Spain’s Infanta Sofía, 15, will attend a £68,000 two-year course at UWC Atlantic

Infanta Sofia of Spain will attend the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales on a two-year, £68,000 course, her parents Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI of Spain have announced.

The 15-year-old will follow in the footsteps of her sister, 17-year-old Princess Eleanor, heir to the Spanish throne, who is in her final year at the Vale of Glamorgan specialist education college.

Sofia will become the latest in a long line of royal alumni at the university, including Princess Elisabeth, heir to the throne of Belgium, who graduated in 2020, and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

Located in the 12th-century St. Donat’s Castle on the country’s southern coast, the university, nicknamed “Hippie Hogwarts,” was founded by German pedagogue Kurt Hahn.

School fees for the two-year course cost a whopping £68,000 and include Tai Chi, theory of knowledge and Tibetan literature.

The statement added: “The cost of the international baccalaureate that the Infanta Sofía will take will also be borne entirely personally by Their Majesties the King and Queen with their annual allowance.”

Sofía, who turns 16 in April, will begin this summer at the boarding school after passing the necessary entrance tests to enroll in the International Baccalaureate study program.

Like her sister, she will be moving to the UK and living in one of eight boarding houses available on campus.

Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, studied at the College from 1983 to 1985 and graduated with an International Baccalaureate before completing his military service and going on to study History at Leiden University beginning in 1987.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 21, the daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, enrolled in 2018 but had to cut her time at university short due to the covid-19 pandemic and continued her studies online from home.

Princess Raiyah of Jordan, the daughter of Jordan’s King Hussein and Queen Noor, also attended the institution as a teenager before studying Japanese at Edinburgh University.

Education at the school takes place in a 12th century castle by the sea, with its own promenade, woodland, farmland and valley.

Atlantic College is located near the town of Llantwit Major on the south coast of Wales, overlooking the Bristol Channel. It has been continuously inhabited since it was built.

The 15-year-old will follow in the footsteps of her sister Princess Leonor (pictured), 17, heiress to the Spanish throne, who is in her final year at the Vale of Glamorgan Specialist School for Education.

Sofia will become the latest in a long line of royal alumni at the university (pictured), including Princess Elisabeth, heir to the throne of Belgium, who graduated in 2020, and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

The school offers a variety of extracurricular activities, which its website describes as “a platform for young people to learn through shared experience” (on the left, the dining hall and on the right, the outdoor swimming pool)

Lessons take place in modern academic blocks built in the 1960s and 1980s, converted medieval buildings, and the castle itself (pictured, the school library)

The extensive grounds also include the 12th-century Church of San Donatus and historic terraced gardens, as well as preserved woodland, farmland and the heritage coastline.

St Donat’s Castle is the main building of the university and houses the Tudor Great Hall, the Gothic Dining Hall, Bradenstoke Hall which is used for assemblies and performances and an extensive library of 25,000 books.

The school’s students are housed in eight purpose-built boarding houses, housing approximately 48 students each.

The modern lodging houses are named after ancient Welsh kingdoms or benefactors of the university: Pentti Kouri, Morgannwg, Powys, Whitaker, Gwynedd, Tice and Sunley.

Unlike a full school day of conventional teaching, lessons at UWC begin at 8 am and end at lunchtime.

The two-year Diploma Program has two parts: the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) curriculum and an experiential learning program that focuses on key aspects of ‘peace, a sustainable future and student initiative’.

The basic fundamentals of the school include biology, chemistry, economics, English literature, geography, history, mathematics, and physics.

Meanwhile, there is also a wide selection of optional courses to choose from, including design technology, visual arts, film studies, music, and global politics, among others.

The College’s literary options range from English and French literature to Czech, Russian, Tibetan, Swedish and Urdu literature.

Classes are held in modern academic blocks built in the 1960s and 1980s, as well as in converted medieval buildings and in the castle itself.

In addition to their academic studies, students are expected to complete a minimum of two hours of community service, two hours of physical activity, and another two hours of creative activity each week. Sessions take place in the afternoons, evenings and weekends.

The school seeks to ‘inspire change agents’ who want to work for the common good with its lessons.

It looks for students who “can navigate the complexity of life and (reach) beyond the easy answers,” the school’s website said.

Students are encouraged to be ’empowered’ to take ‘genuine responsibility for their own decisions and actions’.

In 2018, The times reported that students were discouraged from displaying their wealth with expensive gadgets, and were likely to rub shoulders with ‘West African refugees’ and ‘California hippies’.

Founded in 1962 by German pedagogue Kurt Hahn, it believed that its approach to education, for students aged 16 to 19, could lead to a more rapid resolution of international conflict, a spirit still held by the establishment which aims to “promote mutual understanding.” .