St. John’s School originated from two private educational institutions established in Concepción in 1936. The first, founded by Mrs. Grimsditch, began by serving the local British community in a private house on Rengo Street in the centre of Concepcion.
The other institution began operation under the wing of St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in Pedro de Valdivia, led by Pastor Mr. John Hemmans.
During World War II, the British government sought to expand its influence in areas of strategic importance. One such area was the Lota region, where the British had established mining interests. In addition, their shipping and commercial interests in Concepción led them to support the establishment of a single English school through the British Council. Consequently, St. John’s School was founded in 1942 and located in Pedro de Valdivia. Its first principal, Mr. Reginald Close, was appointed to lead the school.
In 1944, Mr. Close was replaced by Mr. Thomas Goodall, who remained in the role until 1946. Building on this foundation, Mr. George Knight took over the position in 1947 and led the school for 22 years. During this time and under his successful leadership, the school grew in importance and began to attract people who did not necessarily have ties to the British community, so it soon became a school serving the entire Concepción community. Additionally, the school’s prestige grew, making it a benchmark/ model/ standard among the schools in the area.
In 1975, Mr. John Caselaw became principal, introducing the Infant School (Kindergarten) and continuing the school’s growth. As a result of the school’s expansion in 1976, St. John’s graduated its first class of high school seniors in 1979.
The progressive improvement of St. John’s educational quality became evident with the introduction of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in 1989. This programme significantly elevated the school’s academic standards, establishing a recognized international benchmark for quality education, as well as giving St. John’s its distinctive identity.
However, it soon became apparent that the facilities at St. John’s would soon be insufficient to accommodate the continued increase in student enrollments. In 1992, coinciding with the school’s 50th anniversary, a new building was inaugurated at the Pedro de Valdivia site to address this issue and meet the growing demand for the school. While this was a positive improvement, it was clear that there were still infrastructure deficiencies that needed to be addressed. One prominent issue was that the school’s sports fields were located quite far from the main campus, resulting in students spending excessive amounts of time traveling back and forth. This had a detrimental effect on their participation in important athletic activities, which were an integral part of St. John’s curriculum.
Therefore, around 1995, the project for a new school on an entirely new site was born, one that would include modern facilities and high-quality sports fields. Unfortunately, the economic crisis of the late 90’s caused a significant delay in the completion of the project.
The new millennium found St. John’s still in its traditional location in Pedro de Valdivia, but the desire to fulfill the dream of a new school persisted. This was finally accomplished in 2005 with the inauguration of the new St. John’s building and sports fields at Fundo el Venado in San Pedro de la Paz, all thanks to the tireless efforts of the board of directors at the time and the Principal Mr. Alan Ripley.
St. John’s stands out for its unwavering commitment to academic excellence, a spirit of continuous growth and innovation, and a forward-thinking vision. These defining values have positioned it as a prestigious institution in our region and pave the way for a bright future ahead.
