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Gordonstoun is a Scottish private school. It is sometimes referred to as a public school (rather than a state school).

History

Located in a 17th century house near Elgin, Moray, in Scotland - next to RAF Lossiemouth - it was founded as an international school in 1934 by Dr Kurt Hahn, who had chosen to leave Nazi Germany, mainly on account of his Jewish background. However Hahn introduced many controversial German educational traditions, which were alien to Scottish education.

Ethos

Hahn blended a traditional private school ethos with a philosophy derived, at least in part, from that of ancient Greece. This is most notable in the title "Guardian", denoting the head boy and girl, which Hahn took from Plato's Republic; the adoption of a Greek trireme as the school's emblem; and, most notably, a routine that could be described as spartan. He placed a high emphasis on militaristic discipline and physical education, particularly outdoor activities such as sailing and hill walking. It is therefore appropriate that the school's motto should be "Plus est en vous" (More is in you). The school formerly had a (possibly undeserved) reputation for harsh conditions, with cold showers and morning runs as a matter of routine and physical punishments, known as "penalty drill" or PD, in the form of long runs through the Moray countryside.

During World War II, the school temporarily moved to Llandinam in Wales.

It is best-known as the school attended during the 1960s by Charles, Prince of Wales, on the recommendation of his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had himself had been one of the first students to attend Gordonstoun having previously been educated at Salem in Germany. Princes Andrew and Edward eventually followed in their father's and elder brother's footsteps. Of the four princes, three (Philip, Charles and Edward) were appointed Guardian (head boy) during their time at the school. Princess Anne, the Queen's only other remaining child, was not educated at Gordonstoun, which at that time was boys only. However, she did send her own two children there and also served for some time on the school's board of governors.

The school has changed since Prince Charles's time there. It had been a means tested school with boys from varied backgrounds, the rich paying far more than the poorer families. It had not been a popular school and was not really on the list of schools to which the wealthy wanted to send their boys. However after Charles's sojourn there it became fashionable. It later became, and remains, a co-educational school.

William Boyd has written in detail about his time there in Protobiography, although he never mentions the school by name.

Alumni

The fictional Lara Croft is also claimed to have attended the school. This may have been inspired by James Bond's "attendance" of Fettes College.

Boarding Houses

There are nine boarding houses at Gordonstoun School:Pastoral Care at Gordonstoun naming the dorms. URL accessed 2006-06-30.
Female:
  • Hopeman House
  • Plewlands House
  • Windmill House

Male
  • Bruce House
  • Cumming House
  • Duffus House
  • Gordonstoun House
  • Round Square

Co-ed
  • Altyre House

Aberlour House

Aberlour House, the preparatory school for Gordonstoun, was relocated to Gordonstoun's grounds from Aberlour in 2004.Aberlour House homepage at Gordonstound Schools' website

External links

References

Private schools in Scotland | Boarding schools | Old Gordonstounians | Round Square schools

Gordonstoun | Gordonstoun

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Gordonstoun".

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