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Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational
private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
for boarding and day pupils in
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including
Prince Philip 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 ...
and his son
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 ...
. Musician
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
sent his son
Duncan Jones Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), '' Warcraft'' (2016), and '' Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', he won the BAFT ...
to Gordonstoun, and
Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV (TV channel), ITV drama series ''Robin of She ...
, son of actor Sir
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
, also attended. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located in Duffus to the north-west of Elgin. Pupils are accepted subject to an interview plus references and exam results. It was founded in 1934 as the British Salem School by German-Jewish educator Kurt Hahn based on the model of Schule Schloss Salem, that he had founded in Germany in 1919. Gordonstoun has an enrolment of around 500 full boarders as well as about 100 day pupils between the ages of 5 and 18. With the number of teaching staff exceeding 100, there is a low student-teacher ratio compared to the average in the United Kingdom. There are eight boarding houses (formerly nine prior to the closure of Altyre house in summer 2016) including two 17th-century buildings that were part of the original estate. The other houses have been built or modified since the school was established. Gordonstoun is included in The Schools Index as one of the 150 best private schools in the world and among top 30 senior schools in the UK.


History


Founding

The British Salem School of Gordonstoun was established in 1934 by Kurt Hahn, a German Jewish educationalist who, after being arbitrarily arrested after the
Reichstag fire The Reichstag fire (, ) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Marinus van der Lubbe, ...
, fled Nazi Germany. Hahn was asked by friends to give a demonstration in the UK of his "Salem system". He was born in Berlin in 1886 and studied at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. After reading Plato's '' The Republic'' as a young man, Hahn conceived the idea of a modern school. With the help of Prince Max of Baden, he set up the Schule Schloss Salem in 1919. After the First World War, both men decided that education was key in influencing the future. They developed Salem to develop its students as community leaders. By the 1930s Salem had already become a renowned school throughout Europe. In 1932, Hahn spoke out against the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
and was arrested in March 1933. He was released and exiled to Britain in the same year through the influence of the Prime Minister,
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
, who was familiar with Hahn's work. At the urging of British friends, Hahn decided to start a new school in Morayshire. Gordonstoun was started in a small way and had financial difficulties in its early years. After the death in 1930 of Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet, his house at Gordonstoun was obtained by Kurt Hahn, whose offer for the lease was accepted on 14 March 1934. The buildings needed repair and renovation, and at the start of the first academic year, the school had only two enrolled pupils. Hahn expected Gordonstoun to operate for only a few years, as an example of his vision. The number of pupils steadily increased, and some additional pupils transferred from Salem, including Prince Philip of Greece, who later became
Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...
. By the start of the Second World War, 135 boys were attending.


World War II

In June 1940 the school was evacuated and the Gordonstoun estate was taken over by the army for use as barracks. The school was relocated temporarily to quarters in Llandinam in
Mid Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...
when Lord Davies, a father of two pupils, allowed the school to use one of his houses, Broneirion. The buildings were insufficient, and finances and pupil numbers began to drop. In 1941 by Hahn and Lawrence Holt with the support of the Blue Funnel Line, founded Outward Bound, based on the educational approach of Gordonstoun.Outward Bound International (2004).
Birth of Outward Bound
''. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
The school survived the war, pupil numbers increased again, and the school became well known throughout Wales and the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
. Once the war ended, the school returned to the Gordonstoun estate.


Post-war years

By the end of 1940, the school achieved its primary target of 250 pupils and continued growing in size. It built dormitories on the estate, removing the need for maintaining a house in Altyre,
Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
, many miles away from the main campus. Gordonstoun also developed its academic offerings. It arranged to admit poorer children from the surrounding areas, and to deepen the Outward Bound-type activities that were central to Hahn's system. Skills in mountaineering and seamanship were always taught at the school. The introduction of the Moray Badge, from which
the Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...
was borrowed, expanded the types of physical challenges for students to conquer. From the 1950s onwards, the school administration concentrated on improving the facilities and expanding the curriculum. Major changes since then include: the founding of Round Square in 1966, an international community of schools sharing Hahn's educational ideals; the school becoming co-educational in 1972; and the moving of Aberlour House, Gordonstoun's preparatory school, from Speyside to a purpose-built Junior School on campus in 2004. Former governor Lisa Kerr took over from Simon Reid as the school's principal in 2016. She is the school's first female principal.


