The world map above shows each country’s oldest school that is still open today.
The majority of the world’s oldest learning institutions were built from 1751 onwards (marked in yellow). Those with their oldest schools created from 1501 to 1750 (red) and the ones completed from 500 to 1250 AD (dark blue) are just as many. Countries whose oldest operating schools were assembled from 1251 to 1500 (light blue) appear the fewest on the map.
Another map shows that most of the oldest operating schools in the world are at the tertiary level, i.e. universities or colleges.
China is the country that has the first school in the world. The oldest existing academy, the Shishi High School, was built around 141 BC. It is also the oldest existing primary school that still operates today.
The top ten oldest living schools mostly come from European and African nations. The oldest secondary school is The King’s School Canterbury in England, United Kingdom, which opened in the year 597 AD. Built during the year 737 AD, Université Zitouna in the North African country of Tunisia is the oldest surviving university. The Katedralskolan, Lund (Lund Cathedral School) in Sweden, opened in 1085, is the oldest learning institution that serves both primary and secondary students.
Meanwhile, the New York City-based Collegiate School is the oldest school in the U.S.; it opened in the year 1628.
The institution that was most recently built is located in the East African country of Djibouti. The University of Djibouti was inaugurated in the year 2006.
Let’s delve into some of the world’s oldest schools by flipping through these reads:
- The Oldest School in America (Classic Reprint)
- The Webb School of Bell Buckle (Campus History)
- Men of Roxbury: The Inspiring Profiles of Twenty-Eight Graduates of America’s Oldest School in Continuous Existence
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