REVITALISING THE SEAFRONT UWC ATLANTIC’S SEAFRONT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
YOU ARE NEEDED
The needs of our time have changed As Chair of the UWC Atlantic Board of Trustees, it gives me great pleasure to launch our Seafront Development Programme. Over the last six decades, UWC Atlantic has derived great strength and inspiration from its proximity to the sea. It is one of the defining features of the college and speaks to much of the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, our founder. Desmond Hoare, of course, was an iconic figure as our founding Head, with his passion for the seafront, and the invention of the RIB. For generations of UWC Atlantic students, the sea has been at the core of their educational and service experiences. And for alumni, time spent at the seafront and out on the water evokes many powerful memories.
YOU ARE NEEDED LAUNCHING OUR SEAFRONT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Hahn often referred to the Six Declines of Youth. His view on the “declines” would no doubt endure today. And as the needs of our time have changed, our antidotes need to change with them. So our use of the seafront will remain relevant, by focusing on tackling the issues facing the world today. As such we are not simply working to replicate the services and activities of the past, but rather to direct our seafront activities to tackle the global needs of the present and the future. So we will focus on a different sort of rescue service, giving our students the skills, tools and confidence to be able to rescue others from the devastating effects of climate change, displacement and ocean pollution for example. And so we use our unique location, our rich experience, our passion for experimentation and innovation and our sea-based history to best educate students, to help them shape the world today and for decades to come. There is a new and more powerful current that is changing how we live. Kurt Hahn’s vision about the importance of the sea and Sir Desmond Hoare’s commitment to ‘rescue services’ and ‘the instinct for adventure’ in the early ‘60s, remain at the heart of our vision for the seafront. They are part of UWC Atlantic DNA. We will develop relevant place-based scientific and sea-based learning opportunities and activities; and build in-depth ocean-based knowledge and skills, developing ‘ocean literacy’ in all our students. Our passion to serve requires us to re-energise every aspect of the seafront, and to develop a leading-edge built environment in which we can deliver on our educational ambitions. Our ambitions are grand and are already supported by our alumni and other partners via the UWC Atlantic Seafront Development Task Force, led by Pelham Allen (UWCA 69) and championed by Willem de Vogel (UWCA 69) among many others. We hope that in reading this, you will be inspired by our new journey and that it resonates with your love of the seafront and what it can mean to a new generation of students and the wider UWC Atlantic community. Please join us to raise support for the raft of exciting initiatives we have planned to revitalise our seafront.
Willem de Vogel
Pelham Allen As Kurt Hahn said “You are needed”.
Thank you for your continued support.
Jill Longson (UWCA 81) Chair, UWC Atlantic Board of Trustees
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SEAFRONT EDUCATION
BUILDING ON OUR HISTORY “Over the last year, the Seafront Task Force at UWC Atlantic have considered how best we can use the seafront today to deliver the unique education that underpins our aim to reclaim our position as the flagship College of the UWC movement, recognised for the radical and experimental spirit that defines our history and drives our impact on the world”. Peter T. Howe
In addition to focusing on a range of significant capital projects and building renovations (which we will detail later) we are also delivering nine distinctive initiatives that underpin our commitment to re-engaging with the sea. We are developing curricular and co-curricular activities for students centred around the seafront. • Changemaker Curriculum – Ocean Systems and Coastal Management • Lifesaving • Paddlesports • Kurt Hahn Core • Atlantic Pacific Search and Rescue at Sea • Craft Repair and Maintenance Skills • The Lighthouse Project • National Coastwatch Institution • Atlantic Experience
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SEAFRONT EDUCATION
SEAFRONT EDUCATION CHANGEMAKER CURRICULUM CHANGEMAKER CURRICULUM Ocean Systems and Coastal Management is one module within our Changemaker Curriculum - a bold and innovative step forward to prepare our students for the complexity and volatility of a changing world. We are going back to our roots as educational innovators with a trial-run of seven Changemaker Curriculum units this year (two were piloted last year). The Changemaker Curriculum aims to be inter-disciplinary, character-oriented, experiential and relevant to the challenges of the 21st century. Our students can build transferable skills in varied fields such as project management, communication, field science, design and engineering, conflict resolution, public speaking and argumentation, data science and coding. With a vision to embed these new courses firmly into our academic offering and increasing collaboration across the UWC network, we have received keen interest from the International Baccalaureate Organisation.