Overview


Ethos

Gordonstoun's curriculum emphasises an experiential approach, and built upon the work of educationalists, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Johann Friedrich Herbart and John Dewey. However, unlike Herbart and Dewey, who were concerned with the cognitive benefits of out of classroom experiences, Hahn's ethos emphasises the emotional aspects of Herbartianism and Experiential learning. Hahn established Gordonstoun's ethos during his tenure at Schule Schloss Salem. In a document, written in 1930, Hahn set out what he referred to as the seven laws of Salem; # Give the children opportunities for self-discovery. # Make the children meet with triumph and defeat. # Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause. # Provide periods of silence. # Train the imagination. # Make games (i.e., competition) important but not predominant. # Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege. Hahn blended outdoor activities and skills such as seamanship and
mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
with a traditional private school ethos, modelled on his experiences at Eton and Oxford. Plato's ''The Republic'' and other elements of
ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
history inspired Hahn's approach. This is seen in the title "Guardian", denoting the head boy and girl, the adoption of a Greek
trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...
as the school's emblem, and a routine that could be described as Spartan.
Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
, and the Greek ideal that education aims to produce a complete person, intellectually, morally, physically and aesthetically had a profound influence on Hahn. Mostly, he believed that pupils should participate in activities, as opposed to sitting and absorbing information. Therefore, physical education forms much of Gordonstoun's curriculum but achieving personal-goals and overcoming physical challenges take precedent over any competition. As part of their studies, Gordonstoun's students complete something referred to as "The Project" a practical assignment of the student's choosing. The result might be a handmade boat, a restored car or a piece of music. Additionally, there is a chance to join one of the annual international service projects which take pupils abroad to help a foreign community, for instance, there have been projects to build schools in Africa, build wells in Thailand and help orphans in Romania. Hahn believed that an important part of education was to challenge a person and take them out of their areas of familiarity and comfort, improving a person's ability to deal with difficult situations. The school requires that every pupil takes part in a series of outdoor programmes particularly expeditions in the
Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...
and sailing training on the school's 80-foot vessel, Ocean Spirit. The school had a reputation for challenging conditions, with cold showers and morning runs as a matter of routine. The school still practices periods of silence, intended to give the pupils the space to reflect and glean insights from their experiences. The school no longer practices cold showers or punishment runs, although physical education and challenging outdoor activities are still an integral part of Gordonstoun's identity. Former pupil
Charles, Prince of Wales 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, a ...
(later King Charles III) had called the school a "Colditz in kilts" alluding to the
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
Colditz Castle Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns o ...
. Hahn believed that "The Platonic view of education is that a nation must do all it can to make the individual citizen discover his own power and further more that the individual becomes a cripple in his or her point of view if he is not qualified by education to serve the community." The idea of service at the school is thought to encourage students to gain a feeling of responsibility to aid other people and is implemented in creating an array of services to the community in which every student becomes involved (see below).


Alumni

Gordonstoun has some notable alumni. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including
Prince Philip 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 ...
and his son
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 ...
. Rock musician
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
sent his son
Duncan Jones Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), '' Warcraft'' (2016), and '' Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', he won the BAFT ...
to Gordonstoun, and
Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV (TV channel), ITV drama series ''Robin of She ...
, son of actor Sir
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
, also attended. Due to Hahn's influence, the school has had a strong connection with Germany. It is part of the Round Square Conference of Schools, a group of more than 80 schools across the globe based on the teaching of Hahn, and named after the Round Square building at Gordonstoun, where the first conference took place in 1967. Around 30% of students attending Gordonstoun come from abroad.


Funding and fees

Gordonstoun offers a series of grants, drawing on its investments and other funds, to support pupils who are unable to pay the full fees. In the academic year 2009/10 the school provided financial support for 163 pupils including 11 with 100% fee coverage and 95 with 50% fee reduction. The school is a
registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...
: Scottish charity number SC037867. Hahn's views on education centred on the ability to understand different cultures. Gordonstoun incorporates this in a number of ways including its association with Round Square and in offering pupil exchanges to the different schools within the association. In 2018, Simon Beames, senior lecturer in outdoor learning at the University of Edinburgh, co-published research the effectiveness of Gordonstoun's ethos, and this research has formed an important part of the school's promotional literature. A poll of alumni revealed mixed feelings about Gordonstoun's emphasis on extra-curricular activities. Fifty-seven per cent of the former pupils surveyed agreed that outdoor activities enhanced their academic studies. At the same time, the remaining forty-three per cent felt the activities did not help their studies. However, the research by Beames et al. also found that most former pupils believe the school's emphasis on outdoor activities had a positive effect on their careers.


