The Rafael Hernández National College is one of the four public high schools that are part of the National University of La Plata, in the City of La Plata, Argentina. The Colegio Nacional aegis denotes a school belonging to the system of national secondary schools. The other constituent high schools associated with this university are the Víctor Mercante Lyceum, the "Bachillerato de Bellas Artes" (High School for the Fine Arts) and the Inchausti School for Agricultural Education.
The school, usually referred to as the "Colegio Nacional La Plata" (CNLP, National College of La Plata), occupies a large block centred at the crossing of 1st and 49th streets in La Plata, at the edge of "El Bosque", La Plata's main park. The large engraving at the old building's entrance reads simply "Universidad Nacional, Colegio" ("National University, High School").
Originally, the college, founded by Joaquín V. González, was reserved for boys, whereas the Victor Mercante Lyceum was a girls-only school. The link of these schools with the university allowed them to pioneer innovations in curricula, since many university professors and teaching assistants were among its faculty. In its inception, the college functioned as a classic British boarding school, where students and professors lived together for extended periods of time. Admission into the school was free (i.e., no fees), although very limited and required approving strict entrance examinations. Until the 1970s, alumni from the school were automatically admitted into the University of La Plata. From the educational point of view, it was originally structured as a European gymnasium. It is considered one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Argentina.
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