First international Round Square Conference hosted in Northern Ireland

Pictured at the global Round Square conference, taking place at Rockport School, Holywood, Northern Ireland are (left to right): Campbell Kuruk from St. John’s Ravenscourt School, Canada; Tomisin Bewaji from St. Mary’s, Colchester, England; Sophie Shiel, Head Girl, Rockport School; Rohaan Vasa from Bayview Glen School, Canada, Karen Zhang from Keystone Academy, China and Rajveer Batra from DAIS Dhirubhai Ambani International School, India.

First international Round Square Conference hosted in Northern Ireland

George Vance reports on a landmark event

Situated in Craigavad, Holywood, Rockport School earlier this year hosted the first-ever Round Square International Conference to take place in Northern Ireland or Ireland. Founded in 1906, Rockport is Northern Ireland’s only fully independent day and boarding school, catering for students between the ages of 2½ and 18. Round Square was created in 1966 by educator and philosopher Kurt Hahn, who also established Gordonstoun School in Scotland. Schools hoping to join Round Square must demonstrate their commitment not only to academic excellence, but also to the personal development and responsibility of their students. In 2014, Rockport School became the first school in Ireland – North or South – to be accepted within the Round Square community, which now boasts an internationally diverse network of 200 like-minded schools in 50 countries on six continents. Marking five years since that point, in March 2019 over 160 students and 40 teachers from 30 schools across the globe descended on Northern Ireland to visit famous sites, including the Giant’s Causeway and Crumlin Road Gaol, and meet with students from fellow Round Square schools.

A programme of events for the conference was developed by Rockport that are reflective of Round Square’s ideals:

We hope that the visit will have created lasting memories, educated students on our history, inspired them to return with their families, and helped to reinforce the ideals of Round Square.

internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, adventure, leadership and service. Visiting schools included Bayview Glen in Canada; Keystone Academy, China; Chadwick International School in South Korea; Millennium School Dubai; British Overseas School, Karachi, Pakistan; San Silvestre School, Peru; Herlufsholme, Denmark; and Vivek in India. With a conference theme of ‘Our Changed Environment’, the students also took part in a discussion in the chambers at Stormont Parliament Buildings and the visit concluded with a conference event at Titanic Belfast.

To have such a diverse representation of Round Square schools from across the globe visit Rockport School and many of Northern Ireland’s historic sites was amazing. Our guests were in awe of our landmarks and incredible scenery, and we were truly honoured to be hosting this first-ever Round Square conference in Ireland. For the majority of our guests, this was the first time they had visited Northern Ireland. We hope that the visit will have created lasting memories, educated students on our history, inspired them to return with their families, and helped to reinforce the ideals of Round Square.

Rachael Westgarth, CEO of Round Square, commented that “This Global Conference for 13-15 year olds in Northern Ireland has been a highlight in Round Square’s 2019 calendar, and the source of much excitement throughout our international community of schools over many months. The breadth of countries involved, and the scale of the event, reflects the enthusiasm felt within the schools across our worldwide network at the prospect of travelling here, and we have had the honour of the presence of Round Square President, His Majesty King Constantine, who presided over our Board of Trustees’ meeting at Rockport School. The willingness of schools such as Rockport to step up and host this sort of gathering is hugely important to Round Square in promoting international understanding. It enables students to learn about the vibrancy and variety of culture and community that exists in different parts of the world by experiencing it first-hand as they have done here in Northern Ireland. These students are potentially the next generation of business, political and community leaders, and I am confident that their visit to Northern Ireland will have made a very positive and lasting impression.”

George Vance is Headmaster of Rockport School (www.RockportSchool.com)

Email: info@rockportschool.com

George Vance, Headmaster of Rockport School with students (l-r) Rajveer Batra from DAIS Dhirubhai Ambani International School in India, Tomisin Bewaji from St. Mary’s, Colchester, England and Sophie Shiel, Head Girl, Rockport School.