School history

Our history begins in 1967 in Santa María del Mar School (Jesuits) in La Coruña, at that time a pilot school of the Society of Jesus and, without a doubt, the best educational centre in Spain. For ten years we train under the wing of our director Father Jesus Garrido Suarez SJ, alma matter of that institution, to whom we owe our pedagogical training and our innovative spirit.

In 1973, knowing that within 3 years the head of the school and its educational approach would change, six teachers from Santa María del Mar school decided to create a new project of a private school in La Coruña under the name COLEGIO MIXTO OBRADOIRO, Obradoiro Mixed School (at a time when the immense majority of schools were boys only or girls only schools). Immediately, two more teachers joined the project and two more a few years later. For this purpose, we constituted a professional educators mercantile society under the name: Promotora Educativa Coruñesa S.L.

Here and now, we must express our deepest gratitude to the Jesuits from  Santa María del Mar School of La Coruña from whom from the first moment,  have always received their support and collaboration

We must specially remember Jesús Garrido, Joaquín García de Dios, Marcial Estévez, Jaime García Agudín (for many years teacher and coordinator of religious education in our centre), José Luis Blanco Vega (who taught film criticism and poetry in Obradoiro) and José Luis Castro.

In 1975 in Feans, 5km away from the town centre of La Coruña, in a 33.000 square meters plot of land the first phase of our main building began construction 10.788 square meters of construction which included, in addition to the main school building, a sports pavilion an indoor heated swimming pool, a covered hockey rink, a covered children´s playground and a music conservatory. The main construction buildings were carried out in five phases and were finished by 1990 with the construction of the aforementioned swimming pool and music conservatory building.

Obradoiro School officially opened in the academic year of 1977-78 with 178 students, ranging from first of infants to third year of primary. Manuel Romero Mengotti was the first school headmaster for the first decade of the school´s existence. The following academic year 1978-1979 the school enrolment number increased to 428 and by 1990-91 the number of students enrolled was 1069.

From 1982, in addition to formal academic education Obradoiro School starts their official music course studies. The first years, only the Elementary Grade, as a branch of the Professional Conservatory of La Coruña and, since 1989, as an independent centre attached to the Higher Conservatory of Music of our city. Our students have been able to reconcile their music studies with their academic studies at all levels. Approximately 55% of our students at our school, attend official musical studies.

In 1990, the creation of a private university centre for Higher Business Studies was planned, attached to a university of international prestige, with the joint participation of two other Galician schools: Alca and Peleteiro de Santiago, on a plot of land on the campus of the Obradoiro School. This project materialised, in 1994, with the signing of an agreement with University College Dublin, National University of Ireland.

From the Academic year 1991-1992 due to the General Organic Law of the Educational System (LOGSE) a reduction in the number of students per classroom is gradually applied from 40 (at all levels) to 25 in Infant and Primary education, 30 in Compulsory Secondary Education and 35 in Baccalaureate to comply with the regulations of the aforementioned law.

In the academic year of 1995-1996, in a building adjacent to Obradoiro School, its academic activities began in (Business Management) at the University Centre, under the name of CESUGA (University Study Centre of Galicia). Afterwards, in the academic year 2004-2005 Architectural Studies are introduced with the same Dublin University.

In the academic year 2001-2002, with the above-mentioned reduction in the number of students per classroom, the School had 2 units per year, with a total of 28 units + 2 of International Baccalaureate. 808 students of Infant Education, Primary Education, Compulsory Secondary Education, National Baccalaureate and International Baccalaureate.

On the 2nd of February 2002, The New University Building is unveiled with the presence of: Dr. Art Cosgrove, Dean of Dublin University College; D. Francisco Vazquez Vazquez, Mayor of La Coruna; Mr. Declan O´Donovan, The Iish  Ambassador in Spain. Celso Curras Fernandez, Minister of Education from La Xunta de Galicia and the president of CESUGA Mr. Jose Varela Nunez.

In the academic year of 2004-2005 adjustments to the maximum students per class indicated by the LOGSE ends. The following academic year 2005-2006, we began with 700 students.

From the first year of operation, we considered it a fundamental objective that our students receive a high level of education: academic, human, musical and sports-cultural, which are the four basic pillars of our educational offer.

Sport, cultural activities and musical training, essential complement in our Educational Project, are posed as compulsory for all students within our centre´s wide teaching time-table.

In 2013 an affiliation agreement was signed with San Jorge University in Zaragoza, to teach four degrees: Business Administration and Management, Architecture, Advertising and Public Relations, Translation and Intercultural Communication.

The Culture and Education Department of the Xunta de Galicia, approves the implementation for the first two degrees before mentioned, and in 2015-2016 the latter two.

Currently we maintain courses with the University College Dublin and a future Project is to negotiate an agreement for a Hispanic-Irish double degree.

In September 2015, José Varela Núñez , after 28 years in office ceased to be Headmaster of Obradoiro School and Fina Perez Casais takes over as Head of the Centre.