in the world offer IBO programs (https://www.ibo.org/benefits/) and they are so valuable that the best universities in the world, including those in Colombia, accept it as proof for students to be admitted into their study programs. Likewise, the School has built a relationship with other international organizations such as the Council of International Schools (www.cois.org), and the Asociación Andina de Colegios del Bachillerato Internacional (http://www.aacbi.org.co/).

Over the years, the School expanded its property with the purchase of surrounding land and expanded its campus. Today it has extensive sports and recreational areas, and well equipped academic buildings. Chemistry, physics, biology labs and technology; information center and libraries, auditoriums; sports areas with courts, pools and an indoor gym, cafeteria, and administration offices, and maintenance.

The School continues to implement strategies and programs that guarantee its excellence. In March of 2018, the Council of International Schools (CIS), awarded the International Accreditation to the Colegio Colombo Británico. We are one of the seven schools in Colombia, and the only one in Cali, that has received this great recognition.

It is important to highlight that the CIS Accreditation, in addition to being an acknowledgment of the educational quality of our institution, is a process that requires constant evaluation, self-reflection and strengthening with the advice and feedback of CIS international experts in education.

In this way, the Colegio Colombo Británico strives to be among the best schools worldwide. And we will make sure to keep the dream that started in 1956 alive for many years to come.

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