OCEAN SYSTEMS AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT This course, based at the seafront, is designed to help students understand the importance of ocean and coastal systems and the need to work symbiotically with and within this precious environment. UWC Atlantic is based on the shoreline of the Bristol Channel, the world’s second highest tidal range, and is the perfect place for developing this pioneering course - which will include Ocean and Climate Systems; Human Impact on the Ocean and Mitigation and Harnessing Sustainable Resources, as core units - as well as exploring the impact of micro-plastics; plankton systems, marine biodiversity; carbon capture and tidal energy. Our Ocean Systems and Coastal Management unit will help our students to understand the importance of ocean and coastal systems and the need for us to work symbiotically, rather than exploitatively, with and within this precious environment.
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SEAFRONT EDUCATION
WAYS OF LIFE Our team of outdoor and activity specialists have developed a range of activities and adventures which will be led by second year students. Two of these activities will take place wholly at the seafront. The third will in part be delivered at the seafront. LIFESAVING The lifesaving programme will focus on traditional water based lifesaving skills, first aid, and general lifesaving skills. Students will gain certificated training in their first year, enabling them to supervise students and the local community in both swimming pools and on the open water. We know these are invaluable life skills that many of you have put to good effect in emergency situations. Students will also be offered the chance to work with the RNLI during the summer period patrolling local beaches. And as the programme develops, we intend to connect with local community enthusiasts again by teaching and competing. PADDLESPORTS We want to get all students back out onto the water more to develop competency in the sea, team spirit, leadership skills and to hone fitness. Students will develop their skill and stamina by kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing, and enjoying everything the water has to offer. They will learn to work collaboratively, whilst exploring locations along the beautiful Welsh coastline, kayaking on local rivers or surfing at the local beach. KURT HAHN CORE We are ‘re-hahnessing’ Hahn! The Kurt Hahn Core is a fitness and adventure programme, initiated, developed and led by students over the past five years. For the last three of those, a group of up to 30 students have been setting themselves early morning personal challenges. Challenges are holistic and experiential in their nature, and regularly feature the seafront. Our aim is to expand this initiative to be the vehicle for personal challenge, adventure and leadership for our wider outdoor and adventure programmes.
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SEAFRONT EDUCATION
ATLANTIC PACIFIC SEARCH AND RESCUE AT SEA PROGRAMME Atlantic Pacific, based at the seafront and led by alumni Robin Jenkins, is an organisation that has evolved over the years from the pioneering history of UWC Atlantic’s vibrant seafront and the invention of the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat. We are delighted to be able to continue working with them. The Search and Rescue at Sea programme will be located in specially designed container hubs at the seafront and will focus on engaging a group of 30 students in nautical skills, safety at sea, teamwork and the practical hard skills required to start their pathway to becoming a competent crew member on a sea based search and rescue team. We aim to provide students with the opportunity to achieve certification through Royal Yachting Association schemes as well as in First Aid, use and maintenance of personal protective equipment, passage planning, launching and landing craft as well as the soft skills needed to keep themselves safe in a rescue situation.
CRAFT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE SKILLS ACTIVITY Students will learn how to repair, restore and maintain a range of seabased craft, including the College’s rescue boats, engines, kayaks and paddleboards. In addition to the practical and creative skills required to maintain our fleet, students will liaise with local activity groups and users of such craft to maximise the usage of our current vessels, work on potential schemes to trade, upcycle or sell underused items in an attempt to create the optimum set of equipment for students use on our wide and diverse activity programme. In addition to craft, students will learn how to inspect and maintain a range of personal protective equipment with a view to finding the best and most sustainable solutions to the problems of single use plastics and fabric in the production of Personal Protective Equipment and to limit the need for landfill in the case of equipment that has reached the end of its working life.
LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT Lighthouse is an open-door Creative Ideas Lab and Learning Innovation space, established in 2019 by students, for students, to incubate and accelerate inspirational student ideas and social impact projects beyond the curriculum. Lighthouse will help to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students, focused on creating sustainable, social impact with their projects. The aim is that some, if not all of these initiatives will deliver tangible and measurable outcomes - with the potential to scale-up projects into small businesses or social enterprises that may generate future income. Fittingly located by the seafront, Lighthouse, is divided into three sections: The Ideas Hub, The Window to the World, and the Lighthouse Library. We are delighted to welcome two Lighthouse Coordinator Interns to work directly with the students, especially our second year Lighthouse Keepers. Lighthouse is a beacon for students with brilliant ideas and it also shines a light on the UWC mission, guiding students through a personal and social entrepreneurial development journey as leaders and changemakers.
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SEAFRONT EDUCATION
NATIONAL COAST WATCH A National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) monitoring station will open at the College in Spring 2021. This will provide opportunities for students and local volunteers to contribute to the safe use of coastal waters by both recreational and commercial craft. St Donats Bay NCI will be one of the first of its kind as it will be the only operating station with an acting ‘Cadet’ scheme. Student cadets will receive full training and during their watches, will provide additional services to those passing the College via the coast path by providing information about the station and the College. They will interact with the local community and build on key water safety messages. They will join as full crew during the summer months as volunteers to keep the station open.
ATLANTIC EXPERIENCE UWC Atlantic Experience is a newly developed department at the College that blends our commercial department with numerous College based events, to provide a more consistent revenue stream and to support student scholarships. It is focused on maximising the use of all the facilities our campus has to offer - particularly at the seafront - creating bespoke experiences and developing and delivering events that broadly cover UWC mission-aligned, global residential and day education, leadership and training programmes; alumni reunions; corporate and private venue hire (including weddings and location filming); outdoor adventures and activities and arts and community entertainment. The College’s new Atlantic Experience remit will be to develop adventure leadership and outdoor safety (particularly in the coastal context) as part of the co-curriculum and will involve students in teaching fellow students and people from the local community. It will use both indoor and outdoor resources at the seafront for this purpose. In a wider context, Atlantic Experience will not only deliver opportunities for students, but will also offer opportunities for local and global participation in activities through its range of Summer Education programmes, including the Global Leadership Experience and English Language Experience and Adventure (ELEA). The seafront will become the home to place based learning and outdoor education for a large number of students and for the wider community. As part of our commitment to education and lifelong learning the seafront will also be home to instructor training, sector leading workshops and residential based apprenticeships for a wide and diverse range of external and internal participants, including from other UWC schools and colleges. All of these activities will take place in and around a newly developed and revitalised seafront, with more modern, fit-for-purpose, place-based learning spaces that integrate our core commitment to service, with academics, activity and adventure.
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CAPITAL PROJECTS
SEAFRONT CAPITAL DEVELOPMENTS BUILDING FOR SUCCESS
REBUILDING OUR OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL
REPAIRING THE SEA TOWERS
REPURPOSING AND REDESIGNING THE BOATHOUSE AND BOATYARD
At the centre of the seafront rejuvenation is the outdoor pool. Generations of UWC Atlantic students and members of the surrounding community, have learnt to swim, get fit and improve their training skills here. It is an iconic part, not just of the seafront, but of the whole campus. Many visitors tell us they were taught to swim by College students in this pool.
With extreme exposure to the elements, the sea towers need urgent attention and expert renovation. We are looking at strengthening or replacing the steel beams, stonework (parapet and arch) and roofing.
An exciting venture will see the development of the ‘Boatyard’, as a hub containing boat stores, boat building, workshops and a wet classroom. We will continue to work with Atlantic Pacific to develop our plans for the rejuvenation of the existing building and are developing plans for a potential new ‘Container Hub’..
