Today Knox Academy CCF was visited by Brigadier Allfrey part of the Biennial Inspection. He arrived to be met by the Headteacher, the OC and the Provest of East Lothian. After a quick coffee he met the contingent (all 50 pupils!) and inspected them on parade. At this point the Knox Academy Pipe Band accompanied the proceedings. The visitors were then shown round various stands where cadets were undergoing lessons on the different subjects contained in the CCF syllabus.

Having never met Brigadier Allfrey before, I was very impressed with the way in which he not only encouraged the cadets, but was also genuinely interested in their achivements, ambitions and interests.  

The Inspection proved to be a huge success and an enjoyable experience for all involved.

I attended the CCF Pipes and Drums Committee AGM  which was held at Dollar Academy last week. 

The Knox Academy cadets attended their annual camp held at Barrybuddon near Dundee. We left last Saturday and headed up to Ballater in Aberdeenshire for a two day adventure training package. We stayed at Victoria Barracks and were treated to hill walking, abseiling and kayaking. Big well done to LT Byers and all the pupils for a successful assent of the 3rd highest mountain in Scotland at Lochnagar!  

On Monday evening we arrived at Barrybuddon camp for the military skills part of the week long camp. We were greeted by our outgoing OC Major McFarlane, Sergeant Kerr and Miss Patterson a member staff from Knox. Tuesday was a very busy day which started on the ranges. Pupils were given the chance to fire the cadet GP riffle. However, the main excitment of the day was firing the machine gun. After a bit of persuasion and encouragement from LT Byers and the cadets I had a go at firing the machine gun. I will now admit that I was indeed ‘cheesing’, it was fun!

We left the ranges mid afternoon and the pupils were put through their paces in the drill competition. The pupils did extremely well and came second, missing out on first place by just 1 point! The drill competition was followed by the assault course. Due to a tightening of the rules, only five of our cadets were allowed to take part. Nonetheless they did very well to come in 6th place.

On Wednesday the pupils visited a number of different demonstration stands and were shown various aspects of military life from first aid, to the infantry and the artillary to signals and mine sweeping.

Thursday was the day that the pupils were most excited about and I was dreading most. We left camp in the morning to go to the woods that we would be spending the night in. The pupils took part in a section attack where they were acting out a scenario of helping locals preserve their independence. The enemy was played by the UOTC.  The cadets enjoyed the chance to run around and fire at the enemy.

Next stop was the survival stand where the pupils were shown how to build an effective shelter, how to trap animals to eat, how to light a fire and how the skin and prepare a rabbit.

Thursday night saw the much talked about ambush. We left the camspite at 2130 and the cadets patrolled through various terain until they reached the ambush area. The ambush gave the cadets another chance at firing at the enemy but this time flares were being set off all over the place lightening up the sky much like a fireworks display. It truly was an awsome sight! We were back at the campsite by 2330 ready to get into our bashers. I must thank Lt Byers for building me a five star luxury tent! Despite my worrying I was very surprised at how warm it was and how easy it was to sleep in our shelters.

Next morning we were woken up at 0430 to the sound of riffle fire as the cadets from Kelvinside Academy took part in a dawn attack nearby. By 0500 we were all up and getting ready to walk back into camp. The Knox cadets did well patrolling back into camp and the UOTC even commented on the professionalism of the pupils!

After some much needed sleep we were treated to a visit to Arbroath where we were given some time to look round the fishing town.

Back at camp we held a presentation ceremony for the pupils who were congratulated on their efforts over the past year with prizes and promotions. The pupils also thanked the staff with presents which were very much appreciated. In addition, Major McFarlane was presented with a photograph by the senior cadets in celebration of his retirement.

It was a fitting end to a vey busy, eventful, but most importantly a very enjoyable week. I must thank all the pupils who attended the camp for making me feel so welcome and helping me when I was unsure of things and also for their encouragment when I was trying new activities. As always, they were a credit to the CCF and Knox Academy. In addition, I must thank Riki Byers for his support and encouragment and for building me the hotel on Thursday night. Finally, huge congratulations to George McFarlane on his retirement. He will be missed within the contingent but his legacy will be with every cadet that he has taught and nurtured.

Last weekend I accompanied the Knox cadets to the Lothian and Borders Army Cadet Force centre at Drumshoreland. The aim of the weekend was to select a team to represent ‘A Company’ in a military skills competition this coming weekend. The idea being that ‘A Company’ and knox would work together to form composite junior and senior teams as both were struggling to make teams on their own due to a lack of numbers. The pupils enjoyed the weekend, and after competing with the ACF cadets for a place in the team, they were pleased to learn that the senior team is to be made up of only knox cadets. In addition, three members of the CCF have been asked to act as casualties for the first aid part of the competition.

Well done to all selected and good luck in the competition!

