The US meets the world in one Welsh castle

A United World College, the first of its kind, UWC Atlantic was founded by visionary educationist Kurt Hahn. Hahn was a Jewish man who was exiled from his native country Germany after speaking out against the Nazis. The destruction of the World Wars gave him a belief in the need to work beyond conflict, and the potential of education as a force for good.

At the height of the Cold War, he collaborated with NATO allied countries to bring their youth together in St Donat’s. Lord Mountbatten – you may remember him from The Crown as a father figure to Prince Phillip and confidante to Queen Elizabeth II - was the college’s founding president. The movement started in Wales and soon extended to other countries across the world, with 18 colleges in countries including the US, Canada, South Africa, Netherlands, China and Thailand. Today, the boarding school is home to students from 90 nationalities and, thanks to financial support through sponsorships and scholarships, educates refugees as well as royalty.

The college counts several royals in its alumni including Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands. But it is also where “the Other Malalas”, Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz, the Pakistani schoolgirls who were with their friend Malala Yousafzai when she was shot, were educated.

‘I think it’s one of the most unique places in the world. It’s two years with people from all over the world who are passionate about wanting to make a change’, says 16-year-old Carmen Henick from Virginia in the US.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3Lnqpnm5%2BifK21xZ6qrbGcmny0wNSdsKKml2S2r8DRqJuum5mjtG6t06WYp6yZmHqku8ulnKCd