Combined Cadet Force
Arnold School Combined Cadet Force was formed in 1896 and currently consists of almost 300 cadets. Each cadet belongs to one of the three service sections: Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
42 (North West) Brigade
Air Cadets
CCF (RN)
The Ministry of Defence provides equipment, transport and highly qualified instructors from the combined services. In addition to activities organised by the Contingent's own officers there are many courses available throughout the year which often lead to national qualifications. There is something for everyone with activities including power boating, sailing, shooting, rock climbing, first aid and scuba diving. Arnold School cadets have recently followed in the footsteps of escaping prisoner of war in the Pyrenees and enjoyed diving in the Red Sea.
Major A Treharne - Contingent Commander
WO1 T Beck - School Staff Instructor
Royal Navy Section
Sub-Lieutenant M Downey - Officer Commanding
Sub-Lieutenant H Caunce
Army Section
2nd Lieutenant P Collinson OA
J Lamarra OA
Royal Air Force Section
2nd Lieutenant D Smyth
R Porritt
HMS Triumph visit - 3 December 2010
The school was delighted to welcome nine members of the crew of HMS Triumph led by the Casing Officer, Lt Nick Stone. The submarine is the most advanced in the Royal Navy and has recently undergone an extensive refit. Earlier in the year the boat became affiliated with Blackpool Borough Council and crew members have spent the last week visiting all the organisations with which they have such affiiliations, including Henry Cort Community College and Malvern St James School. This is the first time a unit of the armed forces has undertaken such an exercise and it was a great privilege for us to be involved.
After being welcomed by the Headmaster the crew were given a tour of the school and then spent time with members of Year 5 and Year 6. The Junior School pupils were keen to ask questions about life on board a submarine and whether the crew had ever seen any sea monsters! After lunch, several members of the crew left for a tour of Blackpool Football Club and the rest spent time with the CCF NCO cadre. The cadets were divided into teams and set the task of designing a submarine. Whilst none of the designs were in danger of leaving the drawing board there were plenty of imaginative ideas which impressed Lt Stone sufficiently for him to award several cadets with 'Dolphins', the badge issued to British submariners on completion of training. A quick change-over in the Lecture Theatre and the crew were now faced with the school's Y12 students. Lt Stone gave an account of the role of the 'Silent Service' and in particular HMS Triumph. The students asked a variety of questions about such things as seasickness, claustrophobia and the likelihood of women serving as submariners.
Before joining the Royal Navy Lt Stone attended the Summer Camp at Britannia Royal Naval College as a Sea Cadet, his Divisional Officer was a certain Lt Treharne. This did not dissuade him from joining the Senior Service so we hope this impressive young officer will support the proposal that HMS Triumph becomes affiliated to Arnold School Combined Cadet Force.
Remembrance Service
The school's Remembrance Service on 11th November focused on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean war. The senior cadet of each section joined the Contingent Commander in reading an account of the Battle of Imjin River. This epic battle, Britain's bloodiest since World War II, involved the British 29th Infantry Brigade and was described by the Commander of the United States 8th Army as 'The most outstanding act of unit bravery in modern warfare.' The reading included extracts from the personal account of Lance Corporal Henry Jennings who was a member of The Royal Signals on attachment to The Gloucestershire Regiment. Henry was mentioned in despatches for his actions during the battle and spent over two years as a prisoner of war.
British involvement in the Korean war resulted in 1060 British soldiers taken prisoner, 2,674 wounded and 1,078 killed in action.
On Sunday 14th November the Contingent took part in the Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in Blackpool. Over 60 cadets representing all three sections took part. Alex Garrod (Senior Cadet in the Army Section), the Head Boy and the Head Girl laid wreaths during the ceremony. Many members of the Arnold community were in attendance, including members of staff past and present. Once the service was over, the Contingent marched past the Town Hall together with the other units represented.
Arnold School CCF in the news - November 2010
The latest issue of 'The Volunteer' includes several articles which feature Arnold School CCF cadets (pages 5, 35, 36, 37 and 51). The Volunteer is the official magazine of the reserve forces and cadets in the North West.
Autumn Field Day - 8 October 2010
The entire Contingent left the school at 9am and spent the day training.
The RN and RAF sections travelled to Waddecar Scout Camp where they took part in a wide range of activities including orienteering, archery, climbing and raft building.
The Army section were slightly closer to school at Weeton Barracks. The cadets in Year 10 were given instruction in Section Battle Drills by NCOs whilst those in Year 11 learnt map reading and revised their Skill at Arms training in preparation for Weapon Handling Tests. Well done to the large number of cadets who passed these tests and went on to fire live on the 40m range, most of whom were awarded their Marksman or First Class shooting badges as a result.
BTEC First Diploma in Public Services - October 2010
Over forty cadets have completed the BTEC over the last year and a similar number have registered in the last few weeks. The Contingent is very grateful to 2Lt Mayhew for the enormous amount of time she has devoted to administering this.
The training provided by the Combined Cadet Force covers 77% of what is needed to achieve the equivalent of 4 GCSE's at A*-C level. During the course cadets learn professional CV preparation, interviewing techniques, communication, first aid and much more besides.
Congratulations to the cadets listed below who have been awarded Distinctions or Distinction*.
