PRINCESS TO STUDY AT WELSH CASTLE
A ROYAL princess is moving to South Wales to study in September.
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, who is a member of the Belgian royal family, will start at Atlantic College in St Donats, Vale of Glamorgan, later this year.
Located in the 12th century St Donat’s Castle, the residential college has 350 students aged 16-19 from over 90 different countries who study the International Baccalaureate.
The 16-year-old princess would have had to pass tests organised by the Belgian Committee to be able to study at the college.
Princess Elisabeth currently attends a Dutch-speaking school in Brussels, and also speaks French and English and is learning German, according to the Belgian royal family’s website.
The princess is the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and lives with her parents, brothers Gabriel and Emmanuel and her sister Eleonore at the Royal Palace of Laeken.
A keen sportswoman, Princess Elisabeth plays tennis, skis, enjoys scuba diving and also loves to cook.
She also volunteers to help children with learning difficulties, the elderly, the homeless and disabled.
Atlantic College was set up by German educationalist Kurt Hahn in 1962 and “focuses on a lifelong commitment to service in the community, to collaborative work and social engagement and develops in young people a sense of personal initiative and the skills of leadership”.
Students live in dorms of four, with nationalities and cultures being deliberately mixed. Students also have access to a day room with a kitchen, quiet rooms for studying and a social centre with a coffee lounge.
There is also a dance studio, a gym and a large hall used for sports and discos on the weekends.
Alumni include Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussain, daughter of King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan and King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands. Nelson Mandela was an honorary president of the college.
Fees to board at the college are just under £10,000 a term.
To gain admission, students must pass rigorous tests and the majority of students are selected through their country’s National Committee.