In 1974, Maria Carlota Meneses Moutinho, Child Educator and 1st Cycle Teacher, graduated from the João de Deus School of Education, founded the Externato Os Meus Amores, located in Paços de Brandão. Driven by the growing number of students, it seeks to expand its space, settling temporarily on Rua do Aldeiro, in Lourosa. Decided, however, to start with a project that included facilities built from scratch for teaching, she obtained, in April 1980, the permit nº 2265, granted by the Ministry of Education and which formally authorized the operation of the Externato Infantil Paraíso dos Pequeninos . Her entrepreneurial spirit will lead her to broaden the scope of the Boarding School, which, in October of that year, also takes on the value of Primary Education. At that time, students at the Externato had English,

In 1994, Orlando and Nuno Moutinho, father and son, founded the Colégio das Terras de Santa Maria, with operating authorization for the 2nd and 3rd Cycles of Basic Education, in order to continue the school path of students of the boarding school. At that time, Nuno Moutinho was a 4th year student at the Faculty of Economics of Porto and sought to take his first steps as a manager. In 1996, he finished his degree and was selected in a public competition to be a professor at the Faculty of Economics of Porto. Until 2003/2004, the management of educational establishments was separate, despite the educational project being articulated by the pedagogical directions. From that school year, Nuno Moutinho becomes responsible for the management of the two educational establishments, an unpaid function that he accumulates with teaching at the Faculty of Economics of Porto. In 2005, the Externato Paraíso dos Pequeninos opens a daycare center in Pedroso, under permit no. 5/2005, awarded by the Regional Social Security Center of Porto. In 2010, the Colégio das Terras de Santa Maria increases its facilities, constructing a new building for Secondary Education and fulfilling the dream of putting into practice an educational project from Cradle to University.

In 2017, the new Avó Aninhas Building is opened at Europarque, initially functioning with the services of Day Care and Pre-school Education