The Global Leadership Experience (GLE) brings together passionate and aspirational young people from all around the world to UWC Atlantic College, UK. Join us to explore the challenges shaping your planet and our future, whilst we take you on a journey towards becoming the changemakers and innovators to address these challenges.

To apply, please read the brochure and course pack to ensure the programme is right for you, then complete the application form found lower down the page or click the links below:

Self-Funded Application Form

Scholarship Application Form

Course Information

• £2,595pp
• Ages | 15 – 17 years old
• Dates | 20th July – 3rd August 2023
• Closing date: 31st March 2023 Midnight UK time
• Applications are reviewed together and application decisions will by made by end of April
• Limited scholarship places are available to individuals who are in financial need, priority will be given to those students based in Wales.

Learning to lead, building critical thinking and decision-making skills and developing a global perspective to help create change in yourself is a good thing. Using those skills to generate ideas for social impact and be an advocate for positive change in the world – that’s a great thing. The Global Leadership Experience (GLE) is your chance to bring it all together.

UWC Atlantic based in a 12th-century castle by the sea in Wales UK; every day is packed with new experiences – from exploring the complex systems of the world (why some work and others simply don’t) to developing your own answers to the BIG ethical, social, environmental, political, geographic and economic questions that impact the lives of everyone. Through thought-provoking workshops, insightful discussions and comfort stretching outdoor activities, you will be invited to develop the 21st Century leadership needed at a global, local and personal level.

Who – Who am I?

Through activities steeped in experiences, you will be challenged to explore what comprises your identity, your values, your passion, your strengths. You will begin to explore what leadership means to you and uncover who the leader that lies within you is.

Why – What is my why?

By diving deep into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, you will gain a deeper understanding of the global challenges we currently face. You will investigate the root and impact of these challenges at local and global level. In doing so, you will better be able to identify the issues that you most deeply care about and your motivation to influence change – your why!

How – How can I influence my community?

You will meet and hear from a variety of leaders from different sectors, that will expose you to the multiple way of influencing change – from being a politician, to organising a lifeboat rescue programme. Through these experiences, you will better be able to identify the strengths you wish to draw on to positively impact your communities.

What – What am I actually going to do?

Following a human-centred design thinking approach, you will work together with people from around the world to creatively and effectively design the actions you will take to become the changemaker.

Critical Exploration

Through experiential education designed and delivered by Critical Engagement CIC, you will have the chance to develop strong foundations for critical thinking and personal engagement with issues of identity, diversity and social responsibility. Through a variety of different workshops and activities, you will explore what makes you the person and aspiring leader that you are, how this can shape your changemaking ambitions and what leadership is fit for the future world you envision.

Design Thinking to Influence Change

In order to develop your skills in influencing change in the communities around you, you will be led through a human-centred design thinking process to translate your understanding of the global challenges into tangible actions you will take to positively impact those around you.

Outdoor Adventures

Drawing upon the resources that the beautiful surroundings offer, you will be challenged to develop your leadership skills through creative and exciting outdoor adventures. Whether climbing down seafront cliffs or scrambling through the Brecon Beacons, you will (safely) be invited to push beyond your comfort zone, connect with natural places and work together with your peers to overcome your fears whilst discovering your strengths and potential.

Leadership in Action and Reflection

The greatest lessons are learnt from practice and reflection. You will have the chance to directly practice what you learn by taking a lead in shaping and delivering sessions and events throughout the week – from evening games to the final gala.

In order to draw out your personal learnings, you will be part of a smaller umbrella group. Guided by a facilitator, you will have the opportunity to reflect upon the day’s activities, alone and together, to more deeply understand your own personal journey.

Atlantic School for Young Leaders (ASfYL)

“This course is being run in partnership with Atlantic School for Young Leaders (ASfYL), a charity created in 2014 to develop the leadership skills of young people from across the globe. Following the completion of four successful ASfYL leadership schools held at UWC Atlantic, the partners are excited to continue to grow the network of aspiring young leaders”

– Ceri Thomas, Director

Critical Engagement CIC

“GLE is designed and delivered in partnership with Critical Engagement CIC (CE), a community interest company created in 2019 to develop strong foundations for critical thinking, creative collaboration and confident, constructive communication. CE was first born at UWC Atlantic over 12 years ago and we have partnered with ASfYL since 2015, thus we are excited to continue to grow our joint commitment to offer action-oriented education for young people across the international stage”

– Sophie Mak-Schram and Faima Ramirez, CE Co-Directors

Course Information

The course will be held at UWC Atlantic from Thursday 20th July to Thursday 3rd August 2023. Applications are open to 15-17-year-olds. GLE is delivered in English, therefore all participants must be able to communicate in the English language.

Course Fees

£2,595 GBP per person, including all boarding, catering, activity fees and GuardMe insurance. Price is also inclusive of optional transfer to/from Heathrow Airport. The fee does not include flights, participant spending money, visa fees or travel costs outside of the transfers.

SUPPLEMENTS

Additional charges that you may incur as a fee to GLE are as follows:

– If you plan to use the unaccompanied minor airline service a fee of £75 GBP per person applies to cover the additional staffing requirements
– If you have unexpected changes to travel a fee of £200 GBP per person plus additional transport costs (i.e. taxis) applies

SCHOLARSHIPS

The capacity of GLE is 45 participants of which up to 10 places are allocated to ASFYL scholarships. If you require financial assistance, you must apply via the scholarship application form found on our website. Funded places are only available to 16-17-year-olds.

How to Apply

To apply, click on the relevant application link in the blue box above.

– Application opens late January 2023
– Application closes at 23:59 on 31st March 2023 midnight UK time
– Late applications will not be considered
– All applications will be reviewed together after the closing date and applicants will be notified whether their application has been successful by the end of April 2023. An invoice will be sent out at the time of confirmation and you must be able to pay the invoice at this stage. Please contact us if you require a payment plan.

The application is made up of 4 main sections:
1) Personal details
2) About you – longer questions exploring your motivations and thoughts on leadership (if you would like, you may supplement these answers with additional material, e.g. a video, image, or audio recording).
3) Medical/additional needs and parent/guardian information (to be completed by your parent/guardian)
4) Provide the contact details of an adult who we may contact for a character reference.

We are keen to discover the leader within – and that can mean different things to different people. In assessing applications, we look for both merit and potential, recognising that there any many different ways to lead and that becoming a leader is an ongoing process. Please answer the questions below with sincerity and confidence, and use personal examples.

To ensure you complete the application smoothly, you are advised to prepare the longer answers beforehand (Section 2).

The questions are:
1) Share something about yourself, or something you have done, that you are proud of. (300 words)
2) Why are you applying and what do you hope to gain from this course? (300 words)
3) What will you contribute to the Global Leadership Experience (a specific perspective, skills, experiences)? (300 words)
4) Describe what you understand leadership to mean, using an example or experience of “good” or “bad” leadership to explain this. (300 words)

Contact Us

If you need to get in touch, contact us by email gle@uwcatlanticexperience.com or call (+44) 1446 799 000

Insurance

As part of GLE, International Students living outside of the UK will benefit from GuardMe COVID specific insurance, to provide additional cover for COVID related cancellation.

The policy provides cover for participant cancellation in the event of:

– Having a positive case of COVID at the start date of the course, prohibiting them to join. Cover provided is up to the value of £7,500

– COVID medical cover up to £10 million

– Flight and accommodation cover for participant and guardian should they be required to isolate in the UK and/or fly to the UK to provide care