CCF partnership programme with The Costello School

This is a well established, ongoing weekly partnership to support the CCF training programme of pupils at LWC and The Costello School.

Aim:
The aim of this project is to give CCF cadets from LWC and Costello the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone by taking part in various outward bound activities. There is a broad range on offer including mountain biking, hill walking, expeditions, climbing and navigation.

Background:
Every Friday LWC and Costello CCF cadets train together at Lord Wandsworth College. There are several external trips throughout the year notably the Lake District and Folkestone. The purpose of these trip is to strengthen relationships between our two schools as well as providing an environment for cadets to grow in confidence, build greater resilience and enhance leadership skills.

Resources:
Staff time is the key resource to enable the success of the project. There is a team of staff from LWC and 2 staff from The Costello School who are involved in the weekly training sessions.

CCF training in the Lake District with The Costello School

Over the Easter holidays 2017 the LWC CCF cadets embarked on their first adventurous training camp with our partner The Costello School.

Aims:
This trip to the Lake District included indoor climbing, caving, walking, navigational skills and overnight camping and was an opportunity for all the cadets to test the skills they had learnt during their training. The aim of the project was to help generate closer links with our partner school, for the cadets to bond and to challenge themselves in ways they had not done before.

Impact:
The weather was very trying over the week with Storm Kate and tested all our pupil’s character. Great perseverance and commitment was needed especially when climbing Ingleborough where nature tested the team with rain, wind, hail and even lighting.

CCF training at Gibraltar Barracks with The Costello School

A 1 day exercise raft building at Gibraltar Barracks at Minley.

Annual CCF Summer Camp at St Martins Plain, Folkestone

Aims:
The aims of this camp are as follows:

To consolidate individual training and skills.
To allow cadets to train and exercise in large units to learn leadership skills.
To provide opportunities for exciting, challenging and progressive training.
To provide an opportunity for cadets to integrate with their wider peer group
To provide an opportunity for continuation training of Volunteers.
The final aim is to gain an Army Proficiency Certificate

Background:
This annual camp is the culmination of the CCF training year and it is an opportunity to bring our cadets and volunteer staff together to conduct collective training on a scale not possible at other times.

CCF partnership project in the French Alps with The Castello School

LWC and Costello cadets travelled to a small village near Grenoble to take part in various adventure training exercises.

Aims:
The aim of the project was to further strengthen the relationship between the two partner schools but also to encourage cadets to try new and challenging activities.

Impact:
They enjoyed rock climbing and abseiling, mountain biking, caving in one of the biggest caves in Europe, canyoning down a gorge, and climbing a ‘Via Ferrata’ on a 300 foot rock face. The cadets showed real character in tackling some scary challenges. They all showed courage and determination to complete the activities and came through smiling.