San Sebastian College – Recoletos

San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R), commonly known by its nickname Bastê, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Augustinian Recollects in Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is one of the six schools owned and operated by the Order of Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines. It was founded by the Augustinian Recollects in March 1941.
SSC-R, situated in the heart of Manila, in F. R. Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, was named after Roman centurion turned martyr Saint Sebastian. The College had a humble beginning. Its first functional lone building was an old convent: a two-storey Hispanic edifice made of stone and wood with capiz-shell windows. The building served as classrooms of the first batch of 200 elementary and high school enrollees. SSC-R was then an exclusive school for boys.
SSC-R was established in March 1941 but was in hiatus from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. It formally reopened after the war in 1947. The term Sebastinian, Filipino: Sebastino, refers to alumni and current students, teaching and non-teaching personnel as well as administrators of San Sebastian College-Recoletos.
The College was granted Level 3 accreditation by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities or PAASCU in the Elementary department, High School Department and the College Department, including the Graduate Studies and College of Law.
San Sebastian College–Recoletos, Manila maintains the lone and highest slot in Tourism being accredited Level 3 by PAASCU, as well as its Social Sciences programs, Business Administration and Psychology courses.
In the 1940s, the Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) envisioned the establishment of a Catholic School that performs a three-fold mission: the development of man, the promotion of local culture, and the welfare of society. SSC-R, Manila was established in 1941 but assumed hiatus from 1942 to 1945 when World War II broke out. It formally reopened after the war in 1946.
SSC-R, Manila, situated in the heart of Manila, was named after Roman centurion turned martyr – San Sebastian. The College had a relatively humble beginning. Its first functional lone building was an old convent: a two-storey Hispanic edifice made of stone and wood with capiz-shell windows. The building served as classrooms of the first batch of 200 elementary and high school enrollees. SSC-R, Manila was then an exclusive school for boys.
The first two-storey neo-gothic edifice modeled after the famous all-steel San Sebastian Church was built in 1947, replacing the first old stone and wood building.
It offers a four-year Juris Doctor course (J.D), and formerly offers Bachelor of Laws (Ll.B).
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) gave full recognition to San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Manila as one of the top 20 law schools in the country.
San Sebastian College–Recoletos has two separate gates namely the Recto Gate, which is situated at Recto Avenue, formerly Azcarraga Avenue and the (Plaza) Del Carmen Gate, in which the parking lot and the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian is located. This is also where the convent of the Order of Augustinian Recollects is situated.
Statues of Augustinian Recollect saints St. Ezekiel Moreno and St. Magdalene of Nagasaki are located near the convent.
During the 50th Founding Anniversary of San Sebastian College – Recoletos, the administration erected a statue of Pedro H. Gandia, Jr., a Sebastinian scout who, along with the rest of the Philippine contingent, died in a plane crash while on their way to attend the 11th World Scout Jamboree.
San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Manila as a Catholic institution, is giving witness to the Augustinian Recollect charism as a way of living faith and Christianity through the Institutional Community Outreach/Extension Program, supervised by the Sebastinian Community Extension and Development Office (SCDEO).