| Mount St Mary's |
UPDATED 24th January 2016
PRESS RELEASE
Issue date: 19th January 2016
Century-old CCF rings the changes with Corps of Drums
A taste of life in the Army and RAF is part and parcel of the timetable at a Derbyshire school which offers flying experience with the RAF and shooting practice.
Mount St Mary’s College, near Chesterfield, has a 100-year-old Combined Cadet Force (CCF) open to pupils in Year 10, Year 11 and sixth form. Pupils can enrol for either the Army or RAF and are issued the appropriate full uniform which they wear to school every Friday, when CCF lessons take place.
This month the College, located in the village of Spinkhill, introduces a Corps of Drums, a long-standing Army tradition, to its CCF repertoire. Contingent Commander Lt. Colonel Glyn Powell, who served in the Army for 25 years, has secured five snare drums and a bass drum from an Army Cadet Force unit in Doncaster.
With practice, the newly formed Corps of Drums will perform at special school events and formal military occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.
Lt. Colonel Powell, who is introducing the Corps of Drums, said it was another valuable skill pupils could learn through CCF. “The biggest problem they will have to overcome is playing while marching.” The Cadets will have the chance to attend a week-long National Band Camp in April to gain more experience.
Mount St Mary’s College, an independent Catholic senior school and sixth form for day and boarding pupils, has one small bore rifle .22 range and one air rifle range. These are used by both sections of the CCF for target practice and at other times by the College Rifle Club.
Issue date: 19th January 2016
Century-old CCF rings the changes with Corps of Drums
A taste of life in the Army and RAF is part and parcel of the timetable at a Derbyshire school which offers flying experience with the RAF and shooting practice.
Mount St Mary’s College, near Chesterfield, has a 100-year-old Combined Cadet Force (CCF) open to pupils in Year 10, Year 11 and sixth form. Pupils can enrol for either the Army or RAF and are issued the appropriate full uniform which they wear to school every Friday, when CCF lessons take place.
This month the College, located in the village of Spinkhill, introduces a Corps of Drums, a long-standing Army tradition, to its CCF repertoire. Contingent Commander Lt. Colonel Glyn Powell, who served in the Army for 25 years, has secured five snare drums and a bass drum from an Army Cadet Force unit in Doncaster.
With practice, the newly formed Corps of Drums will perform at special school events and formal military occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.
Lt. Colonel Powell, who is introducing the Corps of Drums, said it was another valuable skill pupils could learn through CCF. “The biggest problem they will have to overcome is playing while marching.” The Cadets will have the chance to attend a week-long National Band Camp in April to gain more experience.
Mount St Mary’s College, an independent Catholic senior school and sixth form for day and boarding pupils, has one small bore rifle .22 range and one air rifle range. These are used by both sections of the CCF for target practice and at other times by the College Rifle Club.
