'Pob lwc', Princess Leonor! Royal teen heads for sixth form in Wales

SPAIN'S future Queen is likely to be experiencing a rollercoaster of nerves and excitement today as she gets ready to start a new adventure: Still only 15 years old, Crown Princess Leonor will not only be living away from home for the first time, but will be doing so in another country altogether.

The Royal youngster, who turns 16 on Hallowe'en, can probably now consider herself an honorary Princess of Wales: She won a place at a prestigious, forward-thinking private sixth-form college in the Vale of Glamorgan by taking two extremely tough exam sessions – the first of which is completely anonymous, so none of the board or staff has any idea who the candidate may be.

United World College of the Atlantic (UWC Atlantic) sets up the entrance exams this way so as to avoid any possible 'screening out', especially as it likes to attract intelligent, potentially gifted students from all cultures, countries and walks of life as part of its 'liberal, progressive and radical' educational policy, its 'global ethos' and 'strong focus on local and global sustainability'.

Set in a Harry Potter-style 12th-century castle, St Donat's, in Llantwit Major, South Wales, Leonor's new school, surrounded by open, emerald countryside and forest with a private seafront esplanade, is a short trip to Cardiff, Barry, and the Bristol Channel.

And it is only élite in terms of the very limited number of places – 350 – and excellent quality of education and personal attention, not because it is frequented by the rich and famous and the aristocracy; quite the opposite, in fact.

Opportunities for students with potential, not just those who can afford to pay

At any one time, between six and seven in 10 of UWC Atlantic's students are on partial or full scholarships, and a significant number come from third-world countries or otherwise very poor backgrounds, meaning they would not otherwise have such a unique opportunity to realise their potential.

UWC Atlantic encourages its students to 'go back to where they came from' after they finish their education, so they can 'make a difference' to their town, region or country of origin; the school is conscious of not wanting to 'poach' the best brains from places which could benefit from them.

At least half the students, once they finish their International Baccalaureate – a type of A-level course based upon the French model but recognised worldwide – receive unconditional offers from Oxbridge or US Ivy-League universities, and can use the UWC Atlantic's affiliated scholarship programme to cover part or all of their tuition and living costs if they would not otherwise be able to afford to take these up.

Naturally, Princess Leonor will not be a scholarship student at the UWC Atlantic – her parents are able to pay the £67,000 (€76,500) fees to cover her two-year stay as a boarder, and have clarified that they always planned to do so.

Leonor's new life

The direct heir to the throne and eldest of King Felipe VI's two daughters will be living in one of the small shared houses on campus, with three other female students and, in accordance with the college's standard procedures, these will necessarily all be of different nationalities.

Her room, like those of her fellow students, will be very spartan, according to headmaster Peter Howe, with little more than a single bed, drawer unit and wardrobe, and she will be expected to wash her own clothes in the communal laundry facilities.

Meals will be in a canteen on a tray where students share long tables.

“She won't be treated any differently. That's something we pride ourselves on: Every student is equal, irrespective of their origin or background,” Howe confirms.

Each student group has an assigned teacher who lives in a separate, self-contained wing of their house with his or her family, and who acts as tutor-counsellor and 'adoptive parent' to the youngsters, as well as a 'bridge between students and their parents or guardians', the college explains.

Princess Leonor and her sister, the Infanta Sofía, 14, have been brought up to lead an un-starry life – although they will never know poverty, hardship or material sacrifice first-hand, they have been trained since birth for their future Royal duties and taught to see this as a job or career, not an élite status; although they go to the same top private school as their dad Felipe VI did, the Santa María de los Rosales in Madrid, they dress in Zara and Sfera, and their First Communion ceremonies were in school uniform with the rest of their classmates and followed by a family meal at home, rather than the pomp and circumstance, party dresses and lavish receptions children's confirmations usually involve in Spain.

Their mother is a civilian – Queen Letizia has been a journalist and TV and radio reporter in Spain, the USA and México since she graduated, as have her father, Jesús Ortiz and her recently-departed, much-loved Grandma, Menchú, 93.

And HRHs Felipe and Letizia are passionate about social and humanitarian causes, supporting minorities and fighting for equality – an approach they have instilled into their girls since they were tiny.

Both have a very international outlook and are fluent in English, French and catalán, as are Princess Leonor and the Infanta Sofía; Leonor also has a working knowledge of Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, and has spent time away from home studying before, as the sisters spent the first month of their 2018 and 2019 summer holidays at camps in the USA to perfect their English.

All this means Leonor should have little trouble living independently and making friends; in fact, she has already met some of the Spanish students in her year, when they were invited to the Zarzuela Palace in July.

And it is traditional for Spanish Royals to spend at least part of their education abroad in a country that speaks another language: King Felipe, back when he was Crown Prince Felipe of Asturias, set off for Lakefield College in Toronto, Canada in 1984 for his sixth-form studies, and later on, took his master's degree in the USA.

UWC Atlantic's timetable

Classroom-based learning is in the mornings only, from 08.00 to 13.15, and after lunch, the rest of the day is spent on compulsory community service, leisure activities, sports, and optional extra-curricular activities such as the arts.

Although the Baccalaureate style of sixth-form education normally follows either a humanities or a sciences route, some students opt for a combination, which Leonor has chosen.

Subjects are largely optional, so pupils choose the ones they are most keen to learn more about or which match their existing talents.

All students will take compulsory classes on subject matter aiming to promote peace, a multi-cultural outlook, a sustainable future, and personal initiative, plus creative activities such as drama, pottery, knitting and sewing, and gardening, as well as learning about the environment and practising sports, including basketball, swimming, tennis and aerobics.

Their timetable does not include any form of religious studies, since UWC Atlantic considers itself a secular establishment, apolitical, and unaffiliated to 'any other signs or labels'.

At weekends, students have the option to join in excursions, day trips, or various on-campus leisure activities. 

The college follows the UK school year, meaning Princess Leonor will get half-term breaks, enabling her to continue with her ever-increasing Royal duties back in Spain.

She has had a Covid vaccine, now most of Spain is starting on immunising teenagers, although it is not clear whether this will help her in travelling back and forth between countries – Spain is classed as an 'amber' nation by the UK government and, although fully-vaccinated travellers or returning holidaymakers from 'amber' territories do not have to quarantine when entering England, this is not yet the case for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Whilst not thought to be on the syllabus for UWC Atlantic, Princess Leonor's penchant for languages means she might decide to take advantage of her two years in the Vale of Glamorgan to learn Welsh.

To start her off, we'll wish her Pob lwc, or 'good luck' in Welsh – not that she'll need it, of course.