Gordonstoun Schools

Along with the main school, two other schools form part of the greater Gordonstoun community. These are Gordonstoun's preparatory school, Aberlour House, and a summer school that serves to promote the school outside of the academic year.


Aberlour House

The first preparatory school was founded in 1936 at Wester Elchies and unlike Gordonstoun, was not made to move during the war. At the start of the war, there were 40 boys and girls attending, and these numbers increased to the point that a second school was opened at Aberlour House in 1947 by which time nearly 100 pupils were attending. Wester Elchies was pulled down in the early 1960s because of dilapidation. The prep school continued with just Aberlour, but even so, there were always problems with the that separated the main Gordonstoun campus and the school. In 2002 the running of Aberlour House was taken over by Gordonstoun, and in 2004 a purpose-built prep school was constructed on the main campus. In January 2007, the disused Aberlour House became the head offices of Walkers Shortbread, whose main factory complex at Fisherton is adjacent to the house. Presently Aberlour House has approximately 115 pupils between the ages of 6 and 13 attending. Although they form part of the same institution, going to Aberlour is not a prerequisite for going to Gordonstoun and neither is it enforced that pupils at Aberlour House continue on into Gordonstoun. They share the school song, flag and
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
with Gordonstoun.


International Summer School

The Gordonstoun International Summer School started in 1976, and has catered to over 7,000 pupils since then. Around 250 children from all over the world between the ages of 8 and 16 attend each year.


Active revision programme

The school runs a revision programme over the Easter Holidays, based on the belief that exercise improves cognition. Gordonstoun designed the programme for GCSE students, and it combines revision in English, mathematics and science with periods of gentle exercise and restricted access to electronic devices. The school also claims to serve a diet which promotes brain health throughout the programme.


Academic curriculum

Entrance to Gordonstoun requires the pupil to pass the Common Entrance Examination. In the Junior School (ages 8–13), pupils study a range of courses and follow the Scottish education system. In the Senior School (ages 13+) the pupils complete a year's foundation course and then enter into the English education system by starting a two-year
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
course followed by a two-year
A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
course. Gordonstoun offers 21 GCSE courses, 27 AS Level courses and 21 A Level courses including specialised subjects such as Dance,
Classical Studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...
and Further Mathematics. The 2019 Education Scotland inspection of Gordonstoun rated the school as 'outstanding' and 'sector-leading' The 2009 HMIE inspection evaluated Gordonstoun as being 'Excellent' in its curriculum. 96% of pupils proceed to higher education with 79% going to British universities and 17% to universities abroad. Of those who do not go on to further education, many take gap years or join the armed forces.


Activities


Sports

In the beginning, Hahn expressed his view that at many schools, ball games had been given precedence over other activities and so, to start with, more focus was placed on seamanship and practical work than the playing of games. Due to this, competitive matches did not start until 1935 when Gordonstoun played and won its first rugby match against Grantown Academy. Even so, the school was still in its infancy, and there were no designated fields on which to play with conditions being so bad that during pre-match, half-time and post-match, players would clear as many pebbles off the field of play as possible. 1935 saw Gordonstoun's
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
team win two, lose two and draw one. Hahn set up the
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
team personally, with Prince Philip humorously recalling a game against Elgin Academy's ladies' team and saying that he "hoped that soon we shall be among the best Scottish girls' teams." As of 2013 there were playing fields for rugby, football and cricket as well as an outdoor hockey
AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...
, outdoor
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
courts and a 400m running track. Apart from these outdoor pitches, there is a large sports centre with facilities that include a
rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
wall, a 25m swimming pool, a weights room, squash courts and an indoor activity hall for
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
and
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
. Aside from these more traditional sports, there is the opportunity to participate in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
,
horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
, skiing, .22 rifle shooting and
clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targets" with a shotgun. Despite their name, the targets ...
, athletics,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
and many others. Clubs also form part of the activities list which is made up of cooking, debating, astronomy and film. Sports and other physical activities are vital for an esteemed "correct" education at Gourdonstouns. Exercise is a key element in the everyday life at Gourdonstouns. All children subject to this physical curriculum must exercise for at least three-hour a day not to mention, much more.


