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Atlantic College
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The United World College of the Atlantic, more commonly referred to simply as Atlantic College, is an internationally prestigious school in south Wales for 16 - 18 year olds. The first of the twelve United World Colleges, Atlantic College launched the UWC movement that now spans the globe and was the first school to follow an international curriculum. The College is home to around 350 students who come from more than 75 countries with the aim of fostering respect for diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds.
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The United World College of the Atlantic, more commonly referred to simply as Atlantic College, is an internationally prestigious school in south Wales for 16 - 18 year olds. The first of the twelve United World Colleges, Atlantic College launched the UWC movement that now spans the globe and was the first school to follow an international curriculum. The College is home to around 350 students who come from more than 75 countries with the aim of fostering respect for diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds. Students from diverse nationalities live together for two years, and study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a pre-university qualification which was piloted at the College. Community service is integral to the ethos of Atlantic College with students giving over 52,000 hours of service to the community each year. Students are selected on merit, regardless of religious, social or ethnic background or ablitiy to pay. Coupled with the College’s scholarship programme this ensures that the school is global but that entrance is not just for the global elite.
History
It was founded in 1962 by the German educationalist Kurt Hahn - who also set up Gordonstoun School in Scotland and the Salem School in Germany - as a practical response to the search for new and peaceful solutions in a world riven by political, racial and economic divisions.
Kurt Hahn had been invited to address the NATO Defence College where he saw former enemies from several nations working together towards a common goal. With a number of colleagues Hahn realised how much more could be done to overcome the hostility of the Cold War 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.
Atlantic College opened in South Wales in 1962 and was hailed by The Times as "the most exciting experiment in education since the Second World War." The College was the fruit of Kurt Hahn's vision and the work of men such as the founding Headmaster Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare, Antonin Besse, who donated St Donat's Castle for the College's premises, and Air Marshal Sir Lawrance Darvall. Robert Blackburn was also influential as founding Deputy Headmaster and Director of Studies.
In 1967, Lord Mountbatten became President of the organisation and the title United World Colleges came into existence. 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 the second UWC – the United World College of South East Asia – in Singapore. A further College followed in 1974: former Canadian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester Pearson had dreamed of establishing an institution like Atlantic College in Canada and it was fitting that the Lester B Pearson United World College of the Pacific became Canada's living memorial to its much-respected leader.
In 1978, Lord Mountbatten passed the Presidency to his great-nephew, HRH The Prince of Wales. The current presidents of Atlantic College are Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor of Jordan and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
The College
The College's mission is to enable students "to become positive agents of change through action and life choice, fulfilling individual potential and recognizing individual responsibilities as global citizens".
Students from over 75 countries participate in Atlantic College's rigorous two-year programme in which they combine academic studies with activities and service. Admission, and scholarship awards, are decided by individual UWC committees around the world, which also send students to the other United World Colleges.
At the beginning of the two years, students are obliged to select a service that they will carry out for at least four hours a week. At present, there are nine services offered: Inshore Lifeboat (RNLI), Lifeguards, Cavra, Extramural Centre, Coastal and Maritime Environmental Service, Social Service (including Community Education Partnership), Estate and Environmental Service, Arts Centre Service and Media and Communications Service. At the beginning of each term, students also select three activities, and these must each be carried out for at least two hours a week.
The College is unique in having an active RNLI Lifeboat Station within its grounds, and its Atlantic 75 class boat is manned by staff and students from the College. Much of the development of the Atlantic 21, 75 and 85 classes of lifeboat took place here. ILB training vessels are still built on-site by students and are in regular use in practice and training of the RNLI crews at the station.
Grounds and Facilities
Atlantic College is located at St Donat's Castle, a 12th century castle near the town of Llantwit Major on the South Wales coast, overlooking the Bristol Channel. The extensive grounds also include the 12th century St Donat's Chapel and the historic terraced gardens, as well as preserved woodland, farmland and heritage coastline. St Donat's Castle is the impressive main building of the school housing the Gothic Dining Hall, The Great (Bradenstoke) Hall used for assemblies and performances, the Tudor Hall, extensive 25,000 book Library, staff offices, student common areas and certain academic departments such as History, Economics and Theory of Knowledge.
Students live in 7 accommodation houses named after either Welsh counties or benefactors to the college:
- Ollila (formerly Dyfed)
- Morgannwg
- Powys
- Gwynedd
- Whitaker
- Tice
- Sunley
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 / Gymnasium blocks and the 12th Century Tithe barn (used by the college and open to the public as a theatre, arts centre and cinema). This building with its contemporary glazed extension by notable local architect Chris Loyn, has received much praise in the UK architectural community as well as from groups interested in building conservation. 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 training boats, and a cliff suitable for climbing and rescue practice.
In 2004 the college installed a carbon neutral biomass heating system to replace an aging and unsustainable oil based system. It runs on locally sourced sustainable woodchip biomass, and makes the campus the largest site in the UK to be heated in such a way.
The oldest student house, Ollila (formerly Dyfed), was refurbished in the Autumn of 2008 to include technologies such as geothermal heating and an energy usage monitoring system to lessen its impact on the environment. If the renovation proves successful at reducing the environmental impact, whilst being comfortable to live in, the other older houses may also be renovated over a period of years.
