Brentwoodian 2019

102 NAVY Last year in our Royal Navy Cadet Section, there were a variety of activities for all cadets, including sailing, team games, lots of marching and of course many trips, including one to Dubai, but Fairlop Waters is always the winner. Trips to Fairlop are always exciting, with the prospect of falling in or, if helping with the Fourth Year boys, possibly being pushed in, always being at the front of your mind. Watching the younger cadets attempt to build rafts that will actually float and maintain their weight will always be a highlight, however, much to my disappointment, the vast majority of the Fourth Year cadets managed to build very adequate rafts themselves, surprisingly with minimal support! Remembrance Day is usually the key moment of the year, with all the cadets marching together. This year, as it was the centenary, we made an extra effort in our Navy sessions to ensure we’d be the best Section at marching. On the day, the hard work paid off and we received many compliments from the public, being named the ‘best Section’ by people watching the march; the Royal Navy never fail to win a bit of a challenge. This year, we even had one of our cadets being awarded the prestigious position of Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet! This means she accompanies the Lord Lieutenant during many impressive events, a great privilege for our Navy section. Field Days are always the most enjoyable within the Navy; the Lower Sixth and Fourth Year cadets stayed at Portsmouth this year, when we got the chance to do a real assault course at the Navy base, at HMS Collingwood. The day kicked off with breakfast at HMS Excellent, a fry-up to give us the energy we needed. Completing the course was great fun, especially watching each other falling in the water having failed the rope swing challenge, as well as having other great team challenges. We camped for two nights and had a hearty barbecue on the second and final night, with the teachers cooking up some fab burgers and hot dogs. The joys of putting our own tents up were interesting, but the quick stop at McDonald's on the way back from Portsmouth made it all worthwhile. Another Field Day included paintball, scuba diving and some classic Personal Leadership Tasks. Scuba diving is what the cadets usually look forward to, especially the regular trips run by the Section. The diving trip to Dubai this year resulted in 19 of our cadets gaining their Open Water PADI! The trip included lots of diving, with some beautiful sights to see, and is being run again due to its complete success! All in all the year as a whole went brilliantly, with promotions, awards and of course lots of trips. The Section progressed through all tasks and marching, and remains by far the best CCF Section at school! By Harriet Ellis