Football

The 1st XI participate in four different competitions. The main competition is the County Schools League where Gordonstoun plays alongside nine other schools in a league system with the chance of promotion/relegation at the end of the season. The other three are Scottish Cup, North of Scotland Cup and the Scottish Independent Schools Cup where Gordonstoun plays with a mixture of independent and state schools.


Service

The school's fire service works closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and has a fire station on campus with two fire-fighting appliances at their disposal. It was started in 1940 while the school was based in Wales and they acquired an appliance soon after. They attend roughly fifty call-outs a year and so members have to be medically and physically fit, training to pass the practical test before becoming fire fighters. The team is split into three watches lasting a week each and are on call 24 hours a day having to carry pagers and react quickly should they be called.


Seamanship

Seamanship has been a main part of the curriculum since the school began. The first voyage of note was in a cutter from Hopeman to
Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...
in June 1935, a distance of . Pupils still train in cutters from the age of 13 upward at Hopeman Harbour to prepare for a voyage in the school's sailing vessel. Most excursions take a week sailing off the West Coast of Scotland, but the school also enters into the Tall Ships' Races annually which allows pupils to take part in an international competition in European waters lasting up to a month.


Robotics

The school has a VEX Robotics team.


Prefects

In the lower school, ages 13 to 16, a boy and a girl in the sixth form (ages 16 to 18) are elected to be Captains of the lower school. They provide liaison between teachers and pupils so that any concerns can be rectified. Other roles can include organising inter-house activities, charitable events and the lower school social ("social" refers to social event or party). In the Upper School, ages 16 to 18, responsibility is available through a hierarchy of positions. This starts with Captains of Sports, Service and House. In the case of Captains, no peer voting takes place, but rather a pupil is appointed by the Head of the respective department. This way it is not uncommon for some people to be re-appointed as Captain for multiple terms depending on whether or not anybody else of suitable stance is available. Captains of Sport such as the Football or Rugby Captain are chosen by the Head of that sport and will help the Head organise teams for practice and preparation off the field of play as well as on it. Similarly, Captains of Service will aid the Head of Service to organise training sessions and be a point of contact for the rest of the members. Colour Bearers get their name from a band of purple they wear as insignia on their uniform, purple being one of the school's colours. They are elected by the pupils and the staff, similar to Eton's Pop, and have important roles in the school community as a whole. Unlike captains they keep their positions for a whole year unless they are demoted as a punishment for untoward behaviour. They meet every week with the Headmaster to attend to a wide range of school matters. As well as this they are responsible for minor roles which would otherwise be taken up by teaching staff such as, maintaining the refectory and the library and for serving drinks behind the bar at the weekly socials in addition to organising major school wide events that take place throughout the year. From the CBs a boy and a girl are chosen to be Guardians for the academic term. These are the Head Pupils for the entire school and only normally 6 people a year are allowed to have this position. The term Guardian comes from the name of the supportive rulers of
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's ideal state.


Boarding houses

There are seven boarding houses ranging from year 9–13, one sixth-form house, nine including the one no longer in operation, on the campus. The houses are run by a small team of teachers. The House Master (HM) has overall responsibility and is helped by the Assistant House Master (AHM). Either or both of these will be present at the daily house meeting and will oversee homework to make sure pupils are studying. The HM will organise any special house events, decide who the house captain will be for the term as well as choosing a captain to take care of other house related activities. The HM is also the person who most pupils would talk to if they had a problem although all teachers are available for help. Both the HM and the AHM normally have residences within the houses and so are very much part of the house. Each house has a matron who helps the pupils through their daily routine as well as a
tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
to help the pupils in their studies. The year a pupil is in, and the number of rooms in the house decides which pupils are allowed a room of their own, although it is normally decided that younger years share whilst senior pupils get their own rooms. All pupils rotate rooms each term. The houses are:


Female

*Hopeman House *Plewlands House *Windmill Lodge


Male

*Altyre House (pre-2016) *Bruce House *Cumming House *Duffus House *Gordonstoun House (G-House; sixth-form only) (pre-2018) *Round Square Some houses will go on house expeditions and there are many inter-house competitions that take place in the year. These competitions vary. The most common are sports such as basketball and football or simply a
tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...
. All of the boarding houses throw a themed party annually, and pupils may invite guests from other houses.


