[1] The academy came to worldwide notice as the setting of the novel The Time of the Hero by the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.
The first authorities of the Academy were Headmaster Army Colonel José del Carmen Marín Arista and Academic Director Dr. Manuel Velasco Alvarado.
Among the first teachers at the Academy were Gustavo Pons Muzzo, Alfredo Rebaza Acosta, Walter Peñalosa Ramella, Humberto Santillán Arista, Flavio Vega Villanueva, Ricardo Cazorla Sormani, and Luis Bedoya Reyes.
The structure was originally based on the 'Guardia Chalaca Barracks', made of two pavilions without doors or windows.
Later on, the school was furnished with other facilities like a dining room, bedrooms, an infirmary, laboratories, administrative offices, an auditorium, a swimming pool, a stadium, a library, a gym, and a coliseum enclosure.