The Combined Cadet Force is a big part of life at Shiplake; many pupils choose to pursue CCF as a co-curricular activity during the afternoons. On Wednesday 5 October the CCF had a field day; each different section spent time doing various activities, furthering their understanding of the forces. Head of Outdoor Education, Mr Steve Macpherson, offers the following report on the day:
‘Before the field day took place Cadet Cpl Jack Turnbull and Cadet LCpls Miles Firth, Tom Nike, James Daniel, Oliver Heap and Ben Daniels received their shooting badges. These were earned during the summer camp in the summer. Cadet LCpl Jack Dugard received his 1st class shooting badge the previous week.
The new Army cadets stayed at Shiplake for this term’s field day and were given instructions for key areas of the syllabus, putting them through their paces. The junior cadets were shown how to build the two-man shelter using a sheet and some string, and how to cook themselves a meal in field conditions using the MOD ration pack. They were also instructed in how to move tactically over and area and given instruction and practice in camouflage and concealment. The senior cadets were put through the military orders process, looking at the way an officer would pass on a plan to their troops. They were also given the opportunity to deliver a set of orders for themselves. This is all geared towards the senior cadets taking a bigger leadership role within the CCF. All year groups came back together for an exciting escape and evasion exercise to finish off a very productive day.
The Royal Navy section travelled to nearby Reading Sailing club for their autumn term field day. The weather was brilliantly sunny with a good strong breeze, which proved a bit too strong at times! The cadets used our own sailing fleet of toppers and picos and spent the whole day practicing and perfecting their skills. They had been building up to this all term during the CCF’s Tuesday afternoon sessions, and their time on the water showed, as a number of the boys revelled in some of the afternoon’s more challenging conditions.
The Royal Air Force section travelled to RAF Duxford to visit the Imperial War Museum. The cadets had a great day looking around, getting the chance to look inside many different types of aircraft including Concorde. They also had the opportunity to see some flying taking place from close quarters. This really whet their appetites - they will hopefully be flying themselves soon on a programmed flying experience visit to RAF Benson. It was a very interesting and successful field day for the cadets, who all took away something from their various activities.’