Jocelin Winthrop Young
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Jocelin Slingsby Winthrop Young (25 October 1919 – 8 February 2012) was a British educator, headmaster and
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer who co-founded the Greek independent boarding school Anavryta and founded the
Round Square Round Square is an international network of schools, based on the educational concepts of Kurt Hahn, and named after a distinctive building at Gordonstoun. Founded by a group of seven schools in the late 1960s, by 1996 it had grown to 20 member ...
association of schools. He was also the private tutor of
King Constantine II of Greece Constantine II (, ; 2 June 1940 – 10 January 2023) was the last King of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine was born in Athens as the only son of Crown Prince Paul and ...
between 1948 and 1958.


Early life

Winthrop Young was born on 25 October 1919 at
Heversham Heversham is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 647, increasing at the 2011 census to 699. It is situated above the marshe ...
,
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
(now Cumbria) to renowned mountaineers
Geoffrey Winthrop Young Geoffrey Winthrop Young (25 October 1876 – 8 September 1958) was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering. Young was born in Kensington, the middle son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet, a n ...
and
Eleanor Winthrop Young Eleanor "Len" Winthrop Young (1895–1994) was a British climber. She was a co-founder and the first president of the Pinnacle Club, a British women's climbing club, and made numerous ascents in the Alps and many in the United Kingdom. Early ...
. Winthrop Young's parents were friends with German educator
Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886 – 14 December 1974) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, Outward Bound, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and the first of the U ...
and consequently he was sent to study at Hahn's first school
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
from 1931 to 1933. When Hahn (who was Jewish) sought to leave the country following the rise to power of the Nazis, Winthrop Young's parents were amongst those who facilitated his escape to Britain. Once in Britain, Hahn soon sought to establish a new school, and following a few short term arrangements he set up a school at
Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational Private school (United Kingdom), private school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip, Duke of Ed ...
in Scotland. Winthrop Young was amongst the first cohort of pupils, along with
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 ...
(then of Greece and Denmark), who had also moved to Gordonstoun from Salem. The two men were amongst the crew who sailed the school's ocean-going vessel 'Henrietta' to Norway. This experience triggered a lifelong love for sailing and the sea within Winthrop Young, and following the outbreak of war in 1939 he volunteered to serve in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
.


Tutor to Crown Prince of Greece, and establishment of Anavryta

After his period of service as an officer with the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
during the Second World WarVeevers, Nick & Allison Pete (2011) Springer Science & Business Media. Kurt Hahn. p. 91 (where he reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander and took part in the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
), Winthrop Young decided against an education at university and instead began working at Imperial Chemical Industries in Birmingham. During this time
King Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...
and Queen Frederica contacted Kurt Hahn and expressed their desire that he set up a school in Greece so that their son the Crown Prince Constantine could be educated there. Kurt Hahn suggested that Winthrop Young move to Greece, become private tutor to Crown Prince Constantine, and establish a new school there. Winthrop Young took Hahn up on his offer, and along with the King and Queen set up the
Anavryta Experimental Lyceum The Anavryta Model Lyceum (), colloquially referred to simply as Anavryta, is a model, co-educational, public lyceum (students aged 16–18), located in the northern suburb of Maroussi in Athens, Greece. The same complex houses the Anavryta Experi ...
in 1949. Winthrop Young became the school's first headmaster and personal tutor to the future King Constantine II, who was amongst the school's first pupils. Winthrop Young returned to visit Gordonstoun and here he became acquainted with Roy McComish, the two men began a long lasting friendship and working relationship In 1953 an
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
struck Greece, a disaster which caused the death of thousands of people and the destruction of many buildings. Shortly after the earthquake
King Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...
visited the site of the earthquake with his wife
Frederica of Hanover Frederica of Hanover (German: ''Friederike Luise''; , romanized: ''Freideríki Luísa''; 18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981) was Queen of Greece from 1 April 1947 until 6 March 1964 as the wife of King Paul and the Queen Mother of Greece from ...
and her brother Prince George of Hanover, who was at this point the headmaster of
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
. Prince George decided to initiate a building project to help repair the damage done to the island of Cephalonia his project would involve students from schools in various different countries.The muscles of friendship - Speech by Jocelin Winthrop Young on the occasion of his retirement in October 1992 - Accessible https://www.jocelinwinthropyoung.com/work/round-square/ One of these schools was Gordonstoun and these students were under the supervision of Roy McComish, a close friend and collaborator of Winthrop Young's.Toast to Winthrop Young - Speech by Roy McComish in 1992 at Bishop's College, Lennoxville Quebec - Accessible https://www.jocelinwinthropyoung.com/work/round-square/ A group of 120 students from 8 countries (including those from Salem and Gordonstoun) headed to Greece in July 1954, where a group from Anavryta joined them. Once they arrived at their destination of
Argostoli Argostoli (, Katharevousa: ) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has been the capi ...
, on the island of Cephalonia, they set to work building a home for a number of elderly people who had been left homeless. The success of this co-operation between several like-minded schools acted as his inspiration for
Round Square Round Square is an international network of schools, based on the educational concepts of Kurt Hahn, and named after a distinctive building at Gordonstoun. Founded by a group of seven schools in the late 1960s, by 1996 it had grown to 20 member ...
. In 1958 the Crown Prince finished his education, and in 1959 Winthrop Young stood down as headmaster of Anavryta and returned to England. In 1960 Winthrop Young was made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
for his work at Anavryta.


