Introduction
The CCF is sponsored by the Ministry of Defence with the aim of providing "a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance". It is not a recruiting organisation but a significant proportion of officers in the armed forces have served in the CCF. Brentwood School CCF was originally founded in 1861 and as such it is one of the earliest CCFs in the country.
On a Friday afternoon at the end of lessons pupils take part in an organised extra-curricular activity. The CCF is available for pupils in the 3rd Year. And its key element is the way it provides opportunities for leadership and character development among pupils. Therefore there is a considerable emphasis on senior cadets developing their skills through instructing younger ones and almost all activities, with the exception of weapon training and activities in the range and the swimming pool are pupil-led with adults being present only to supervise.
What cadets do
The MoD lays down the syllabus to be followed by the three services. Royal Navy cadets receive instruction in boat-work but also cover drill, shooting and scuba diving.
RAF cadets are taught drill, the history and structure of the RAF, shooting and safety, navigation and map reading, fire lighting and cooking. After passing an exam, RAF cadets are then eligible to go flying at RAF Wyton. For their first year army cadets start by learning the basics of drill, first aid, camp craft, navigation, shooting using the 0.22 rifle on the indoor range and weapon training on the L98A2 5.56 mm Cadet General Purpose rifle, which is similar to the regular army SA80 but modified so the weapon can only fire semi automatically. When they reach the 5th form the emphasis changes with half the time being spent enhancing their military knowledge and the other half developing their skills as instructors. In the 6th form they either become instructors or join the REME section and learn the basics of car maintenance.
Camps and Courses
These are an important part of the activities of the CCF. Every cadet can apply to attend adventure training which is held in Snowdonia at Easter and teaches cadets the essentials kills of hill walking, while introducing them to other outdoor pursuits such as canoeing, climbing and gorge walking.. In addition there is a Cadet Centre for Adventure Training which runs courses for CCF cadets and adults on a wide range of adventure training activities.
The RN runs a large number of courses during the school holidays often held at Portsmouth, ranging from sailing to general "leadership" courses. It also now runs a regular diving trip to the Red Sea, giving cadets the opportunity to build on the skills learnt in the school pool. The RAF cadet organisation arranges week long camps for cadets at Easter and in the summer and we, along with all other CCFs bid for places. These are held on active RAF bases and cadets have the opportunity to undertake visits to the various branches on station as well as participating in less specialised activities such as shooting and orienteering. In the past year the cadets have attended RAF camps at RAF Kinloss, RAF Shawbury and RAF Akrotiri (Cyprus). At the army summer camp cadets will have one or two days of adventure training activities, two or three military skills days, a day on the range and one day where we run our own activities. There are almost always competitions between the schools on camp and for the last two year's we have won a "Best Contingent on Camp" award.
Recent CCF school trip photos can be viewed in the Photo Gallery section of this website.
CCF February Newsletter 2011.pdf(53.92 KB)
