All girls and boys have the opportunity to join our successful Combined Cadet Force (CCF), which has Royal Navy and Army sections.
The ethos of our CCF is to give cadets the chance to learn more about themselves and the world around them through activities which are challenging, worthwhile and fun.
The CCF meets every Monday after school. The activities undertaken are designed to develop qualities of leadership, endurance, resourcefulness, self-reliance, responsibility, and a sense of public service. All cadets can take part in orienteering, climbing, canoeing, shooting, First Aid, sailing, signals, camp craft and assault course training.
Most of the challenging training is done at weekends and in the school holidays at camps. These take place at sea, on HM ships, or service establishments all over the country. In addition cadets can attend Service courses ranging from submarining to gliding.
Typically, cadets join the CCF in Year 9 and by Year 11, having successfully completed all training, will have achieved a promotion and become responsible for training younger cadets.
The CCF is extremely popular with St. Dunstan’s students. There are currently over 200 cadets on the roll, most choosing to stay with the CCF until they leave College for university.
In conclusion this is a very impressive CCF Contingent operating at a level of performance which sets a benchmark for other units to aspire to. The enthusiasm and pride of the cadets were common threads running throughout the day which is a direct result of the commitment and determination of the officers coupled with the very strong support of the Headmistress. The future of the Contingent is very bright and I am in no doubt that it will continue to provide outstanding opportunities for cadets to develop their powers of leadership, responsibility and self-reliance which will allow them to enter the adult world with an enviable additional skills set.’ Commodore Lowe RN, Combined Cadet Force Biennial Inspection Report 2011