Academics
One of the first colleges in the world and first in UK to follow an international curriculum, Atlantic College continues to lead the way in pioneering new options for the broad-ranging International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Since 1972 the sole academic programme has been the IB, with the first students to study exclusively for the IB having entered the College in 1971. The College was influential in the creation of the International Baccalaureate and continues to be actively involved in its development.
The average pupil at Atlantic College scores 37 in their IB diploma, a full 10 points higher than the worldwide average. This high level of academic attainment is reflected in the destinations of the school's graduates.
Graduates are typically accepted at the most competitive colleges and universities around the world. Most students take up places at American Universities such as Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania, . Many other students attend British Universities such as Oxford University, Cambridge University and the University of Edinburgh. Students at the college are eligible, after graduation, to participate in The Davis United World College Scholars Program, which funds undergraduate study (based on need) for UWC students at universities in the United States. Despite this, the stated aim of the College is that students return to their home communities or regions after completing their studies to enable and encourage social and economic development around the world and across societies, rather than removing those most able to facilitate change from those areas most in need of it.
The class of 2008 were academically the college’s most successful year in its 46-year history. Seventy-six students, almost half of the graduating class of 163, received a total of 151 unconditional acceptances at top US universities, and 13 students were offered conditional places to study at Oxbridge.
Among the offers, there were 21 acceptances to Ivy League universities such as Dartmouth College, Brown University, Harvard University, Yale University and Princeton University.
Traditions
Induction Week:
When the new year of students arrive in September, the second year students welcome them to the college outside the main gate, banging pots and pan and carrying signs so that each student knows which house they are in. The first years spend the first few days at Atlantic College learning about the college and getting to know each other by going on a camping trip.
Open Mic Nights:
To raise money for various charities and causes, students organise 'Open Mic Nights' usually held in the Old Staff Common Room. Students pay for entry and watch their fellow schoolmates performing. Causes include Trade Justice, Amnesty International, Students for a Free Tibet and STAR.
National Evenings:
Every Sunday, a national group or a conglomeration of national groups (For example: British & Irish, Franco-Italian, Central European (German-Dutch), Latin & Iberic, North American etc.) put together a show celebrating the culture of their region. Nearly every pupil participates and attends the national evenings and the performances are usually both a celebration and a parody of their countries.
ACMUN:
Each year the college hosts a Model United Nations conference. This is very accurately staged with various committees, councils and events. Students from other United World Colleges also attend.
Writer in Residence:
Started in September 2007, this is when an author lives on campus and helps students with all literature, including essays, letters home and notes to other students. The most recent writer in residence was Horatio Clare.
Friday Night Lecturer:
Prominent characters present a speech based on their field of excellence to the school. Recent Friday night lecturers include entrepreneurs Craig Sams and Dame Anita Roddick, Margot Wallström, European Commission Vice President and the journalist Aernout Van Lynden
Notable alumni
- Seppo Honkapohja (1951-), Finnish board member of the Bank of Finland, former Professor of Macroeconomics at University of Cambridge.
- Pentti Kouri, (1949 - 2009), Finnish economist and venture capitalist
- Marjan Šetinc, (1949- ), Slovenian politician and diplomat
- Jorma Ollila, (1950- ), Finnish executive, former CEO of Nokia Corporation, current Non-Executive Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and Nokia
- Chris Morgan, (1952 - 2008), Welsh journalist
- Philippe Niarchos, (1953-) Greek shipping heir
- Edoardo Agnelli, (1954 - 2000), heir apparent of FIAT
- Kari Blackburn, (1954 - 2007), BBC reporter
- Aernout Van Lynden, (1954- ), war correspondent and journalist in the Middle East
- Hakeem Belo-Osagie, (1955- ), Chairman of the United Bank for Africa
- Priscilla Ratazzi-Whittle (1956-), author and President of the College's US Foundation
- Fernando Alonso (engineer), (1956- ), Head of Airbus Test Flight Division (A380 First Flight Crew Member)
- Jonathan Michie, (1957- ), Director of the Department for Continuing Education and President of Kellogg College, University of Oxford
- Pedro Alonso Fernandez, (1957- ), Founder of the Manhica Center of Health Research
- Julie Payette, (1963- ), Canadian astronaut (1982)
- Willem-Alexander, (1967- ), crown prince of the Netherlands
- Eluned Morgan, (1967- ), politician
- Saba Douglas-Hamilton, (1970- ), conservationist and TV presenter
- Adnan Akant, managing director of global firm Fischer Francis Trees & Watts
- Serena Olsaretti, Cambridge philosophy don
- Louise Leakey, (1972- ), Palaeontologist
- Horatio Clare, (1973- ), author
- Ashraf Johaardien, (1974- ), playwright, columnist, performer and arts manager.
- Kara Miller, (1974- ), writer, director and presenter
- Felicitas von Lovenberg, (1974- ), German journalist and author
- Nicholas Broadway, (1978- ), Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics
- Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein (1986- ), daughter of King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan
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