Montserrat (mountain) which are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat was designated as a National Park in 1987. In 1493, Christopher Columbus named the Caribbean island of Montserrat "Santa Maria de Montserrate", after the "Virgin of Montserrat". The Benedictine Abbey can be reached by road, by the Aeri de Montserrat cable car, or by the Montserrat Rack Railway. The lower stations of both the rack railway and the cable car can be reached by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya train from Barcelona's Plaça d'Espanya station. From the abbey,
Education in Montserrat secondary institution, and together had 1,043 students in 1988. There was also a technical college, Montserrat Technical College (MTC), with 72 students in 1988. Education in Montserrat Education in Montserrat is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 14, and free up to the age of 17. The Government of Montserrat developed an Education in the Country Policy Plan for 1998–2002 in conjunction with the United Kingdom. Under this plan, the government is supporting initiatives in the areas of curriculum development, student assessment and evaluation, professional development for teachers, post-secondary education expansion, and educational infrastructure and information technology.