Summer Camp is a pinnacle of the CCF year.  For many months, at Parade nights and weekend training, the Cadets work hard to hone the skills required to succeed and enjoy Summer Camp. Whilst it can be seen as a daunting experience, especially attending for the first time, everyone thrives and enjoys the experience tremendously.

There are generally 14 other schools at the Camp at the same time with around 500 Cadets, along with staff members and the Brigade Training Team which means the Camp is always busy!

This year, Alton School took 24 Cadets to Camp and whilst other schools have a larger contingent, Alton School punched well above its weight! 

We had a full day of adventurous training as well as kayaking, paddle boarding, moutain biking, rock climbing and archery. For many, it was the first time that they had tried some or all of these activities and it was fantastic to see them all making the very most of the opportunities open to them.  This was followed by an ‘In Camp Day’.  However, this is far from a rest day but rather an opportunity to learn new skills ranging from an obstacle course, survival skills, escape rooms and shotgun and paint ball activity. Again, Alton School CCF Cadets put in a huge amount of effort and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Whilst they had earned a good rest, we spent the next 2 days in the field, practising field craft and taking part in blank firing drills, spending the night under their bashas having cooked a hearty meal from their ration packs. In addition to the more traditional military skills, there were also lessons in axe throwing, using a blow dart and a laser tag ‘battle’. This culminated in a lengthy session of weapon cleaning, and we finished the day by enjoying the largest pizza delivery ever! 

On Competition Day, the Senior Cadets were in charge of teams. This entailed organising who was in which team, timings and responsibility for encouraging and motivating everyone. It was wonderful to see the older Cadets stepping up to this role. The day was a huge success, but we had no idea how we had done until the Prize Ceremony at the end of day.

We were delighted to win gold medals in the Drill Competition and the Survival Skills Competition and due to the fact that Alton School had performed so well across all the competitions, we came third overall; an outstanding result and one in which every single Cadet should be justifiably proud.