Its Gothic dining hall and fashionable cohort may have earned it the nickname ?Hippy Hogwarts? but UWC Atlantic is attracting a steady flow of blue-blooded Europeans, says Katie Hughes
When it was founded in 1962, The Times called it ?the most exciting experiment in education since the Second World War.? The Welsh castle that houses it once hosted avish parties for guests like Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw and John F Kennedy. And today, students travel from over 90 countries to live, study and learn in it.
UWC, or United World College, Atlantic has long-courted international interest, not least from the string of European royals who flock to its boarding dorms. And now, both Princess Leonor of Asturias (heir to the Spanish throne) and Princess Alexia of The Netherlands are to join its cohort.
It?s clearly not the Welsh weather that?s making it irresistible to Europe?s elite ? so what exactly is it"
Royal approval

With the Prince of Wales, Lord Mountbatten and Nelson Mandela as former presidents and Queen Noor of Jordan in the post today, UWC Atlantic could be mistaken for a high-society finishing school. Its 12th century castle is even set in 122 acres of woodland and farmland, with its own valley and seafront. But scratch the surface and things become much more interesting.
One reason for this is that the 16-19-year-old students ? royal or otherwise ? can complement their International Baccalaureate studies with an array of co-curricular activities that ra...