The college's stated mission is to "make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future". Students from over 90 countries participate in UWC Atlantic's two-year programme, in which they combine academic studies with activities and service. Admission into
United World Colleges, and scholarship awards, are decided primarily by national UWC committees around the world, with a smaller number of students applying directly to the college through the Global Selection Programme.
Academics UWC Atlantic was one of the first colleges in the world, and the first in the UK, to follow an international curriculum, and offers the
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The college was one of the key institutions involved in the creation of the International Baccalaureate, and continues to be actively involved in its development. In May 1967, 108 students at Atlantic College joined 37 at the
International School of Geneva to sit the first trial exams for the IB. Having already participated in these pilot exams in parallel to offering the
British GCE A-Levels, in 1971 the college became the first school in the world to entirely abandon a national curriculum and qualifications in favor of the new program. IB graduates are typically accepted at the most competitive colleges and universities around the world, with many enrolling in
Ivy League universities in the United States as well as British universities. Students at the college are eligible, after graduation, to participate in the
Davis United World College Scholars Program, which funds undergraduate study for UWC students at selected universities in the United States.
Service Service has been a core part of the college's ethos and structure since its founding, rooted in Kurt Hahn's philosophy and belief that physical activity and especially service to others were vital elements of a well rounded education. At the beginning of each year at the college, students are obliged to select 3 activities that they will each carry out for at least 2 hours a week as part of the
International Baccalaureate's Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirement. The opportunity to undertake weekly community service, physical activity, and creative activity offers students a 'counterbalance' to the Diploma Programme's academic pressures, and allows the students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and develop specific interests and passions. Additionally, UWC Atlantic runs a "Project Week" every year, giving students a chance to delve into either service based or expedition based experiences, and hosts student-ran Conferences on a quarterly basis offering deep introspection to students into the chosen conference topic. The
Atlantic College Lifeboat Station stood within its grounds as an active
RNLI lifeboat station from 1963, when it opened as one of the first experimental inshore lifeboat (ILB) stations established in the United Kingdom, and staffed mostly by students participating in the college's Inshore Lifeboat service, until 2013. Much of the development of the
Atlantic 21,
75 and
85 classes of lifeboat took place at Atlantic College. What was to become the world's most widely used type of craft for inshore rescue, the
rigid inflatable boat (RIB), was originally conceived, designed, prototyped, tested, and built at the college under its founding headmaster, retired Rear-Admiral Desmond Hoare. The B Class Atlantic Inshore Lifeboat was named by the RNLI after its birthplace. It has often been claimed that, had the college earned royalties on every rigid-hulled inflatable boat now in service, its scholarship fund would have never looked back; instead, Desmond Hoare, who eventually patented the design in 1973, sold the rights to the RNLI for the nominal fee of one pound; he did not cash the cheque, which is still displayed at the college.
Sports The college offers a range of sports and fitness activities as part of the CAS component of the IB Diploma and as co-curricular activities. Facilities include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a climbing wall, a sports hall with basketball and badminton courts, a five-a-side football pitch, dance studio, and gym equipment, and playing fields used for football and rugby. The college's football team participate in the
South Wales Youth League, a regional youth league. Students also participate in a range of activities that take advantage of the college's seafront location, including cliff abseiling, rock climbing, hiking, and sea kayaking. == Grounds and facilities ==