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UWC Atlantic (formally the United World College of the Atlantic, and often referred to by its original name, Atlantic College) is an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in the
Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...
in south
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Founded in 1962, it was the first of the
United World Colleges The United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organisation was fo ...
and was among the first educational institutions in the world to follow an international curriculum. It helped create the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in the 1960s. It is attended by approximately 350 students from more than 90 countries, with the students being refugees, war victims, and members of persecuted communities, who live and study alongside members of royal families and political dynasties from across the globe.''The New York Times'', "The Castle Where Future Queens Drop the Royal Act"
22 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
The majority of its students are selected internationally through their National Committees which facilitate nationwide selection processes across the world in over 120 countries, and help fund student education through partial or full scholarships. Over 65% of students who apply through these national committees receive some form of scholarship or financial aid awards. In addition to the IBDP, UWC Atlantic places student participation in community service at its core. It is known for its
liberal education A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free () human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment. It has been d ...
, its global ethos, and its strong focus on local and global development and sustainability.


History

Atlantic College was founded by Kurt Hahn, a German educationalist who had previously set up the Schule Schloss Salem and the Stiftung Louisenlund in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Gordonstoun School in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and the Outward Bound movement. Hahn founded the college as a practical response to the search for new and peaceful solutions in a post-war world riven by political, racial and economic divisions. Hahn had been invited by British Air Marshal Sir Lawrence Darvall to address the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
Defence College in 1955, where he saw former enemies from several nations working together towards a common goal, and realised how much more could be done to overcome the hostility of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
if young people from different nations could be brought together in a similar way. He envisaged a college for students who were already grounded in their own cultures but impressionable enough to learn from others. Drawn from all nations, the students would be selected purely on merit and potential, regardless of race, religion, nationality and background. The college was the result of Kurt Hahn's vision and the work of individuals such as the founding Headmaster Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare, Director of Studies Robert Blackburn, Air Marshal Sir Lawrance Darvall, Alec Peterson (who established the curriculum for the college, and later served as the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
's first director-general), and Antonin Besse, who donated St Donat's Castle for the college's premises. On 19 September 1962, Atlantic College opened with nine teaching staff and 56 male students aged between 16 and 19 years from 12 countries; in 1967, the school became co-educational, with a cohort hailing from 35 nations. The school was hailed by '' The Times of London'' as "the most exciting experiment in education since the Second World War." From its founding, the school was intended to be the first of a series, initially to be named "The Atlantic Colleges." In 1967, Lord Mountbatten of Burma became President of the organisation and the term
United World Colleges The United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organisation was fo ...
came into existence, with an international office in London, and the school became known as the United World College of the Atlantic. Mountbatten was an enthusiastic UWC supporter and encouraged heads of state, politicians and personalities throughout the world to share his interest. He was personally involved in founding what became the third UWC – the United World College of South East Asia – in Singapore in 1975, following the founding of the second College, the Lester B Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada in 1974. In 1978, Mountbatten passed the Presidency to his great-nephew, the then Prince of Wales,
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
. Former presidents of the United World Colleges also include
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
(from 1995 until his death in 2013), a position he shared with the current holder of the position, Queen Noor of
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
.
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
of the United Kingdom was a Patron of the college, from its early days until her death in 2022.


College

The college's stated mission is to "make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future". Students from over 90 countries participate in UWC Atlantic's two-year programme, in which they combine academic studies with activities and service. Admission into
United World Colleges The United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organisation was fo ...
, and scholarship awards, are decided by national UWC committees around the world and the Global Selection Programme.


Academics

Atlantic College was one of the first colleges in the world, and the first in the UK, to follow an international curriculum, and offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The college was one of the key institutions involved in the creation of the International Baccalaureate, and continues to be actively involved in its development. In May 1967, 108 students at Atlantic College joined 37 at the International School of Geneva to sit the first trial exams for the IB. Having already participated in these pilot exams in parallel to offering the British GCE A-Levels, in 1971 Atlantic College became the first school in the world to entirely abandon a national curriculum and qualifications in favor of the new program. The college also offered a Pre-Diploma course, offering 15-16-year-old students the chance to study IGCSEs among the rest of the college's older population. This programme ended in 2019. IB graduates are typically accepted at the most competitive colleges and universities around the world, with many enrolling in
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
universities in the United States as well as British universities. Students at the college are eligible, after graduation, to participate in the Davis United World College Scholars Program, which funds undergraduate study for UWC students at selected universities in the United States.


Service

Service has been a core part of the college's ethos and structure since its founding, rooted in Kurt Hahn's philosophy and belief that physical activity and especially service to others were vital elements of a well rounded education. At the beginning of each year at the college, students are obliged to select 3 activities that they will each carry out for at least 2 hours a week as part of the International Baccalaureate's '' Creativity, Action, Service'' (CAS) requirement. The opportunity to undertake weekly community service, physical activity, and creative activity offers students a 'counterbalance' to the Diploma Programme's academic pressures, and allows the students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and develop specific interests and passions. Additionally, UWC Atlantic runs a "Project Week" every year, giving students a chance to delve into either service based or expedition based experiences, and hosts student-ran Conferences on a quarterly basis offering deep introspection to students into the chosen conference topic.


