Why remote Brit school dubbed ‘Hippy Hogwarts’ is loved by royals across the world – Zumba lessons to ‘haunted’ castle
WHEN you envision where the world’s kings and queens would choose to send their children to school, a small village in Wales probably wouldn’t spring to mind.
But tucked away in the Vale of Glamorgan is a college with a roster to rival the likes of Eton and Harrow.
Royal families from across Europe and as far as the Middle East deemed UWC Atlantic, a private sixth-form college, the perfect choice for their future heirs.
Earlier this week King Felipe of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia were seen in photos waving their daughter, Infanta Sofía, off as she left Madrid for Wales and the start of the new term.
Dubbed ‘Hippy Hogwarts’ by one alumna, the boarding school describes itself as a “global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future”.
As well as Sofía, other royals that have attended UWC Atlantic – which stands for United World Colleges – include her elder sister Princess Leonor of Asturias, and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands – both joined in September 2021.
Leonor is said to have enrolled through Spain’s anonymised process, which ensured that she got in without anyone knowing who she was.
Alexia’s father, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, also attended the school from 1983 to 1985.
Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth and Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein of Jordan were also educated there, while Queen Noor of Jordan is the current president of the UWC.
The late Queen Elizabeth also supported the UWC as a patron while King Charles served as president from 1978-1995.
German educator Kurt Hahn founded the school in 1962. He was also responsible for Gordonstoun, attended by Prince Philip and King Charles.
Explaining its appeal, Louise Callaghan, a journalist who is also an alumna, wrote in The Times: “It is a bit like a hippie Hogwarts: full of oddballs who think they are fighting the forces of darkness.
“There are also ghosts. Lady Stradling haunts the history tower, and the smell of lavender and a lilac mist precedes her apparition.”
Lady Stradling’s family began the development of the site and held it for 400 years.
She added: “The ethos is, broadly, that people from all over the world can get along if you shove them together in a castle. That much we proved, some very passionately.”
Louise said UWC Atlantic is unlike any other British boarding school, adding: “There are no matrons or cold baths or housemasters. Instead, there are vegans and houseparents… the aim, broadly, is world peace.
“The thing about Atlantic College is that it forces you to get very used to being around, and getting along with, people who are nothing like you.”
UWC has 18 campuses across four continents and teaches 10,500 students each year from 155 countries.
There are only 360 students studying at the Welsh campus – all specifically chosen for their diversity.
Many of them are granted scholarships, while the rest, like the royals, pay fees.
According to Tatler, a two-year International Baccalaureate course there will set parents back £66,000 – but those fees are scrapped for scholarship holders as some are refugees or come from war-torn countries.
Two of Malala Yousafzai’s friends were beneficiaries of scholarships around the time she was shot by the Taliban for advocating the education of girls in 2012.
Subjects on offer include Chinese literature, global politics, science, maths and music. Each program requires a minimum uptake of six students to run.
UWC also has a co-curricular programme that breaks down into three parts – creative, activity and service.
Classes are said to end at 1pm to give students the chance to enjoy activities such as Tai-Chi, Zumba, basketball, tennis and floorball.
If that doesn’t sound appealing enough, they can always opt for kayaking, paddle boarding, archery or caving.
They can also choose to partake in knitting, media production and the Amnesty International Annual Headshave, where students go bald for good causes.
The school appears to have embraced its comparisons to Harry Potter, describing its its location as “a magical place – a 12th century Castle by the sea – with its own seafront, woodland, farmland and valley”.
Its base, St Donat’s Castle, is just 16 miles west of Cardiff and set on cliffs overlooking the Bristol Channel.
Students sleep four to a room in dormitories. It has modern bathrooms and “bright, attractive study areas, day rooms and kitchens”.
According to Vanity Fair, the dorms come with “pitched roofs, some newly built and others with exposed stone walls from the castle itself”.
There are two house mentors to help look after students, as well as a wellbeing team.
Many UWC Atlantic students have gone on to prominent positions in society, becoming politicians, diplomats and filmmakers.