Greengates School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greengates School is a British-style international school located in San Mateo in the northwest of Mexico City, Mexico. It was founded in 1951. As of 2005, it has approximately 1,150 students of some 50 nationalities, derived mainly from the diplomatic and international business communities.
In the senior school years 4 and 5 study for IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations, which in the sixth form students prepare for the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
The school preserves the philosophy of its founding statement: "...to provide an education for students which seeks not only to impart knowledge by the means of acquiring knowledge; to develop character and personality through self-discipline and service; to equip its pupils not only to earn their living but also to live creatively and happily in the world which they must inherit."
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[edit] History
Greengates School was founded in 1950 at Avenida Chapultepec 490, Mexico City. It had two founding partners, Edward Foulkes and Frank Whitbourn with Henry Coelho joining the school as a teacher. In the beginning there were just 60 students, 6 teachers, one matron, and one secretary.
Originally, the school had no uniform and only one school bus. As the school grew steadily it moved several times over the next few years. Eventually in 1964 the present piece of land in San Mateo was purchased.
The architect for the building was Innes Webster and the initial building work was completed in 1970. The school campus has been expanding ever since and today includes a large gymnasium, a theater, two libraries, a swimming pool, a small goodies-shop/restaurant (The Tuck Shop), and a playing field. At this point Andre Desouches also became a partner in the school.
Currently, Henry Coelho is the main owner of the school, with the Desouches family owning the second largest interest. Small shares are also owned by several private investors, including staff and teachers.
Today Greengates has over 1000 students on role, employs 90 teachers, 1 nurse and over 15 administrative staff.
[edit] Events and Activities
There are four school houses named: Whitbourne (yellow), Foulkes (white), Brightman (blue) and Edinburgh (red). Every year, students compete in sports such as football, basketball, swimming, rugby, and track for the House Cup, which is awarded on Speech Day, the last day of school.
One of the most important annual events the school caters is the International Fair, where hundreds of students, teachers, and parents from different nationalities unite to create a day filled with music, dancing and food coming from all around the globe. Each stand offers clothing, toys and trinkets for sale as well as the country's cuisine. Some of the permanent stands include the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Israel, Vietnam, Argentina, Poland, the United States, India, Korea, Spain, France, Sweden, and Canada. Other stands change every year such as Africa, Pakistan, Switzerland, and Chile.
[edit] Recognition
Greengates School is distinguished from all other schools in Mexico by the high quality of its teachers, it's students' high scores on the IGCSE and IB Diplomas, and its graduates' acceptance to top universities all over the world such as Princeton, Berkley, Harvard, MIT, and Yale in the United States and Oxford and LSE in the United Kingdom, among many others. At the end of each school year, a special gest goes to give the upper six a diplomsa and a good had shack for there future!
