Premium College - Peru

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, in the city of Pucallpa, Premium College is proving that world-class creative education can flourish anywhere passion and vision meet. Founded on the motto "We educate with the heart and transform with the mind," this independent school of 320 students aged 3-16 has built a distinctive identity as a bridge between Amazonian heritage and global citizenship — and its work in arts, culture, and creativity is attracting national and international attention.

At the core of Premium College's philosophy is the conviction that art is not a separate subject but a language that runs through everything. This is embodied in its flagship interdisciplinary project "Aprendo, Creo y Comunico" (I Learn, I Create, I Communicate), officially approved by resolution, in which students produce radio shows, television programs, and podcasts through the school's own multiplatform channel, Premium GO. Students write, record, and edit content exploring social, environmental, and cultural themes from their Amazonian home — becoming not just storytellers but active cultural citizens.

The school's most ambitious initiative is "Voces de la Tierra Viva" (Voices of the Living Earth), developed through a formal partnership with the Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Amazonía (UNIA). The project responds to a cultural emergency: the preservation of Peru's 48 indigenous languages and the cosmovisions they carry. Student-led teams have produced over 30 intercultural programs in native languages, recovering myths, songs, and ancestral wisdom, broadcast regionally and shared digitally. The student collective "Jóvenes Creadores Premium" leads the work as scriptwriters, presenters, and editors, with previously shy students transforming into confident cultural ambassadors.

This work has earned formal Institutional Recognition from the Dirección Regional de Educación de Ucayali (DREU) in June 2025, which praised Premium College's "exemplary" application of the National Curriculum's creative and intercultural competencies and named the school a regional reference point for Amazonian pride and identity. Media coverage on Radio Nacional, RPP, and Radio Exitosa has amplified the story nationally.

Inclusion sits at the heart of the mission through the "Educación sin Barreras" (Education Without Barriers) policy, which adapts arts activities for every learning style and ability, while bringing indigenous and urban students together in shared creative spaces. Complementary initiatives — the Saturday arts program "Rincón de Talento," the annual Amazon Innovation and Arts Week, and community teacher-training residencies — extend the school's creative reach far beyond its walls.

The measurable impact is striking: 92% of students have shown improvement in communication, critical thinking, and aesthetic response over three years, and voluntary enrollment in arts workshops has grown 60%. During the pandemic, the school pioneered hybrid learning and digital literacy for families across the region.

Premium College's vision for the future — a Centro Amazónico de Creatividad y Comunicación Educativa (CACCE) — would scale this model, bringing multimedia labs, recording studios, and free teacher training to public schools across Ucayali. In a region where educational inequality is vast, Premium College is proof that creativity, rooted in culture, can transform lives.