Katie Ashcroft, Christopher Atkins, Christopher Barrett, Lydia Bevis, Matthew Bignold, Sarah Broadhurst, Liane Brodie, Tsuiyee Cheng, Tobias Cleaver-Ross, Alicia Clow, Iain Cumpstey, Benjamin Dagger, Imogen Davies, Hannah Deuchars, Anike Ditchfield, Camilla Dunlop, Emily Foster, Rhiannon Gillis, Laura Hill, Rakesh Hutchinson, Christopher Ingham, Alizey Kazmi, Anna Lee, Jessica Lee, Alexandra Lesser, Samuel Leung, Abigail Lucas, Jack McGuinness, Dominic Mistry, Sophie Oliver, Michael Phipps, Olivia Powell, Georgina Read, Mark Roper, Lizzie Salmon, Chloe Stafford, Fiona Stapleton, Shashi Tadi, Paul Thomas, Aled Williams, Alex Williams, Thomas Yaxley.
Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation
Autumn Adventure Training - 1 to 3 October 2010
Cadets from all three sections enjoyed a weekend in the Lake District using Almond Lodge as a base. A sunny day on Saturday was perfect for rock-climbing in Borrowdale but the weather turned overnight which meant an early return to school on Sunday.
Help for Heroes fund raiser - 25 September 2010
The Contingent was delighted to support the Ice Gala at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in aid for Help for Heroes. MJ Phipps introduced each of the two performances and Tom Yaxley played the Last Post on each occasion. Other cadets sold raffle tickets and programmes throughout the day.
Officers and cadets attend courses - Summer 2010
Congratulations to SLt Lunn and 2Lt Mayhew for passing the RN and Army courses for new CCF officers over the summer.
Alex Garrod and MJ Phipps attended Army and RAF Leadership courses, both received superb reports.
Jenny Carpenter enjoyed taking part in a summer camp for RN cadets and Avishek Choudhury learnt the basics of being an ocean diver.
Summer camp at Warcop - 3 to 10 July 2010
Over thirty cadets from all three sections travelled to Warcop Training Camp in Cumbria. Aside from enjoying the usual high standard of training we've come to expect from this annual camp it was our first opprtunity to fire the new weapons live on a range. The Arnold cadets worked hard and impressed the instructors throughout the week.
Preston Military Show - 26 June 2010
The Preston Military show at Fulwood Barracks is an important regional event. This year's show coincided with the national Armed Forces week and focused on the activities of the cadet forces as this is the150th anniversary of the formation of the first cadet unit in the country. Teams representing every branch of the cadet forces took part in a competition involving physical and mental agility. Arnold represented the Combined Cadet Force and were only narrowly beaten by the Royal Marines cadets in the final to become runners up. They were presented with a plaque by Major-General D.A.H. Shaw, the General Officer Commanding of 2 Division. The cadets then took part in a march past in front of senior officers, local dignatories and members of the public. Cadet Sergeant Mark Atkins carried our new banner for the second time this year. Cadets from Rossall School marched in front of us due to the fact their contingent is the oldest but we were happy to accept 'age before beauty' on an occasion such as this.
Biennial Inspection and Field Day - 25 June 2010
Field Day is an opportunity for the cadets to put into practice the training they have received on a weekly basis throughout the year and to try new activities. The Royal Navy Section spent the day sailing at Southport Marina, the Army Section used the shooting ranges and training area at Altcar and the Royal Air Force Section went to RAF Woodvale. The RAF's Assistant Chief of Staff Health, Air Commodore The Honourable Richard Broadbridge QHS RAF, conducted the contingent's Biennial Inspection on this day and we are very grateful to this busy senior officer for taking the time to do this.
Bega Banga - 18 to 20 June 2010
On Friday 18th June, four Year 9 cadets travelled with Capt J Riding to St. Bee’s School in order to represent Arnold CCF in the annual Bega Banga Military Skills Competition. After a night under canvas and a full English breakfast the cadets moved round a series of stands designed to test their skills – the stands included command tasks, signals skills, map reading, observation skills, first aid and shooting. In the blistering heat the cadets worked extremely hard and proved themselves a very competitive team. On Sunday morning the competition was rounded off with a tug of war competition – again our cadets put up a very spirited performance. Capt J Riding thanked the cadets who travelled to St. Bee’s for all their effort and for making the weekend very enjoyable and worthwhile.
HMS Eaglet - 28 to 30 May 2010
Sub Lt Downey, Sub Lt Lunn and fourteen RN cadets spent the weekend at HMS Eaglet in Liverpool. They joined cadets from two other schools for two days of boat work, leadership tasks, weapon training and rock climbing. They enjoyed themselves immensely despite some poor weather.
Army Student Presentation Team - 10 May 2010
Serving soldiers and officers recently gave a presentation to the cadets and other members of the school.
St George's Day - 23 April 2010
We were immensely proud to take part in the St George's Day parade in Lytham St Annes. Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, Chief Executive of the Army Benevolent Fund, congratulated the cadets for their participation.
Adventure Training - 11 to 15 April 2010
The 2010 adventurous training expedition took place in Snowdonia for the second time. Accommodated at Capel Curig Training Camp near Betws-y-Coed, the cadets took part in rock-climbing, kayaking and hill-walking under the instruction of 40 Cadet Training Team. See Adventure Training 2010.
For details of last year's event see Adventure Training 2009.
Dawn Attack Eleven - 17 to 18 February 2010
Sixteen cadets braved the freezing conditions of a Cumbrian winter to take part in an overnight exercise at Warcop Training Camp. Their first task was to be tested on the new L98A2 weapons issued to the contingent before Christmas. They then took up positions at various locations on the training area so that ACF cadets could practice their skills of reconnaissance. Evening meal consisted of boil-in-the-bag meals from 24hr ration packs which the cadets were surprised to find are actually very good. Early in the morning they took up their positions again and this time the ACF cadets attacked them just as dawn broke. Smoke, flares and plenty of blank ammunition made this an exciting experience as well as being the opportunity for all involved to test their skills and knowledge.
