The volunteer National Committee system is possibly unique to UWC. Students enter all of the UWC colleges through their National Commitees, who select students based on their suitability, potential and merit, publicise UWC, raise scholarship funds, support the students before, during and after their time at a college and organise network events for UWC alumni.
National Committees exist in over 130 different countries and whilst each committee operates as appropriate to their national context all are overseen by the UWC International Board, and its Secretariat (based in London).
The UWC National Committee of Great Britain was set up in 2001. Previously, due to the unique situation of Great Britain hosting the first UWC, Atlantic College had responsibility for student selection, fundraising, publicity and graduate relations. Graduates of various UWC colleges decided that an independent committee along the model used elsewhere in the world was needed to provide a representative for the whole UWC movement. The National Committee nevertheless continues to enjoy a close working relationship with Atlantic College.
The National Committee's main purpose is to select suitable representatives from Great Britain to attend Atlantic College and normally all the other UWCs overseas (except Venezuela) each year. In addition, some applicants are offered the opportunity to attend UWC Short Courses, which run for 2 weeks in various parts of the world each year.
It is also the aim of the National Committee to raise awareness of the United World Colleges in Great Britain, to ensure wider representation of applicants from different geographic locations, and economic and cultural backgrounds, in order to more fairly represent the wide spectrum of British society at the various UWCs.
UWC colleges aim to provide a transformative education for young people who posses the characteristics that will enable them to put UWC ideals into action, thrive at the colleges and contribute positively to their communities. This means that UWC aims to enable all suitable applicants to attend, through the provision of scholarships based on need. Unfortunately there is never enough scholarship funding made available to UWCGB students each year to enable all of those that need funding to get it. Currently Atlantic College provides most of the scholarship funding for UWCGB-nominated students but the National Committee would desperately like to be able to contribute to those scholarships also. Your contribution to our scholarship fund will undoubtedly mean that in the coming years a few more exceptional young people will not have to decline their place at a UWC due to the inability to pay the fees. Please get in touch if you would like to help us ensure that young people from Britain continue to attend UWC colleges with the scholarships they need.
Finally, the National Committee acts a link for UWC graduates of any nationality living in Britain. It is an information source for anybody in the UWC community wishing to get involved in UWC-related activities, as well as graduates searching for local contacts in Britain. Open meetings and social gatherings are scheduled all over Britain and graduates are encouraged to attend so they can meet other UWCers in their local areas, and keep up to date on UWC and National Committee issues. The UWC 'connection' continues to be an important part of many graduates lives long after they leave UWC, enabling them to meet like-minded individuals working or studying in similar fields, or having similar interests.
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Members of the National Committee are volunteers, and receive only minimal expenses for their work. Members are graduates (of any nationality) of the various UWC colleges, Short Course graduates, ex-UWC teachers, parents and friends. We always welcome new volunteers, so please contact info@uwcgb.org if you would like to get involved.