RAF
The RAF section departed for their field day at the Brookwood Military Cemetery and the Pirbright Military Confidence Course. Upper Sixth student James Matthews, shares his experiences of the day.
Brookwood Cemetery
The morning was spent on a private tour of the Brookwood Cemetery, exploring and remembering the soldiers from all over the world who gave their lives during World War One. The section was shown around the American, Canadian, British, German and Polish sections of the cemetery, learning about the lives and heroics of various soldiers who fought or assisted the Allied front during the First World War.
As the morning came to a close, every cadet was given a cross to lay on a grave. The experience really resonated with them, and provided a chance to show respect to those who gave their lives in service to the UK. The visit provided a chance to show gratitude and appreciation towards the fallen soldiers, and all cadets reflected with deep respect for the ultimate sacrifices made by those brave men and women.
Pirbright Army Training Centre
In the afternoon, the RAF section tackled the Pirbright Army Training Centre, where they completed the Military Confidence Course. All cadets navigated a series of challenging obstacles – including high walls that required pairs to work together to overcome – balancing on beams above water and other terrain, and a tunnel crawl. The rain added complexity, making obstacles more slippery. Despite this, the section embraced the challenge with high spirits. The cadets encouraged one another and had an enjoyable time persevering through the rain and overcoming obstacles that required agility, coordination and teamwork.
Overall, the day was a meaningful blend of reflection and physical challenge, with the RAF section paying their respects to fallen soldiers at Brookwood Cemetery and demonstrating teamwork and resilience while attempting the Pirbright Military Confidence Course.
Royal Navy
Despite the weather’s best efforts to derail plans, the Royal Navy section enjoyed a fun-filled and instructive day of activities. Cadets, led by their ships’ captains, took part in archery, marine compartment clearing, cadet field gun, and a disaster-themed practical leadership task.
Archery, Field Gun Run, and Leadership Challenges
New cadets were introduced to the field gun run, while experienced cadets were able to further develop their skills. The marine compartment clearing activity taught cadets how to search and secure rooms on a vessel at sea, making them safe against various threats. Finally, the disaster relief practical leadership task presented cadets with a series of challenges and difficulties to overcome as a team.
Additionally, there was an opportunity to rehearse for the upcoming Lord Mayor’s Show in November. Nick Smith, Head of the Royal Navy section, said: “All cadets weathered the poor conditions admirably and worked fantastically, both collectively and individually.”
Army
This week, the Army section’s October Field Day achieved another first, with all four active year groups being out of school on manoeuvres at the same time. Year 11 and Upper Sixth pupils took over Bramshott Common from Tuesday afternoon, and overnight, while Year 10 and Lower Sixth pupils joined on Wednesday morning, to make full use of the space in covering their basic training fieldcraft package.
Year 11 and Upper Sixth – Written by Year 11 pupil Amelia Jallot
There was no escaping the rain on Tuesday as we finished assembling our Bergen bags and loaded up for the annual CCF October camp. The trip’s primary objective was to build on the skills developed in the summer camp. Bramshott Common was our home for the next 24 hours and – waterproofs on – we set about making the camp ready.
The evening brought a nighttime group exercise. We split into organised positions to observe and patrol the area, flanking the enemy on either side and moving stealthily in the night. Using our intelligence and reconnaissance skills, we tracked and ambushed the enemy – gaining control of the ‘goods’, helpfully illuminated with glow-in-the-dark paint so we knew what to locate. It was a successful team working exercise and we all enjoyed firing blanks in the dead of night.
After cooking dinner together, we spent the night in our waterproof Bashas, secured in place with logs at the base to keep the water out. The next morning, after breakfast, we prepared for the day. The arrival of bacon baps with our Year 10 colleagues was much appreciated and boosted our resolve against the weather even more. A section attack was planned for the day. This tested what we had learned at the summer camp. There was a lot of controlled running as we practised our manoeuvres en masse and pyrotechnics were deployed to enhance the experience.
Morale was high, and the experience was intense but hugely enjoyable. The bonding that comes from these camps is something that leaves a very positive, lasting effect.
After enjoying lunch, we tidied up as if we had never been there and returned to College. It was a very successful trip – thank you to all the staff who were involved, in particular Mrs Jeens. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits, but it did dampen our clothes!
Year 10 and Lower Sixth
While Bradford and Scott Platoons were busy fending off their allocated enemies, the brand-new Training Platoon were ably guided around six separate stands, where our new Lower Sixth leaders delivered the lessons under the watchful eye of the Upper Sixth NCOs and staff. ‘Camouflage and concealment’ proved popular, as did learning the important skill of building ‘two-person shelters’, with further lessons in ‘why things are seen’, ‘movement with and without equipment’, ‘field signals’ and ‘stalking’ – all broadening their knowledge of the core foundations for operating effectively in the field.
The weather was not as kind as it could have been, but all safely departed for home at the end of the afternoon, thoroughly covered in cam cream and upbeat about where their training would lead them next.
