Amid all the disruption caused by COVID-19, the administrative team at Colegio San Viator-Bogotá managed to earn a coveted certification based on the quality of their educational services.

Fr. Albeyro Vanegas, CSV

Fr. Albeyro Vanegas, CSV, President, announced the news to the community on the school’s YouTube channel.

“In these troubled times, I am delighted to share with you  the great news of a new award for our school,” Fr. Vanegas said. “We have been recognized by the European Foundation for Quality Management with the European Seal of Excellence 500+ (5 star), a distinction that only four schools in Colombia hold.”

Carlos Trebilcock

Mr. Carlos Trebilcock, Principal, led the quality management team. They worked long hours, even during the quarantine, to comply with all the demands of the EFQM organization.

“It has been a hard but very rewarding experience,” Mr. Trebilcock said. “To have achieved this, is a milestone in the life of our school. It places St. Viator Bogotá among a very few select schools in the world who have obtained it.”

He also recognized the commitment and support, not only of his team, but of the entire school community. The certification will be awarded within the next few days in a virtual ceremony.

The school now embarks on the mission of maintaining and even improving their processes, to ensure the high qualification is revalidated over the years to come. The EFQM is a model that recognizes organizations with best performance in the world in quality management. Their certification processes are re-assessed every two years.

Fr. Alejandro Adame, CSV

Fr. Vanegas is approaching the end of his 18 years as President of the colegio. Fr. Alejandro Adame, CSV, — who brings 25 years of experience — has been named to succeed him.

Fr. Vanegas’ vision of a Viatorian school is one that provides all students with access to a quality education. Consequently, during his years as President, the school has implemented great changes: It went from an all male school to a co-educational institution. It successfully adopted three of the IB (International Baccalaureate) programs and implemented a bilingual education project (Spanish and English).