This is the first in an occasional series of blog posts about Alton School CCF.
We are thrilled to have a contingent in our school and firmly believe that the values of the British Army:
• Courage
• Discipline
• Respect for Others
• Integrity
• Loyalty
• Selfless Commitment
are things that we should all aspire to, and are definitely the values we want to encourage and nurture in our young people.
The CCF is open to all students in years 8 and above. We parade once a week after school and often take our cadets away for a weekend to concentrate of key training aims. Once a year we attend a week long summer camp where the cadets get to practice their military skills as well as taking part in various adventurous training activities. From time to time other opportunities arise for our cadets and we aim to make the most of what the Army has to offer. Uniform is provided for the duration of a cadets time in the CCF, boots are purchased by the cadets and, in normal years, we make a small annual charge to help support contingent activities.
Any student who is interested in joining CCF should talk to 2Lts Knight, Swabey & Hall or Sgt Taylor. Parents may email ataylor@altonschool.co.uk if they have any questions.
May 2021
At long last we are back to something approaching normal. It has taken a lot of work behind the scenes to get here. Last Saturday 2Lts Swabey and Hall, Sgt Taylor and I spent the day at Longmoor ranges renewing our weapons handling training and testing our skills on the ranges, despite having last seen a rifle when we took our previous weapons handling test six months ago we all passed. It was a great opportunity for the CCF team to spend some time together, talking through plans and reminding ourselves why we are passionate about ensuring that Alton School CCF goes from strength to strength. Having joined our team during the Autumn term as School Staff Instructor (SSI), Sgt Taylor has spent the bank holiday weekend at the Cadet Training Centre in Frimley refreshing his military skills.
We have so much to look forward to, regular parade nights restarted on 29 April, our training will be focussed on ensuring that the cadets we are taking to Summer Camp are fully prepared for the exciting and varied challenges that await them. We will be teaching the cadets how to construct shelters, cook in the field, avoid being seen, as well as drill, basic navigation skills and first aid. It is really important that all cadets, especially those joining us for Camp, attend parade nights regularly – we are trying to cover as much of the syllabus as we can!
With Camp in mind, and with the kind help of the PTFA, we have bought 20 day sacks so that the cadets can carry everything they need – lunch, waterproofs, suncream (we are on Camp while Wimbledon is happening so I am not taking any chances with the weather). Huge thanks must go to the PTFA and also to Mr Morgan who 3D printed a stencil to allow us to quickly name our day sacks and other bits of kit.
