José Rizal started his formal schooling at a private school in Biñan, Laguna, when he was nine years old. He studied under Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz, a well-known teacher who taught him Spanish, Latin, painting, and other subjects. The school was a small nipa hut that also served as Cruz's house. Rizal excelled academically there, surpassing all the other boys in Biñan

. After about a year and a half of schooling in Biñan, Maestro Cruz advised Rizal to continue his education in Manila, where he later attended Ateneo de Manila University for his secondary education