Outdoor Pursuits

COMBINED CADET FORCE

The Combined Cadet Force at St John’s School said goodbye this year to its Contingent Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ainsley Rawlings. Lt Col Rawlings has been an amazingly positive figure for the CCF here at St John’s over 10 years and has left the unit in strong position for the future. She has developed the Contingent to become one of the strongest in the Brigade and leaves behind a lot of cadets and staff who will miss her enthusiasm and drive. Major James Hewitt-McEyeson took over in January 2020 and joins us from the National Cadet Training Centre in Frimley Park. CCF The Contingent received another successful Inspection this year when it welcomed inspecting officer Lt Col Mike Potter, Commandant of Surrey Army Cadet Force. Lt Col Potter praised the Contingent for its fantastic turnout and emphasised to the cadets how impressed he was on the day. ARMY SECTION This year has been another good year for the CCF, which has been capably led by the OC Army Section Captain Lucy Hems and Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major Henry Benzikie. Cadets of the Lower Fifth were introduced to basic military training and learnt skills ranging from campcraft, skill at arms, marksmanship, and drill and turnout. They enjoyed a rather damp but high spirited Field Day in February where nearly every cadet in the year group passed their basic marksmanship test as part of their Army Proficiency Certificate (APC). The Upper Fifth cadets within the section began to build on their training with more advanced topics in map and compass, first aid, and fieldcraft. They were also introduced to CFIT (Cadet Forces Instructional Technique) in preparation for them developing as potential instructors and Cadet NCOs. The Upper Fifth took part in a very engaging leadership training day which saw them develop their Sixth Form cadets continued to support the OC in running the section and in being responsible for a vast amount of teaching. Lower Sixth NCOs undertook and passed a Method of Instruction Cadre to enable them to gain the skills and techniques required to be effective instructors. They have been ably mentored by the most senior cadets in the section, the Upper Sixth NCOs, and are poised for leadership roles in the next academic year. Special thanks must go to Cadet RSM Henry Benzikie and his team of NCOs who have put so much time and effort into building the Army Section to its great strength today. It is also thanks to the support of a number of staff that activities are able to take place; we are very grateful. Capt Lucy Hems, the shining star of the Army Section, sadly leaves us at the end of this academic year. We owe a great deal of thanks to Lucy for her passion, drive and creativity in ensuring our cadets have the best experience possible. We also thank Kate Symes-Thompson for her several years of support and wish her well as she moves into a new role within the School. Finally, the Section’s success as always is largely due to the hard work of WO2 (SSI) Steve Vine and Lt Col Patrick Noble, whose efforts behind the scenes do not go unnoticed! teamwork, communication and co-ordination.

NAVY SECTION As we say farewell and good luck to the Section’s two senior The Navy Section has been lucky to have CPO Lilia Evans and and Mark Davies who have supported the Section ably CPO Tait Van Strien at the helm. The two senior cadets in the throughout the year. We thank them for their support, and Section have worked closely with Lt Cdr Piers Vaughan and also say thank you for the leadership of Lt Aaron Mooney and Lt Aaron Mooney to build on the successes of the previous Lt Cdr Piers Vaughan, who will continue to lead the Section year. Whilst the training year has been cut short, the Section into the next academic year. deployed on successful enrichment days in the Autumn and Spring Terms. In October, the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth RAF SECTION had quite a bumpy afloat day in the Solent, sailing from Portsmouth to Ryde on the Isle of Wight by both power and Flight Lieutenant Chris Butler started his first full academic sail. The Lower Fifth were entertained at St John’s by a visiting year as the Officer Commanding of the RAF Section at St Royal Navy team. John’s School CCF. Supporting him, Warrant Officer James In February the Section travelled to Gosport. The Lower Fifth that were admired across the Contingent and wider School undertook some leadership training at HMS Collingwood community. and then visited the RN Submarine Museum. The Upper Fifth cadets, we also say goodbye to SLt Rob Bastin, Tom Davies Perkins, led the Section displaying natural leadership qualities visited HMS Sultan, the Defence School of Marine Engineering Senior cadets and NCOs took part in the coveted Royal and the RN Air Engineering School, where they had fun Air Squadron Trophy South East Region competition. They clambering around Sea King helicopters! The Upper Fifth also competed with other RAF CCF Sections from across the had a close look at the field gun equipment used by cadets south east in various events such as first aid (which we won!), there and were given some insight into how it is operated. drill, air rifle shooting, command task and general service This was of particular interest as the Contingent has now knowledge. After a long and testing day, the St John’s team sourced our own naval guns and carriages, which it is hoped were placed a very creditable fourth place. It was a testament will be used in competitive gun run competitions. The kit to the training and commitment of the team over and above looks small but is really quite heavy – just ask the Upper Fifth! their Thursday afternoon sessions. CCF The RAF Section has come on in leaps and bounds this year and this is largely due to the efforts of the OC and NCO team. Training has progressed well for cadets within the Section and has been complemented by the opportunity for several cadets to go flying earlier this year. Twenty-two cadets have had an ‘Air Experience Flight’ in the RAF’s Grob Tutor, which is the RAF’s primary training aircraft based at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire. The cadets had a thoroughly enjoyable experience, relishing the opportunity to take to the skies in a fully aerobatic aircraft. Each cadet also got the opportunity to take control of the aircraft under the guidance of their RAF Flying Instructor. The majority of the Section had a full-on day at Walton Firs Activity Centre where they took part in a teamwork and leadership workshops, and completed challenges such as high ropes, crate stacking, orienteering and a leadership tasks. The day was designed to help the cadets with their inter flight competitions in the weeks after the Field Day. As with the other sections, the RAF Section says goodbye to several staff including Chiara Edwards and Roeland Goorts. We are thankful for their efforts and support, and look forward to starting the next academic year on a high with Flt Lt Chris Butler and Robert Ross leading from a staff perspective. A special thanks goes to this year’s winner of the Dupays Sword of Honour - Cadet Warrant Officer James Perkins. He has had a tremendous, positive impact on the Section and this is demonstrated by the diligence and professionalism of the Section as a whole. Sgt James Smith, who takes the helm next year, has been an instrumental part of the team this year and we look forward to the future.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) at both Silver and Gold level remains very popular at St John’s, with 97 Upper Fifth pupils working towards their Silver Award, 13 Upper Sixth pupils finishing off their Gold Awards and 23 Lower Sixth pupils starting their Gold adventure.

The award is a valued aspect of the co-curricular programme and pupils gain real benefit from taking part. With activities as diverse as cake making, learning to drive, playing an instrument, rock climbing, CCF and drama all being undertaken by the pupils, it is clear that the award enables pupils to expand their horizons by taking on something new, as well as rewarding participants for the things they already enjoy.

The October half term expeditions to the New Forest ( Silver Practice Expedition) and Snowdonia (Gold Qualifying Expedition) provided both valuable outdoor instruction and character building challenges and were very well received by all those have attended…despite less than ideal weather conditions on occasion!

The Silver Awards Dinner in March saw 35 Lower Sixth participants awarded their certificates by Mr Chris Henshall, an accomplished mountaineering instructor. Many parents and some school staff attended this event and were all immensely proud of the pupils’ achievement.

At the time of writing, it remains unclear how the DofE will manage the COVID-19 pandemic. We have no doubt, however, that a solution will be found to enable all participants to continue with their awards with as little disruption as possible.