Bloxham’s CCF Contingent took part in a training camp at the end of last term, taking part in a range of activities over the course of the trip
Thank you to Sergeant Tobi Ng for the detailed report below:
On the 28 June, Bloxham School CCF Contingent departed for Longmoor Training Camp, Hampshire. The drive was wet and rainy but we arrived at the base in dry weather, which was a pleasant surprise. After having a packed lunch, we got into our rooms and relaxed for the afternoon before having tea and a fire safety briefing.
The next day was the Personal Development day; this was designed to encourage cadets to push their boundaries whether it was mentally or physically. The activities included an orienteering exercise, with a riddle at each checkpoint; mountain biking; rock climbing; archery and a paintball scenario. My favourite was the mountain biking over a wooded course, as we had to go over obstacles such as a seesaw.
The second day of activities was Field Craft. There were three different sections to this. Firstly, section attacks involved us using the rifles and blank rounds to attack an enemy position – there was a smoke grenade thrown during the section attack, which provided us with some cover on the advance and added to the excitement. The next activity was an explanation of how an ambush works and what you have to do to search an ‘enemy’ body, for wires/ explosives. Next there was TIBUA… (Training in Built Up Areas). Some say that this was the best part of the entire camp.’ With adrenaline running high, we were required to clear a building of the enemy using blank firing rifles ensuring that hostages remained unharmed (which some found more challenging than others!) In the evening, there was a talk given by the Royal Military Police Close Protection Unit, explaining what they do to protect VIPs around the world. After the talk there was an opportunity to handle some of the weapons they use in carrying out their duties.
Day three was Survival and we went through a rotation of various activities: shelter building, trap making, skinning a rabbit, producing fire using friction and electrical techniques, desert and a jungle survival mental tasks.
The fourth day gave us the chance to visit a firing range, where we fired on four different ranges. The first range was the indoor .22 range, where we fired the cadet A2 rifles which had the Heckler & Koch conversion kit so that it fired a .22mm round. Next was the Barrack Range, where we fired the Cadet A2 rifle with the 5.56mm rounds. Then came the clay pigeon shoot and the DCCT- an indoor electronic range (most cadets associated it with being like computer games such as CoD!)
The last day was the Inter-Contingent Competition day. Each contingent selected a squad to compete in three competitions: Drill, which took the form of an entertaining drill assault course; a hot and physical 1.6 mile March and Shoot competition; and an event called The Cube, which follows a format similar to the TV program.’ We were very narrowly beaten at Drill by Hurstpierpoint College but received much praise from the inspecting team for a massive improvement since arrival on camp and an impressive standard of drill.’ Theo Goddard won the award for Best Clay Pigeon Shot out of all the school CCFs gathered (ten schools, 350 cadets) so Bloxham didn’t go without a mention!’ It was a great camp and we look forward to returning to Longmoor for further challenges next year.