Lester B. Pearson College

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Location
Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific
Victoria, British Columbia CAN
Information
Affiliation(s)	United World College
Students	200
Type	International Baccalaureate school
Established	1974
Information	+1 250 391 2411 admin@pearsoncollege.ca
Homepage	http://www.pearsoncollege.ca

Aerial View of Lester B. Pearson College

Lester B. Pearson College, United World College of the Pacific is one of twelve United World Colleges around the world. It is named after the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson, winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize. One of the aims of the college is to promote peace and international understanding by bringing young people from all walks of life, regardless of financial ability, together in a small and isolated village-like community.

The college's main curriculum is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and 200 students from 88 countries come together to share their lives as they finish their high school education. With a strict scholarship policy, students are required to be sponsored by their home country (national) UWC committees, as well as several private donors and organizations. This way, acceptance into Pearson is solely determined by merit, and admission is very competitive. Students are also required to participate in community-oriented services, cultural activities, and sport events. A highlight of the academic year is the professional dance, music and cultural show, "One World", put on by Pearson students and attracting thousands of audience members from Victoria and the surrounding communities.Despite the short history of the school, many alumni are young leaders in human rights, international development, business, law, science and other fields.^{[citation needed]} Students at the college are eligible, after graduation, to participate in the Shelby Davis Scholarship programme, which funds undergraduate study (based on need) for UWC students at universities, such as Princeton University, Colby College, Columbia University, College of the Atlantic, Harvard University, and Middlebury College, in the United States.

The College is located on the shores of Pedder Bay, near Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. The College provides a suitable location for the study of the environment, due to the surrounding woodlands and the nearby Race Rocks Marine Protected Area.

The director of the College as of 2006 is American David Hawley.

[edit] Alumni

Douglas Alexander- British Member of Parliament and Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland (1984). In 2007 he was appointed Secretary of State for International Development in Gordon Brown's cabinet
Anne Enright - 2007 Man Booker Prize-winning novelist
Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank (based in London).
Brenda Gluska - world renowned mezzosprano opera singer - http://www.banffcentre.ca/Theatre/history/opera/production_1997/biographies.asp
Lene Espersen, Danish Minister of Justice since 27 November 2001.^[1]

[edit] External links

United World Colleges	United World College of the Atlantic · United World College of South East Asia · Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific · Waterford-KaMhlaba United World College of Southern Africa · Armand Hammer United World College of the American West · United World College of the Adriatic · Simón Bolívar United World College of Agriculture · Red Cross Nordic United World College · Li Po Chun United World College · Mahindra United World College of India · United World College of Costa Rica · United World College in Mostar