GORDONSTOUN BEGINS LOBBY INITIATIVE

[ 16 October 2006 ]

Gordonstoun, the British finishing school made famous by being included on fictional heroine Lara Croft's CV, has begun offering prospective parents free flights to England in a bid in increase boarding figures, The Times reports today.

The £22,000-a-year school - once synonymous with cold showers and early morning runs - is paying up to £800 for parents and their children to attend open days, including a two-night stay in local accommodation because numbers of attendees have been declining in recent years.

Gordonstoun has founded In 1933 by Dr. Kurt Hahn who, under threat from the Nazis for standing firm in the face of aggression, left Germany and founded an international school in the North of Scotland.

As he perceived decay in contemporary society, his objectives were to foster in young people qualities of skill, compassion, honesty, initiative, adventure and a sense of service to their fellow beings. His philosophy was based on the fostering of individual development in a community context.

Video-game heroine Lara Croft attended Gordonstoun - one of Britain's most prominent boarding schools - aged 16 following the death of her parents, according to her official biography.