This evening East Lothian council hosted a civic reception in Haddington Town House to mark the start of the centenary celebrations. An exhibition showing events and photographs from throughout the history of the cadets at Knox was open to the public all afternoon and was well attended. Some newspaper articles on display actually mentioned an unofficial cadet force being in place at Knox as far back as 1906!

The official reception was opened by the Knox Academy Pipe Band. This was our first external ‘gig’ and the pupils put on a wonderful show for the invited guests. The performance was follwed by speeches. These speeches included an address by the Head Teacher of Knox, Major George McFarlane and Colonel J Wilson the head of the Scottish Territorial Army.  This was followed by a fantastic buffet.

The event was a huge success and I am very much looking forward to the next event in what promises to be a very busy year for the Knox Academy Combined Cadet Force.

This weekend I attended a residential course at Redford Barracks run by 24 Cadet Training Team. I was originally booked on the CCF Preliminary Officers Course, but as the only CCF officer attending, I joined in the Army Cadet Force Initial Training Course which was a week long course. This meant that I found myself very much in at the deep end and my learning curve looked more like a vertical line!

Nonetheless, I learned a great deal about the cadet force, how it is run and the skills that the young people learn. I had training in skill at arms, drill including marching and turnout and basic map and compass skills. While some of the information was not new to me, for example with a yatchmaster theory qualification the map and compass lessons were fairly straight forward. The Methods of Instruction Training was simply showing us how to teach the cadets, which was very much like teacher training, I did learn lots about using the Cadet GP riffle (I have the bruises to prove it!) and about different aspects of military drill.

I certainly feel that I have learned a lot about the Cadet Force and I would recommend this course to any adult wishing to help in either the ACF or the CCF. However, a word of warning, it is a very busy weekend and a fair amount of prior knowledge is essential before undertaking this course, as is not aimed at someone just beginning to learn the information.

Finally, I must thank Sgt C Bowman for helping me catch up with the rest of the class during his lunch breaks.

Yesterday I met with Colonel J Wilson who is head of the TA is Scotland. He was at Knox to interview both myself and Riki Byers as part of our commissioning process as adult instructors. Colonel Wilson was very friendly and we discussed the ways in which I can use my position as a teacher to promote the CCF at Knox. We also explored the values of the CCF and what I can offer as a commissioned officer. At the end of the session Colonel Wilson addressed the pupils on parade and indicated that he was pleased with my interview and that I can continue with the process.

Yesterday I escorted a group of Knox cadets to the moto cross in East Lothian. The pupils had all volunteered to help at the event as marshalls. The pupils did very well with everyone taking turns in the various ‘tattie boxes’. I was very impressed with the maturity that they all displayed and the seriousness in which they fulfilled their duties, they were a credit to the school, the CCF and themselves. I am glad to report that there was no major incidents. Well done to all the cadets involved!

This year Knox Academy CCF is celebrating its centenery year. This is a fantastic achievement for all involved in the setting up and running of the contingent, especially when you consider that we are the only state school in Scotland to have a CCF.

As I have reported in pervious posts, I have been involved with the CCF since the summer term and, despite initial reservations about the military aspects of the training, I have found some very exciting and worthwhile activities going on. From the discipline that is instilled in each cadet, to the special friendships that are formed between the cadets and the first aid training that they receive, there is always something going on that ensures that the pupils are being given the opportunities to take part in activities that will give them valuable life skills.  

A centenery committee has been established including the head teacher, members of staff, the CCF OC and two cadets. Our task is to plan a serious of events to commemorate this milestone in the History of the contingent. So far, ideas include a celidh, a dinner, a civic reception and a display in school tying in with Remembrance Day in November. We also hope to get in touch with former cadets so if anyone reading this has been involved in the Knox Academy CCF in the past, and would like to be involved or has stories or photographs to share, then please feel free to get in touch.

Well the holidays are here at last. What a term it has been, jam packed to say the least!

It feels like only last week I was sitting at home writing a post on here during the October break. Since then there has been S4 prelims, an EEBL placement, work experience week, S4 reports, S1 Parent’s Evening, S5/S6 Parents’ Evening, the Cadets Christmas night out, Christmas concerts, the infamous S6 Pantomine, Staff Christmas Lunch and so the list goes on.

There have been so many things going on that I would be here until the end of the holidays writing about it all. However, I thought I would briefly outline my personal highlights.

1. The EEBL placement was absoloutly fantastic, for more on that click here.
2. The Cadets Christmas night out to the Time Capsule in Coatbridge. Ice Skating was on the agenda and what fun we had. But I will never forgive the three NCO’s for pulling me round the rink at what felt like 200mph!!!!
3. The Christmas concert. This was the first performance to parents of the Knox Academy Pipe Band. We played Green Hills/Battle’s O’er and Highland Cathedral. The sound was amazing, thanks to our new piping instructor, Colin Pryde, from the East Lothian Pipes and Drums Trust. We really could have been playing in a competition. There have been many excellent comments about our performance which in encouraging for the future of the band.

After all that I am looking forward going back in January fully refreshed.

Merry Christmas!