Foundation of the Round Square and later career

Between 1962 and 1963 Roy McComish (who had at this point founded
Box Hill School Box Hill School was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private coeducational Boarding school, boarding and day school until they merged with Reigate Grammar School and became RGS Surrey Hills in 2025. It was situated in the village of Mic ...
, where Winthrop Young had become one of its governors) and Winthrop Young listed all the schools which they considered to have adopted Hahn's ideas or had included them at their foundation. These were: in Scotland, Rannoch School and Dunrobin School; in England,
Abbotsholme School Abbotsholme School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove, Central England, River Dove in Derbyshir ...
, Battisborough and
Milton Abbey Milton Abbey School is a private school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell. T ...
; in Germany
Louisenlund Stiftung Louisenlund is a privately run boarding school for boys and girls in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History The school's main building is in Louisenlund Palace, which was built by Hermann von Motz between 1772 and 1776 for Prince Ch ...
; in Switzerland
Aiglon College Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Founded in 1949 by former Gordonstoun School teacher John C. Corlette, it is in the alpine village of Chesieres, close to the ski resort of Villars ...
; in Africa
Achimota School Achimota School (Help:IPA/English, /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra Reg ...
; in India
The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...
; and the soon to open Athenian School in California. Gordonstoun, Salem, Anavryta and Box Hill were 'taken for granted' as the already established and pre-eminent Hahnian schools.Jocelin Winthrop-Young 28/3/1999 - accessible https://www.jocelinwinthropyoung.com/work/round-square/ In 1964 Winthrop Young became head of boarding at
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
, the school where he had received his early education. On 5 June 1966, Kurt Hahn's 80th birthday was celebrated at
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
, and Winthrop Young had the headmasters of Box Hill School, Gordonstoun, Louisenlund, Anavryta, Battisborough, the Athenian School and the
Atlantic College UWC Atlantic (formally the United World College of the Atlantic, and often referred to by its original name, Atlantic College) is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Fo ...
invited, to discuss the establishment of a Hahn schools conference. This meeting was chaired by
King Constantine King Constantine may refer to: * Constantine (Briton) (520–523), a king of Dumnonia in sub-Roman Britain * Constantine I of Georgia (d. 1412), King of Georgia from 1405 or 1407 until his death * Constantine II of Georgia (ca. 1447–1505), of the ...
and during its course an agreement was reached on naming the conference 'The Hahn Schools', it was then decided that the first conference would be held at Gordonstoun in 1967. At this first conference, at Hahn's insistence, the name 'The Hahn Schools' was dropped in favour of a new name 'Round Square Conference,' after an iconic building at Gordonstoun. The six schools that attended this first conference and were the founding members of the Round Square were
Box Hill School Box Hill School was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private coeducational Boarding school, boarding and day school until they merged with Reigate Grammar School and became RGS Surrey Hills in 2025. It was situated in the village of Mic ...
,
Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational Private school (United Kingdom), private school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip, Duke of Ed ...
,
Anavryta Experimental Lyceum The Anavryta Model Lyceum (), colloquially referred to simply as Anavryta, is a model, co-educational, public lyceum (students aged 16–18), located in the northern suburb of Maroussi in Athens, Greece. The same complex houses the Anavryta Experi ...
,
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
,
Aiglon College Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Founded in 1949 by former Gordonstoun School teacher John C. Corlette, it is in the alpine village of Chesieres, close to the ski resort of Villars ...
and
Abbotsholme School Abbotsholme School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove, Central England, River Dove in Derbyshir ...
. At the second Round Square conference, held at Box Hill, the principles of the association were established and
co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
was the first of the sequence of conference themes that was discussed. At a later conference held at Box Hill in 1980 the R.S.I.S. (Round Square International Service) was created to promote and organise overseas voluntary service projects in much the same way as the project in Cephalonia. Winthrop Young retired as head of boarding and headmaster of the Salem campus at
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur and the International Baccalaureate (IB). With se ...
in 1974, but continued to run Round Square as Honorary Secretary and later as Director until he retired from that position in 1992. Winthrop Young died in
Heiligenberg Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee (district), Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Salem, in Germany. Location and climate Heiligenberg (literally: the H ...
, near
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...
in Germany in 2012 at the age of 92.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Jocelin Winthrop 1919 births 2012 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II 20th-century British educators Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gordonstoun