One tower will house our new National Coastwatch Institution station and the other will be used as a classroom for the Changemaker Curriculum modules.
Our aim is to build a new pool using the existing footprint and frame of the current pool. This is the most cost effective solution. The pool tiles will be upgraded to better survive the impact of paddle craft and we will renew current pumps.
REFURBISHING THE INDOOR SWIMMING POOL
This new pool will add to the teaching space for sea-going activities, providing an environment to build skills and confidence to those learning surfing, kayaking and paddle sports. FUTURE PROOFING THE SLIPWAY AND PROTECTING THE SEAWALL A functioning and safe slipway and seawall are crucial as the gateway to the sea. A comprehensive survey of both was undertaken in Spring 2020 and some simple repair work was carried out in summer 2020. The slipway is now operational again, after months of being under repair after the last big storm. Significant further work however, is required to protect the slipway and the seawall going forward, from extreme tidal ranges and the increased number and severity of storms. This will be undertaken in two parts - A usage survey will be undertaken over the next year to ascertain exactly where the pressure points are, where the likely need for significant work is needed and where the funding can be best used.
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Built in 1980 and used as a training and fitness facility for students, college community and external groups, the indoor pool needs a minor renovation, notably repairing the tiling work and upgrading / renovating the changing facilities. The pool structure and building themselves are sound and in good repair.
DEVELOPING A ‘SEA CHANGE CENTRE FOR LEARNING INNOVATION’ With its close proximity to the sea, we will remodel and repurpose the old Cavalry Barracks (now known as Madiba House), into the Seachange Centre for Learning Innovation. We will develop the space into teaching and accommodation spaces for mission-related global teacher training and skills development.
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WHAT WILL IT ALL COST
WHAT WILL IT ALL COST?
Phase 2 This will ensure the seafront remains at the heart of life at UWC Atlantic. The estimated total investment needed for Phase 2 is £428,500.
£250,000 will renovate the outdoor swimming pool £50,000 will cover the future proofing of the slipway and protecting the seawall
The Seafront Development Programme described below represents a £1,470,000 million re-investment.
£12,000 to establish the National Coastwatch Institution station, provide equipment, communication link up and refurbishment to the buildings £500 will pay for the regular training for coastwatch ‘cadets’ and uniforms
The essential investment in the Seafront is phased as follows;
Phase 1 This has been funded by generous donors and is in the process of being completed. The total cost to date is £122,000. Work in this first phase included:
£75,000 to appoint a full-time Seafront Activity Manager to act as the overseer and driving force of all activities at the seafront (salary over 2 years) £12,000 to develop and trial curriculum content for the Oceans Systems and Coastal Management module £13,000 to develop the ‘Ways of Life’ programme (upgrade equipment, ongoing costs of student certification, trips off site for training, paddlesports, ongoing costs of surf storage at Dunraven Bay) £15,000 to develop the Search and Rescue at Sea programme, delivered by Atlantic Pacific to a total of 30 students per year £1,000 to launch the Craft Repair and Maintenance Skills programme and pay licences
£17,000 for a survey of the slipway and outdoor swimming pool £9,000 for repairs to the slipway
£80,000 establishing the Lighthouse Project at the seafront
Phase 3
£4,000 for technical advice on the sea towers
For this we will need approximately £920,000 - focused on the Boathouse/Boatyard and the slipway:
£12,000 initial funding for Container Hub designs, , where Atlantic Pacific will be based
£400,000 will fully refurbish, equip and operationalise the Boathouse and Boatyard area £300,000 will pay for the comprehensive slipway solution £200,000 will transform Madiba House into The Seachange Centre for Learning Innovation to place UWC Atlantic at the forefront of academic and outdoor education innovation £20,000 will cover minor renovation of the indoor pool
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WHY YOU ARE NEEDED Bringing the seafront back to life - and back to the lives of UWC Atlantic students. You have all experienced and benefited from our education at UWC Atlantic. Most of you have had transformative experiences involving the seafront and the associated sea and coastal activities, in fact, for many, the seafront is synonymous with pioneering educational excellence. The seafront now needs renovating, so we can continue to fulfil the promise of the experiential education that UWC Atlantic sets out to deliver. This is the opportunity to do it. Over the next two years, alumni can make a significant contribution to the £1,470,000 million Seafront fundraising activity. You can make donations in a number of ways • An outright donation of any sum between £50 and £5,000 (or more!) • A regular donation from your income of £100 per month for 5 years • Writing a legacy into your will for £10,000 or more. We hope you feel compelled to join with us at the College and with your alumni colleagues on this exciting journey. Funds are already coming in, thanks to the combined efforts of the Seafront Task Force, who have already come together to move us to this stage, but there is much heavy lifting still to do! Thank you.
