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Mexico, Mexico City
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Olinca was founded in 1973 by María Teresa Compeán Palacios, known as Miss Tere, who opened Colegio Olinca with the mission of forming better human beings and brought the International Baccalaureate to Mexico, promoting national and international exchanges and community service. The name Olinca comes from two Nahuatl words, ollin (movement) and atl (water), meaning water in movement, which reflects the school's spirit of movement and evolution. Since its foundation, Olinca has been at the forefront of educational trends, including the adoption of the IB in the 1980s and the incorporation of a community service program and, more recently, the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals across all academic programs. Since 2022, Olinca has been part of Cognita, a London-based network of select schools.
Olinca has two campuses in the south of Mexico City: Altavista in San Ángel and Periferico near the Bosque de Tlalpan National Park. The Periferico campus offers bilingual education in English and Spanish for children from 18 months to 18 years, with French as an additional language from Secondary/MYP, while Altavista offers bilingual education in English and Spanish for children from 18 months to 11 years. The campus facilities include green areas, sports facilities, laboratories, auditoriums, libraries, and STEAM spaces, and the school emphasises its Pillars: Care, Grow, Inspire, Focus, Expand, which cover social and environmental commitment, socio-emotional support, and a global perspective.
Olinca International School is an IB World School in Mexico City serving ages 1 to 18, with campuses Altavista (San Ángel) and Periférico Sur (Pedregal de Carrasco). It offers the IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP) and Cambridge Primary/Secondary, along with an Indian Curriculum, all within a bilingual framework using Spanish and English, with French at Periférico. It runs bilingual integrated programs SEP-IB-Olinca and CCH-IB-Olinca, emphasizing inquiry, collaboration, and international-mindedness. Since its founding in 1973 by Miss Tere, Olinca has been part of the expansion of the IB framework in Mexico and joined Cognita in 2022. Facilities include science and technology laboratories, coding and digital design rooms, STEAM spaces, libraries, auditoriums, a gym and climbing wall, plus green areas. The school supports project-based learning, UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and enrichment programs such as República Olinca and OLINMUN. Olinca aims to develop open-minded learners ready for life beyond school and partnerships.