Old Gordonstounians

For OGs there is the Gordonstoun Association which aims to promote and strengthen links between former pupils of the school and the school itself. The patron of the GA is King Charles III. The position was previously held by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


British royal family

During the 1960s,
Charles, Prince of Wales 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, a ...
(later King Charles III) attended the school on the recommendation of his father,
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 ...
, who had been one of the first pupils to attend Gordonstoun, having previously been educated at Salem in Germany. Prince Charles did not enjoy the regime, which he later characterised as "
Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig (district), Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situa ...
in
kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
s", but said it taught him self-discipline and responsibility. Princes
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
and
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
followed in their father's and elder brother's footsteps. Of the four princes, three (Philip, Charles and Edward) were appointed Guardian (Head Boy) during their time at the school.
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
, Philip's only daughter, was not educated at Gordonstoun, which at that time was for boys only, but she sent her two children,
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
and Zara, while also serving for some time on the school's board of governors.


Royalty and aristocrats

*
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 ...
*
Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (; born 17 July 1945), is the head of the Karađorđević dynasty, House of Karađorđević, the former royal house of the defunct Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its predecessor the Kingdom of Serbia. Alexander ...
*
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 ...
*
Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger bro ...
*
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King ...
* Peter Phillips *
Zara Tindall Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (; born 15 May 1981) is a British equestrianism, equestrian, Olympic Games, Olympian, socialite and member of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips, and the ...
* Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon *
James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...
* Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton * Jasper Duncombe, 7th Baron Feversham * Christopher Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea * Granville Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly * John Grant, 13th Earl of Dysart * Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern *
Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma Norton Louis Philip Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born 8 October 1947), known until 2005 as Lord Romsey and until 2017 as the Lord Brabourne, is a British peer. He is a second cousin of King Charles III. Life and education Lord Mou ...
* Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester * Lord Ivar Mountbatten * Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray * Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau count of Orange-Nassau, member of the Dutch royal family * Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere chairman and controlling shareholder of the Daily Mail and General Trust


Other Old Gordonstounians

Other OGs are listed in List of people educated at Gordonstoun. In addition to the royal family other notable alumni include: *
Stuart Agnew John Stuart Agnew (born 30 August 1949) is a British politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England region for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2009 to 2019 This was the year in which the ...
– Former
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
MEP *
Peter Zinovieff Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British composer, musician and inventor. In the late 1960s, his company, Electronic Music Studios (EMS), made the VCS3, a synthesizer used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pi ...
– British composer, musician and inventor * Adrian Utley – Musician Portishead * William Boyd – writer * Oona Chaplin – actress *
Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV (TV channel), ITV drama series ''Robin of She ...
– actor * Balthazar Getty – actor and heir to the
Getty oil Getty Oil Company was an American oil marketing company with its origins as part of the large integrated oil company founded by J. Paul Getty. They went defunct in 2012. History J. Paul Getty incorporated Getty Oil in 1942. He had previously ...
fortune * Dick Heckstall-Smith – musician * Caroline Johnson – Conservative Member of Parliament *
Duncan Jones Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), '' Warcraft'' (2016), and '' Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', he won the BAFT ...
(formerly known as Zowie Bowie) – film director and son of musician
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
* Luca Prodan – musician * Lara Breay – film producer * Heather Stanning – rower, Olympic gold medallist at
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
with Helen Glover * Roy Williamson – musician, member of the Corries, writer of Flower of Scotland, one of several unofficial Scottish national anthems and possibly the most popular. Gordonstoun also has a notable fictional alumna: the heroine of ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...
'', Lady Lara Croft, was supposed to have attended the school in sixth year; she has also been used to advertise it.


Controversies

In 2010, a teacher had their teaching licence/qualification revoked by the
General Teaching Council for Scotland The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) () is a fee based registered charity and the world's first independent registration and regulation body for teaching. The current Chief Executive and Registrar is Pauline Stephen. The GTC Sc ...
for warning students about exam content in advance of the tests. In 2020, the school carried out renovations which included work on principal Lisa Kerr's living quarters. An unnamed source claimed that the renovations cost approximately £100,000 and included £8,000 for carpets and £6,000 for flooring. Speaking to the Times, the school confirmed that Kerr "contributed significantly" to the costs and that the renovations had "become urgent in order to reconfigure classrooms and increase cleaning regimes to comply with Covid regulations".


