History

Service to others is very much a cornerstone of the Round Square philosophy. This organisation, of which The Southport School is a member, comprises some 67 schools from all over the world who support Kurt Hahn¹s vision that education is primarily about the increase of understanding and tolerance through experience. TSS has been a member of The Round Square for the past twenty-eight years.

The Round Square is the name given to a unique group of schools in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, India, Kenya, Scotland, Switzerland, Oman, South Africa, Japan, Korea and the United States. All are pledged to further international understanding, and to educate through service, both at home and overseas. This vision of education goes far beyond the academic.

The association was formed in 1966 following a suggestion from King Constantine of Greece, as a tribute to the life work of Kurt Hahn. The Duke of York, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Dr. R Von Weizsäcker, Nelson Mandela have recently joined King Constantine of Greece as Patrons of The Round Square.

An annual Conference meets each year at a member school, and, attended by Heads, Staff, Yr 10, 11 and 12 pupils and Governors, provides a forum for the exchange of views and experiences, and for the initiation and development of projects. This Conference provides a forum for the valuable exchange of ideas whilst at the same time encouraging international fellowship. Two hundred and fifty delegates attended The Southport School Conference in August, 1995. Attending these conferences is an exciting and valuable experience as are the exchanges which take place between member schools.

As well as the international event the Australasian region has two other annual conferences. The Junior Conference is for 12 - 13 year olds and the Regional Conference is open to Year 10 and 11 students running for a week. The location of these varies each year.

Each Round Square school presents an array of service opportunities to its own students. The scope of these activities is enormous, ranging from support for the ill and elderly to volunteer childcare to maintenance and rehabilitation of natural areas to the operation of life-saving and protective agencies. Thousands of hours of such "ordinary" volunteer-service work are performed by Round Square students each week. Round Square students are also asked to take on emergency service help when such is needed. Schools train students to be ready to help others in cases of emergency or disaster.

From time to time an opportunity to serve will arise that requires the efforts of teams from several schools. Such service projects normally take place during school holidays. These larger projects, usually based at a member school, may be directed by the Round Square International Service ( RSIS ), established in 1980 as a specially staffed programme of The Round Square. RSIS has the leadership, expertise and funding to take on large, complex and logistically difficult projects, such as school construction and disaster relief projects. Students at Round Square schools raise money each year to supply construction and emergency-relief materials for RSIS. The philosophy here is one of self help. The funds are raised by Round Square students in their schools for the Prince Alexander fund - a fund which sponsors the Œbricks and mortar¹ required for the project. The projects are identified as a resource which will be of benefit to a whole community and to that end the community are totally involved in the project. The Free Clothes Days at TSS help contribute to this fund.

All service projects are organised according to the "RSIS Ground Plan" to promote safety and effectiveness, and are ollowed up by an evaluation (or travel and debriefing) period to ensure that service will have an educative result for each student.

T.S.S. students have helped rebuild areas devastated by earthquakes in India, and the South-East Asian Tsunami, constructed classrooms in villages, community centres and provided a science block and boarding accommodation in a Kenyan village.

There are also numerous school run projects that are open to The Round Square Community - some in Australia and abroad. These vary in nature from community service similar to the RSIS projects, eco tourism projects, environmental projects, expedition and cultural tours.

There is a strict selection policy and places are keenly sought after as the experience offered is unique and it is an honour to represent the school in such a way. There is no doubt that much is gained from these demanding but highly rewarding experiences.

The Round Square can offer your son opportunities. These opportunities are announced at Friday assemblies to the whole school and advertised in the Weekly Newsletter.