On Sunday, fourteen cadets from our RAF Section left at 6:30am to travel up to RAF Halton for the regional round of the annual RAST competition.

Cramming in last minute revision on the coach, spirits were running high for the day! After arriving on base, we were issued with a timetable telling us what time we had to compete in each of the disciplines: shooting, drill, military knowledge, aircraft recognition, command task and first aid. It was a long day, finishing at 5:30pm when everyone at the competition assembled for the final parade.

With only a vague idea about how we had performed throughout the day, we awaited the results eagerly and were filled with tension as they were announced. We came first in drill followed by another first place in military knowledge and second place in aircraft recognition. To our delight, we had come third overall, just beaten by Maidstone Grammar and Dulwich College who came second and first respectively. Being in the top three, we have qualified for the national finals of the competition and hope to emerge victorious on our next visit to Halton!