Laurence Dollimore
PRINCESS Leonor is going to a college in Wales, the Spanish royal family has announced.
The 15-year-old will complete the International Baccalaureate programme at the UWC Atlantic College.
Her father King Felipe VI has already confirmed the decision to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The Princess of Asturias will study two years at the school, 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023, with the €76,500 worth of fees to be paid from the royal family’s annual budget.
Of the €8.4 million destined for the royal purse in 2021, taken from Spain’s annual budget, Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will receive €253,850 and €139,610, respectively.
The school in Wales, which resembles the Hogwarts school for wizards from the Harry Potter books, was purposefully chosen for having no links to any political or religious movement.
The Zarzuela Palace said the institution is part of a ‘global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.’
The United World Colleges group has 18 colleges spread across four continents, counting more than 9,500 students, but does not have a centre in Spain.
The family opted for Wales as it was the first of the 18 to open, making it the reference point for the prestigious institutions.
To become a student at a UWC college, students must be studying the 4th level of ESO or the 1st Baccalaureate and must have a strong academic record and at least a basic knowledge of English.
The first stages of the selection process are anonymous, and include asking prospective pupils to develop a social project.
Some 60 students are then shortlisted for the selection phase, in which they are analysed by a panel and must perform a written general knowledge test.
They are also interviewed before undergoing a psychological evaluation with a trained children’s shrink.
They must also then present the social project they had previously prepared prior to being shortlisted.
A final group of 30 are then put through another interview with the board of trustees and take part in a debate.
If they pass this final stage, as did Princess Leonor, only then will they be accepted as a student.
Leonor is expected to join the school by the beginning of September and will be studying science and literature.
Her studies will also look at philosophy and research and will include a programme for the arts, such as theatre, music or art, and naturally, sports.
Students are also made to carry out activites which service the local community, such as working in local schools or caring for the elderly.