Child abuse

In 2017, Gordonstoun was named as one of the schools being investigated in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry chaired by Lady Smith. In 2021 Gordonstoun said at the inquiry that there had been 11 cases of pupil abuse and 82 claims of bullying between students, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1995 the school had started a child protection policy and in 2013 there had been "significant" abuse disclosures. The school issued a "sincere and unreserved apology" to pupils who had undergone abuse. In 2018, ex-teacher Andrew Keir was convicted of offences including indecent assault involving thirteen-year-old pupils at the school between 1988 and 1991. He was subsequently jailed for twelve months. In June 2024 an inquiry ruled that abuse took place at the school unchecked for decades. Lady Smith, chairwoman of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), said "I have no difficulty in finding that children were abused at Gordonstoun and Aberlour in a variety of ways over a long period of time."


Television appearances


''True Stories''

In 1996, the school appeared on an episode of Channel Four's ''True Stories''. Filmmaker Penny Woodcock shot the documentary during the autumn term. Despite preconceptions that Gordonstoun was one of Britain's stricter boarding schools; Woodcock's documentary depicted a compassionate and liberal institution led at that time by the headteacher Mark Pyper. The programme gave insights into the school's management, conflict resolution processes and day-to-day life. Highlights included pupils using a modified
Walkman is a brand of Personal stereo, portable audio players manufactured by Sony since 1979. It was originally introduced as a portable Compact Cassette, cassette player and later expanded to include a range of portable audio products. Since 2011, ...
to trigger amplified toilet flushes during the daily sermon, and a candid interview with the school's sailing instructor.


''The Crown''

In December 2017, a fictionalised depiction of the school featured in episode 9 of season 2 of the Netflix TV series ''
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
''. Left Bank Pictures filmed ten of the scenes on the grounds of Gloucestershire's Woodchester Mansion. Queen Elizabeth II reportedly felt "sad and annoyed" by how the episode portrayed the relationship between Charles and Philip during Charles' time at Gordonstoun. The episode states at its end that Charles later described his time at Gordonstoun as a "prison sentence". The school disputed the series' portrayal of Charles' alma mater, citing in their defence a 1970s speech he made in the House of Lords and an interview published in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' where he gave a nuanced recollection of the school.


Legacy


Outward bound

Gordonstoun temporarily relocated to
Aberdyfi Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi. The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a larger ...
, Wales during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, while the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
used the Gordonstoun estate as barracks. Hahn worked with friends and fellow educationalist, Lawrence Durning Holt and Jim Hogan. Holt was a partner in the Alfred Holt and Company who owned the Blue Funnel Line. Hogan was the Warden of The Blue Funnel Line's sea school in Aberdyfi, which provided four-year character-building courses and practical training to young, prospective officers. The courses included preparations for a land-based expedition as the course' finale. Due to the necessities of World War II, Aberdyfi focused on Seamanship. However, the courses' founders later claimed that their sea school didn't offer "training for the Sea", but "Training through the sea".


Duke of Edinburgh Award

Hahn founded the Moray Badge scheme in 1937. The scheme gave Moray's local children training by taking part in expeditions before completing a final project to earn the award. The Duke of Edinburgh completed his Moray badge while at Gordonstoun. Hahn approached the Duke of Edinburgh after World War II about the prospect of creating a national awards scheme based on the Moray Badge. At the time a gap existed for boys leaving school aged 15 and beginning National Service aged 18. Therefore, its founders aimed the original Duke of Edinburgh award at boys aged 15 to 18.


Influence on state education

In the U.S., Hahn's Outward-Bound approach inspired an English and Arts Curriculum known as EL Education. From 2009, U.S schools adopted the ELA curriculum after the formation of the
Common Core State Standards Initiative The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout th ...
. In Britain, former Education Secretary
Nicky Morgan Nicola Ann Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, (; born 10 October 1972) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities from 2014 to 2016 and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, ...
voiced a need for a greater curricular emphasis on character building. At the same time the educational advisor John Cridland and former shadow education minister Tristram Hunt began using phrases such as "rounded and grounded", "resilience", "team-building" and "communication skills" when discussing education.


See also

* Broneirion, Gordonstoun's home during World War II


Notes

* *


References


Works cited

* * *


External links

*
Kurt Hahn websiteRound Square websiteGordonstoun International Summer School
{{authority control Private schools in Moray Boarding schools in Moray Round Square schools Secondary schools in Moray Educational institutions established in 1934 Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed schools in Scotland 1934 establishments in Scotland Primary schools in Moray