Who does not remember the days of high-school time ? Every high-school has a certain pattern and its graduates are moulded by its characteristics, by its features. Usually, the graduates become, later, after years, very fond or at least mellancholic when they remember these days of school, these days of their life. Every high-school remains wonderful in the memory of its ex-scholars, but sometimes...there are high-schools which are even more wonderful then others. And I considered to tell here about the Saint Sava National College of Bucharest-a very ancient building and a very old and impressive history of professors, pupils and manners.
Ever since 1688, the moment of its creation by the Prince Serban Cantacuzino at the wish of his brother the High Steward Constantin Cantacuzino, the institution was open to the entire Orient. The classes were taught in Greek by Greek Professors. It started its activity in the Saint Sava Monastery of Bucharest, on the place where now it exists the University of the town. There are not detailed archives of this ancient and valuable school, such as catalogues with all its pupils, but it is known for example that the Professors were very attentively chosen by boyars, by the bishop or by the Greek patriarch from Jerusalem. Also,regarding the potential pupils, here the rich but especially with a certain breeding was the category which had access. And the custom has lasted till nowadays, even if meanwhile Romania crossed several epochs somehow more or less different from royalty and the name of this college has been changed for a while into Nicolae Balcescu.
In the beginning of the 19th century, teaching in Latin starts too. We find ourselves in front of the Princy Academy born after interventions of Constantin Brancoveanu (1707), Alexandru Ipsilante (1706) and Ion Caragea (1814-1817), the latter determining the separation of the Academy from a new created institution which he named the Saint Sava National College. The first Director of this College was Gheorghe Lazar (1779-1822) who introduced the ensignement in the Romanian language and writes the first manuals of mathematics and trigonometry in the Romanian language. It is important to be noticed that, in spite of the fact that in the 15th century the University of Viena was attended by 2000 students or the University of Salamanca by 5000, and here there were at that time 200 students only, and in the 19th and 300...400 students, only- as well, later on, thousands of important names of teachers, linguists, mathematicians, philosophers, historians went to spread a new culture and history, in the Romanian language and in other languages, in the entire country and abroad.
One of the pupils was His Majesty King Michael I of Romania. In the same class with His Majesty, it studied
also Constantin Bozianu who was to become later the first Dean of the School of Law. The National Saint Sava College produced tens of famous names of Professors and scientists in all domains (i.e. Ion Maiorescu, 1870-1917, member of the Romanian Academy,
Nicolae Balcescu (1819-1852) - revolutionary and historian, Valentin Bratianu-founder of the school of bacteriology and experimental medical school, Dumitru Caracostea, literary critic and historian, he was to become Professor at the Saint Sava College, Ion Iliescu-ex President of Romania ) and it has had famous Professors (i.e. Grigore Moisil-mathematician, Henri Coanda, specialist in aeronautics, builder of the first jet plane in the world, Alexandru Graur-Academician, Eugen Ionescu, drama writer, member of the French Academy, George Toparceanu-national Prize for poetry, Gala Galaction-writer, Iulia Hasdeu-Ambassador in France, Romanian writer of French language )
In May 2011, Her Royal Highness Princess Margareta of Romania awarded theDiploma of High Patronage of His Majesty King Michael I, to the Alliance of the Centennial High-Schools of Romania. And in 2011 again, as in many other years, the minimum admission level at this College was the highest of the entire country, more than 9.50 out of 10.