What is the Round Square?

The Round Square is a world wide association of schools which share a commitment, beyond academic excellence, to personal development and responsibility, service, challenge, adventure, and international understanding.

Round Square schools, which espouse the educational philosophy of Kurt Hahn, impel the young into challenging, instructive experiences, through which they can develop:

• Responsibility and care for humanity;
• Commitment to principles;
• Skill and confidence needed for effective service and leadership;
• A global perspective on society and the environment.

How the Round Square began:

In Scotland a ‘square’ has traditionally been the administrative centre of an estate. As a result of a slight historical geometric anomaly the ‘square’ of the Gordonstoun estate is a perfectly circular two storey building - the ‘Round Square’.  The first conference was held in this building in 1967 and it was decided to adopt the name 'The Round Square Conference' for the association.

It was there in 1967 that an idea, which King Constantine of Greece had first put to a group of "Hahn" school heads at the 1966 celebrations for Kurt Hahn’s 80th birthday, was formulated and the Round Square was born.

The ideals of the Round Square have attracted the support of some fairly exceptional people as patrons and supporters. Patrons are King Constantine of Greece and Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Duke of York and President Nelson Mandela.

Kurt Hahn: Kurt Hahn was born a German Jew in 1886 and when he died in 1974 the London Times said that "no one else in our day has created more original educational ideas and, at the same time, possessed the gift of getting them into practice".   Hahn wanted to equip young people "to effect what they have recognised to be right despite hardships, dangers, inner skepticism, boredom, mockery from the world and the emotion of the moment". In spite of such idealistic thinking, Hahn brought a pragmatic approach to his educational philosophy.

All of ‘his’ schools lay stress on challenging outdoor activities and service to the community as well as academic excellence.

Neither was he faint-hearted. He was arrested by the Nazi’s after the Reichstag fire in 1933 because his educational ideals clashed with the spirit of National Socialism. He eventually left Germany, abandoning his personal wealth and the school he had founded in 1920 - Schule Schloss Salem - and immediately travelled to Scotland. From there he opened Gordonstoun School in April 1934, set up the Outward Bound movement at the end of World War 11 and founded the first United World College in 1962. He was also the inspiration behind "The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme".

Hahn was at once a champion and hard taskmaster of youth; if young people were to play an influential role in society, he insisted, they must earn the right. For Hahn, the scholarship of a great school was just one part of training for life, vitally important, but not above all else.

King Constantine of Greece and Terry Guest the Director of the Round Square, visited The Essington School on the 16^th March 1998 to assess the school’s suitability for associate membership.  The Essington School was officially accepted as an Associate Member of the Round Square in June 1998.

Round Square Principles and Programs:

Principles:

At the root of Hahn’s concept of the effective school is a Platonic View of education as a process based on self-confrontation and self-formation.

In this view, a developing person has deeply within herself or himself the potential for both excellence and failure. It is the task of the educator to bring about circumstances that will cause the young person to experience and rationally understand these potentials within the self, and that will nurture qualities needed to develop personal assets into the foundation of an effective, empowered, generous adult life.

All Round Square schools share this view, however different each school’s organisation and its cultural and linguistic milieu may be. The schools are far from identical. There are not only national differences but variety in ages served, genders enrolled, school types and school size. All are independently governed; in some countries public funding has a role in the support of the schools, while in others it does not.

Round Square Schools share an ethos based on four areas:

• Academic Excellence: An important aspect of every Round Square School is a comprehensive and challenging academic program which caters for individual differences so that every student can be challenged, extended and realise their potential in a world where change is happening at an accelerating rate.

• Service: In striving to achieve balance between self-improvement and self-denial in the interests of others, schools develop in their students qualities of skills and care. They educate students in the concept and practice of service to those in need in the local communities and in projects further afield. Much of this will be achieved through example and experience of the spiritual dimension.

Round Square schools encourage their students for at least two years during their school career, to be involved in service to the wider community and those in need beyond the school.

Round Square schools demonstrate an active concern for the natural environment, appreciating proven environmental and playing a part in tackling these.

Round Square membership entails a commitment to social service in member schools. The Round Square facilitates major service projects involving multiple schools. Recent years have seen collaborative projects in East Germany, Turkey, Kenya, Canada and Thailand. To support and coordinate the organisation of these major projects the Round Square International Service has been established and schools are encouraged to contribute to the Prince Alexander Fund which supports such activities with the "bricks and mortar" necessary on the ground during a project.

• Challenge: Round Square schools are committed to train students in the appreciation of physical health and moral fortitude through the challenge and adventure of outdoor pursuits. ‘Outward Bound’ type activities are central to the curriculum, and the fostering of a spirit of adventure in all students in an important aspiration.

Many Round Square schools undertake major outdoor expeditions during the year and frequently offer participation to qualified and interested students and staff from member schools. Recent examples include canoeing in the Canadian north and mountaineering in the Indian Himalayas. Each member of the participating school sees personal growth through challenging outdoor experiences as an important aspect of the growth of each individual.

• Responsibility: Education in the value of – and active participation in – democracy is essential in Round Square schools. Students, particularly appreciating the importance of self-discipline, should be trained and obliged, through partnership with adults in the school community, to take an active share in running the school. A high level of responsibility will be developed upon them, both individually and collectively. Freedom of thought and speech should be encouraged, with appropriate forums and channels of communication existing to satisfy their aspirations.

• Global Perspective: Schools of the Round Square aim to be international and welcome students of all nationalities. Students learn to appreciate and value cultures, religions and languages other than their own, and see themselves as genuinely international citizens.

The network of Round Square schools around the world endeavours to foster an understanding an celebration of the differences and similarities between cultures and people. This is achieved by:

1. communication through media such as email
2. collaborative projects
3. an annual conference where representatives from each member school meet to discuss issues, talk about projects and achievements of the previous year and formulate actions to be undertaken in the forthcoming year.
4. term-length exchanges, worked out on a school-to-school basis with no tuition money changing hands and students travelling on tourist visas. The Round Square network makes it possible to closely match each exchange student with the host school with a minimum of bureaucratic burden and little extra cost beyond travel.