The Combined Cadet Force Contingent (CCF) at Calday Grange Grammar School traces its history back to 1916, when a unit of the Officers’ Training Corps first formed. Evolving throughout the subsequent years, the CCF now consists of three sections, A Royal Naval Section, an Army Section, and a Royal Air Force Section. Cadets wear the uniform of their parent service, which is issued free.
The aims of the CCF are to develop the leadership skills of cadets by teaching them discipline, comradeship, good manners and technical subjects appropriate to their chosen sections. The CCF is not a recruiting machine for the armed forces or a ‘mini-army’, but a youth organisation with a sense of military discipline and pride. Cadets are not required to join any of His Majesty’s Forces when they are older.
Core Values
COURAGE | LOYALTY | DISCIPLINE | SELFLESS COMMITMENT | INTEGRITY | RESPECT FOR OTHERS
Annual Subscription (from Year 10)
There is an annual subscription charge of £65 per cadet which is payable in the autumn term. This payment supports a varied programme of activities including weekly parade and some camps, courses and adventure training.
The Contingent parades from 16:00 to 18:00 every Thursday during term time. Cadets are expected to attend every parade, unless there is a very good reason for not doing so. Additionally, there are two field days each year, when cadets are taken away from school to take part in activities relating to their Service. There are other training events during the year at weekends.
Army
The Combined Cadet Force Army Section provides cadets with the opportunity to engage in activities that they would not normally experience within either a school environment or generally outside of school. Examples of this are:
- Training in infantry weapon systems
- Opportunities to fire infantry weapon systems on live ranges
- Instruction in Infantry tactics, fieldcraft (living in the field), navigation, first aid and drill
- Opportunities to engage in fieldcraft exercises putting theoretical skills into practice
- Entry into national navigation (orienteering) competitions
- Entry into the Cadet Skill At Arms meeting (competition shooting)
The Army Section is affiliated to the Mercian Regiment which has links back to the North West and Cheshire (1st Battalion Mercian Regiment). Whenever possible at field days, weekend exercises and at North West events, soldiers from the Mercian Regiment come along to speak to the cadets and give them an insight into life within the modern British Army.
In July each year, cadets in the Army Section have the chance to attend a week long camp at an Army training facility where they are instructed by Regular and Reserve Forces and can engage in further exercises and simulated tactical scenarios which would generally not be available to them in normal training e.g. Operations in Built-up Areas (OBUA). This training is run by the Brigade “area” in which the camp is based. Previous camp locations have included Cornwall, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cumbria and Yorkshire.
Cadets follow a structured programme of training in the Army Proficiency Certificate (APC) which provides them with life-long skills in, amongst others, self-confidence, self-reliance, leadership and management, all of which are favourable attributes to any future University or employer and make a valuable contribution to the cadet themself.
Cadets can also attend Adventure Training course at the Cadet Centre for Adventure Training (CCAT) and gain National Governing Body recognised qualifications, please click on the link below for details.
Useful Links:
- The Mercian Regiment
- The Combined Cadet Force Association
- The Defence Training Estate
- The Army Cadet Force
- acftraining.henmarketing.co.uk
- armycadetadventure.co.uk
RAF
The RAF Section aims to give cadets an insight into the roles and duties undertaken by all ranks in the RAF in a variety of ways.
Annual camps in the July enable cadets to bring together all their theory and practical lessons and apply them on an active RAF Station. Cadets will experience life as an Air Traffic Controller, Fire Fighter, Regiment Soldier, Aerospace Battle Manager and of course Pilot and Navigator to name a few.
We are very fortunate with our close links to 10 AEF at RAF Woodvale in Formby in that cadets can expect to go flying in the Grob Tutor (used by the RAF as their Basic Trainer) at least once a year. Cadets who are qualified and of the right calibre can be selected for specialist scholarships and training – learning to fly solo in Gliders and Single propeller aircraft, pilot navigation courses, drill instructor, oversea’s camps and visits and many more.
We hope to instill and develop students teamwork, leadership and problem solving skills in a variety of activities including promotion through the ranks, command (leadership) tasks both at school and on camps and visits to the RAF Outreach Team barracks in Aintree, Liverpool.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy section of the Combined Cadet Force is well represented at Calday.
For many years the section has been very active with its varied activities which include the ever-popular sail training in the summer months at West Kirby Marine Lake.
Royal Navy sections of CCF contingents are administered from Royal Navy HQ in the HM Naval Base in Portsmouth. All Royal Navy sections are assigned an Area Instructor. This role is normally undertaken by a highly-experienced ex-Chief Petty Officer who keeps a friendly eye on the week-to-week activities of the section, checking that the official teaching syllabus is followed and offering expert help and advice when needed.
All Royal Navy sections are affiliated to a parent establishment, usually shore-based – the Calday PE is HMS Eaglet in Liverpool. Eaglet is from where we get various stores and equipment, including our uniforms.
The jewel in the crown of the Royal Navy division of the CCF is the extensive programme of residential courses. Cadets and adult instructors can attend courses set in various naval bases, especially Portsmouth, HMS Raleigh in Plymouth and at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. There is a huge range of courses available, many of them carrying nationally-recognised qualifications. These include dinghy and yacht sailing, powerboating, diving, leadership, kayaking, windsurfing, military band and many others.
Most courses are free of charge to cadets, there is even a return rail ticket as part of the deal!
Following their time in the Royal Navy section, cadets going on to university have the option of applying for a place in the URNU (University Royal Naval Unit) which most universities have. While in the URNU, the members follow a similar training programme to that which regular officer cadets do at BRNC Dartmouth. There are also opportunities to go to sea on various training deployments – recent ex-cadets have travelled with their URNU to Gibraltar and the Baltic.
The weekly programme usually consists of an initial parade in which naval drill is practised. Naval drill is subtly different from the other two services – this can cause the odd interesting moment during tri-service events! Following drill, there is the training programme, most of the lectures being delivered by the cadets themselves. Subjects covered include navigation, meteorology, communications, naval history and first aid. For some light relief, in milder weather, the cadets enjoy an archery session on the main field.
At the end of this week’s sailing session a few Cadets had the opportunity to test old life jackets. The jackets, donated by a member of WKSC, are over 25 years old and outside of their approved use by date and therefore redundant in life preserving terms. We thought it would be interesting to see if the jackets still performed. Take a look at the video to see the outcome of our little experiment. Could they possibly still work and do the job they were intended for…….?