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Annex 1 Detailed budget table The Seafront Development Programme represents a £1,470,500 investment. See below a detailed budget for each of the stages of development: PHASE 2 Cont
PHASE 1 Project(s)
Detail
Amount
Financial status
Project(s)
Detail
Amount
Financial status
Conduct surveys for the outdoor pool and sea wall, as simple slipway repair and produce design for the container hub where Atlantic Pacific will be based.
Full surveys conducted and detailed designs produced for the container hub to aid future planning
£42,000
Funding secured
Ways of Life Programme
Upgrade of equipment and training resources
£5,000
To be secured
£1,500
To be secured
Lighthouse Programme
Costs of Lighthouse programme – student projects, Coordinator roles, curriculum development, capacity building.
Ongoing costs of student certification and registration
Trips off site for training, travel and pool fees
£2,000
To be secured
Paddlesports - ongoing costs of surf storage at Dunraven Bay
£1,500
To be secured
Trips off site for training, travel and fees
£3,000
To be secured
The Search and Rescue at Sea Programme
Training programme delivered by Atlantic Pacific that will form the basis of our Joint venture
£15,000
To be secured
Power Boat Skills and Maintenance programme
Royal Yachting Association certification
£1,000
To be secured
TOTAL SECURED
£80,000
£122,000
Funding secured
Funding secured
PHASE 2 Project(s)
Detail
Amount
Financial status
Seafront Activity Manager
To appoint a full-time Seafront Activity Manager to act as the overseer and driving force of all activities at the seafront (salary over 2 years)
£75,000
To be secured
Renovate the outdoor swimming pool
Utilising existing structure to build a brand new pool. Design £30k; Build £220k
£250,000
National Coastwatch Institution station
A ‘one off’ investment to establish the station, provide equipment, communication link up and refurbishment to the buildings
£12,000
Annual cost of ‘cadet’ training and uniforms
£500
To be secured
Future Proofing the slipway and protecting the seawall
On-going slipway repairs
£50,000
To be secured
Changemaker Curriculum
To develop and trial curriculum content for the Oceans Systems and Coastal Management module
To be secured TOTAL
To be secured PHASE 3
£12,000
Project(s)
Detail
Amount
Financial status
Redesigning and re-purposing the Boathouse and Boat Yard
To fully refurbish, equip and operationalise the Boathouse and Boatyard area. To include: £200k Containers; £150k Boathouse; £50k Boat store
£400,000
To be secured
Comprehensive Slipway and Sea Towers solution
Comprehensive Slipway and Sea Towers solution
£300,000
To be secured
Indoor swimming pool
Minimal refurbishment works
£20,000
To be secured
Developing a Seachange Centre for Learning Innovation
To transform Madiba House into a Seachange Centre for Learning Innovation to place UWC Atlantic at the forefront of academic and outdoor education innovation
£200,000
To be secured
To be secured
TOTAL
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£428,500
£920,000
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Philanthropy, Partnerships and Engagement UWC Atlantic St Donat’s Castle St Donat’s CF61 1WF Wales UK philanthropy@uwcatlantic.org Patron: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II United World College of the Atlantic Ltd. Registered in England No. 673076. Charity No. 525761
Front Cover Photo Credit - Jess Moon Bowen