Boat-building

The college has a strong tradition of boat design and boat building. The Atlantic College Lifeboat Station stood within its grounds as an active
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...
lifeboat station from 1963, when it opened as one of the first experimental inshore lifeboat (ILB) stations established in the United Kingdom, and staffed mostly by students participating in the college's Inshore Lifeboat service, until 2013. Much of the development of the Atlantic 21, 75 and 85 classes of lifeboat took place at Atlantic College. What was to become the world's most widely used type of craft for inshore rescue, the rigid inflatable boat (RIB), was originally conceived, designed, prototyped, tested, and built at the college under its founding headmaster, retired Rear-Admiral Desmond Hoare. The B Class Atlantic Inshore Lifeboat was named by the RNLI after its birthplace. It has often been claimed that, had the college earned royalties on every rigid-hulled inflatable boat now in service, its scholarship fund would have never looked back; instead, Desmond Hoare, who eventually patented the design in 1973, sold the rights to the RNLI for the nominal fee of one pound; he did not cash the cheque, which is still displayed at the college. David Sutcliffe, a member of the founding staff of Atlantic College in 1962 and its second headmaster, published ''The RIB The Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Lifeboat and its Place of Birth The Atlantic College'' in 2010, a book that tells the story of the inception of the RIB (rigid inflatable boat). The building of ILB training vessels at the school is a longstanding student activity, and were used for practice and training of the student-led RNLI crews at the station until its closure in 2013. In 2014 students at the college helped design a new boat in conjunction with companies in Japan, to help in the aftermath of a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
. The college, through Atlantic Pacific International Rescue, still provides support and training for rescue efforts for migrants making hazardous sea crossings.


Sports

The college offers a range of sports and fitness activities as part of the CAS component of the IB Diploma and as co-curricular activities. Facilities include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a climbing wall, a sports hall with basketball and badminton courts, a five-a-side football pitch, dance studio, and gym equipment, and playing fields used for football and rugby. The college's football team participate in the ''South Wales Youth League'', a regional youth league. Students also participate in a range of activities that take advantage of the college's seafront location, including cliff abseiling, rock climbing, hiking, and sea kayaking.


Grounds and facilities

UWC Atlantic is located at St Donat's Castle, a 12th-century
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
near the town of Llantwit Major on the South
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
coast, overlooking the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...
. The castle has been continuously inhabited since it was first built. The extensive grounds also include the 12th-century St Donat's Church and the historic terraced gardens, as well as preserved woodland, farmland and Heritage Coastline. St Donat's Castle is the main building of the college, housing the Tudor great hall, the gothic dining hall, Bradenstoke Hall (today used for assemblies and performances), an extensive 25,000-book library, staff offices, student common areas and certain academic departments. Before being purchased for use by the college by Antonin Besse, it was owned by
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
, who undertook major renovations, including transporting the roof and fireplace from the Bradenstoke Priory in Wiltshire and an ornate, gilded and vaulted ceiling from a church in Boston, Lincolnshire. Lessons take place in modern academic blocks built in the 1960s–80s, converted medieval estate buildings, and the castle itself. Next to the castle are the social and gymnasium blocks, and the 12th-century
tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...
(with a contemporary extension), which is both used by the college and open to the public as a theatre, arts centre and cinema. The college owns sports fields, tennis courts, and in addition to indoor and outdoor swimming pools have a range of surf and rescue equipment, kayaks, sailing boats,
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...
training boats, and a cliff suitable for climbing and rescue practice. In 2004, the college installed a
carbon neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...
biomass heating system to replace an aging and unsustainable oil-based system. It runs on locally sourced sustainable woodchip
biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...
, and makes the campus the largest site in the UK to be heated in such a way. Students live in eight modern accommodation houses built in the castle grounds named after either ancient Welsh kingdoms, important individuals in the college's history, and benefactors: Powys, Whitaker, Gwynedd, Kurt Hahn, Antonin Besse, Pentti Kouri, Madiba, Tice, and Sunley. The Pentti Kouri house, formerly Dyfed, was refurbished in the autumn of 2008 to include sustainable technologies such as geothermal heating and an energy usage monitoring system. Due largely to the college's setting at the castle, in combination with its reputation as a progressive institution, media sometimes use terms such as ''"
Hogwarts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional boarding school of magic for young wizards. It is the primary setting for the first six novels in the '' Harry Potter'' series by J. K. Rowling, and also serves as a major setti ...
for hippies"'' to describe the school. The college has hosted several royal visitors to the castle, including
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
,
Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...
,
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
and
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
, as well as Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She was Empress of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became Crown Princess of Japan i ...
of Japan,
Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...
and Prince Claus of the Netherlands,
King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...
(an alumnus) and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. The fiftieth anniversary of the college in 2012 was marked by a visit by
Queen Noor of Jordan Noor Al Hussein (; born Lisa Najeeb Halaby; August 23, 1951) is an American-born Jordanian philanthropist and activist who was the fourth wife and widow of Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein of Jordan. She was Queen of Jordan from their marriage on ...
, in her role as President of the United World Colleges. Senior politicians such as former Prime Minister of Canada
Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...
and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
also visited St Donat's, as have several ambassadors and diplomats.


Principals

* 1962: Desmond Hoare * 1969: David Sutcliffe * 1982: Andrew Stuart * 1990: Colin Jenkins * 2000: Malcolm McKenzie * 2007: Neil Richards * 2010: Paul Motte (acting) * 2012: John Walmsley * 2016: Gerry Holden (caretaker) * 2017: Peter Howe * 2021: Naheed Bardai


Notable alumni


References

{{Commons category, Atlantic College, Wales Universities and colleges established in 1962 1962 establishments in Wales International Baccalaureate schools in Wales Private schools in the Vale of Glamorgan Universities and colleges in Wales International schools International educational organizations