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 – several themselves military officers – 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 aged 16 to 18 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, background or financial means. 

 

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 made the extraordinary donation of St Donat's Castle for the College's premises, and Air Marshal Sir Lawrance Darvall. For more information about the early years of Atlantic College, click here. Under the leadership of this group, the vision spread as students came from more and more countries and thoughts turned to new Colleges.   

 

In 1967, Lord Mountbatten became President of the organisation and the title 'United World Colleges' was soon born. Mountbatten was a great 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. 

 

It was in the 1970s that the concept of an international movement began to take shape. Alongside the Colleges, increasing numbers of National Committees were established to promote UWC within their own countries and to select students for the Colleges. As more students experienced a UWC education, so the size of the UWC graduate community continued to grow.

 

In 1978, Lord Mountbatten passed the Presidency to his great-nephew, HRH The Prince of Wales. In rapid succession, Waterford KaMhlaba School in Swaziland, founded as a multi-racial school in opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies, became Waterford KaMhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, and two new Colleges were established – the United World College of the American West in New Mexico, USA (now commonly known as UWC-USA) and the United World College of the Adriatic, near Trieste in Italy. Prince Charles then played a key role, with the agronomist Dr Luis Marcano Coello, in the establishment of a College in Venezuela, the Simón Bolívar United World College of Agriculture. While Simón Bolívar's curriculum is focused on specific agricultural objectives, it shares the mission of all United World Colleges and applies the movement's ideals in a very direct way. Prince Charles officially opened the eighth College, Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong, in 1992.   

 

 In 1995, Prince Charles was succeeded as President by HM Queen Noor of Jordan and Nelson Mandela (whose own children and grandchildren had attended Waterford KaMhlaba UWC). Two further Colleges soon followed: the Red Cross Nordic United World College in Norway in 1995, a joint venture with the Red Cross/Red Crescent organisation and the eight Nordic governments; and the Mahindra United World College of India in Pune, which opened in 1997.

 

The 1990s also saw the development of UWC Short Courses as a means of providing further opportunities for young people to share the UWC experience. 

 

In August 2006 the eleventh United World College, the United World College Costa Rica, formerly the Costa Rica SOS Hermann Gmeiner International College, admitted its first year of United World College students.  Shortly afterwards, in September, UWC in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina also saw the arrival of its students. 

 

Currently, there are 12 UWCs and 124 UWC National Committees.  In the 44 years since Atlantic College opened, more than 34,000 students from 181 countries have attended the United World Colleges.

Further information:

The first twenty years of the United World Colleges, by David Sutcliffe