THE ROUND SQUARE, The Oxymoron  In Scotland a "square" has traditionally been the administrative centre of an estate. As a result of a slight historical geometric anomaly the "square" of Gordonstoun is a perfectly circular two storey building - The Round Square. The first conference was held in this building in 1967 and it was decided to adopt the name "The Round Square Conference" for the association.

The 'Round Square', Gordonstoun, Scotland

from idea to foundation...

The idea came from Greece where Jocelin Winthrop Young was headmaster of Anavryta school. A pupil of Kurt Hahn's in Salem and Gordonstoun, he had been involved in the international students reconstruction project organised by Salem after the great earthquake in the Ionian Islands in 1954. This had been such a success that Young considered the scheme of founding a permanent association of schools, started by Kurt Hahn or his colleagues or pupils, to provide aid projects for those in need. In 1962/3 he visited ten of these schools to explain the plan; this included an annual conference for co-ordination and discussion.
In 1966, on Hahn's 80th birthday, Young had these schools invited to the celebrations in Salem and sent them the agenda of a meeting for the foundation of a "Hahn Schools Conference". King Constantine of the Hellenes, a former pupil of Anavryta, chaired the meeting and the plan was approved by the seven schools represented. Young was appointed to run the association and retired as director in 1992. The first conference was held at Gordonstoun in 1967.