CCF

The Combined Cadet Force is a youth organisation which began around 1860 and the title comes from the fact that the training is not based on just one of the services.... each school has its own set up and can have sections carrying out training based on the Army / RAF / Navy (just one or any combination or all three depending on the size of the Contingent).

Since 2005 Princess Helena College has been attached to the St Columba's College CCF Contingent. Weekly training is held in St Albans from 16.00-18.00 every Friday where the Contingent has an Army section and an RAF section. A cadets' first year is “basic training” which consists of learning basic survival skills (allowing them to spend a night in the field), drill movements, how to care for & maintain their uniform, weapon handling skills and a little history of the organization they are part of. Each cadet then chooses which section they wish to continue their training with depending on what subjects they are most interested in:

The Army Section focuses on "green training" such as weapon handling, map and compass and soldiering skills, culminating in a 1-2 field weekends a year where they operate as independent sections on patrols andambushesand sleep in a tactical harbour.

The RAF Section's focus is around drill and aircraft technical detail. They use flight simulation systems with the highlight being flying days atvarious RAF bases where the cadets get a chance to actually fly theaircraft.

There is also the opportunity to attend a week long annual summer camp which runby regular service men. This allows cadets tocompete and socialisewithother school contingents from across the UK as well as beingtrained in a variety of syllabus and interest subjects (kayaking, rock climbing, signaling and orienteering being among the most popular).

Click to download the attached file(s):
• CCF_Syllabus.pdf