History of St. George's Group

BRITISH EDUCATION SYSTEM S.L., which owns ST. GEORGE´S SCHOOLS, was founded in Cordoba by Fernando Ortiz, Rafael Valverde and MONTEALTO Holdings.
The origins of the present company are to be found in  the British School of Córdoba (COLEGIO BRITÁNCIO DE CÓRDOBA), which was   established in 1998 by Rafael Valverde and Fernando Ortiz, under the educational guidance of  James Shallcross.

Having launched the project to open other British schools around Spain, the partnership with  MONTEALTO (a prestigious holding company in Córdoba) provides  the financial, administrative,  and management support it requires.
 Shortly after the creation of the company, the International School of Malaga was  purchased and negotiations began to expand the network of schools in other main Spanish cities.
•    In September 2007 the Group opened its second school, in Roquetas de Mar (Almería)
•    In September 2009 the Group opened its third school, in Seville
•    In September 2010 the Group will open its fourth school, in Madrid
•    In September 2011 the Group will open its fifth school, in Valladolid
There are plans to open other schools in Barcelona, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Vigo y Pamplona.

Rafael Valverde De Diego is PRESIDENT of the  BES Board of Governors. He was a founding partner of Colegio Británico de Córdoba S.A. in 1998, where he held the  post of President  from the first committee meeting  until he resigned his position in order to take up the same post in BES. He holds  25% of BES shares.

Fernando J. Ortiz Rodríguez is  Managing Director of BES. He was a founding partner of Colegio Británico de Córdoba in 1998, where he was immediately appointed to   the Board of Governors. He has remained in that post  until today. When the school was founded, he was also appointed General Manager and held this position until April 2009. Currently he is Vicepresident of the Board of Governors, as well as the major shareholder with 25% of the shares. In conjunction with this post, he is Managing Director of BES and  BES´sole representative in BEM. He owns 25% of BES shares.

CORPORATION MONTEALTO XXI, SL has been  responsible for the building of Roquetas School, and for the redesigning and extension  of the schools in Malaga and Seville. They hold 50% of BES shares.

James A. Shallcross GENERAL DIRECTOR(Education) for BEM.
From 1970 until 1985, he worked as an English teacher in the County of Surrey. In 1985 he was appointed County INSPECTOR FOR ENGLISH, also in Surrey. In this  post, he was responsible for approximately 300 schools.
In 1989 he was appointed GENERAL INSPECTOR FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION in the County of Surrey, as well as Chairman of the South East Arts Literature Panel.
In 1992, he moved to Spain, and since then has been Headteacher  of various British schools, including HASTINGS SCHOOL in Madrid.
As testimony to his vast knowledge and experience of the British educational system, Mr. Shallcross took a leading role, together with the British Council, in the development of the current inspection and accreditation systems  of British Schools in Spain He has also been President of the National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS). At present, he is a member of the National Executive Committee, with specific responsibility for inspections Mr. Shallcross has given lectures and run training courses in England, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden. In addition, he has been GUEST OF HONOUR for the Association of International Schools in Scandinavian countries.

In 2000, Mr Shallcross was awarded the M.B.E by H.M Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremory presided by Mr. Peter Torry, the British Ambassador in Spain.