On Sunday, December 3rd, fourteen cadets and two adult volunteers from our Wilson’s School CCF RAF section ventured up to RAF Halton to compete in the Regional round of the Royal Air Squadron Trophy Competition (RASTC). Despite an early wake-up call to arrive at school by 5:45am, the atmosphere on the coach was buzzing, particularly as we had many new team members. However, following countless hours of polishing, ironing, revising and marching, we were all confident in our ability to bring home the trophy.
Upon arrival on base, we were immediately thrown into the deep end; we were informed that our first test, RAF General Knowledge, the most content-heavy discipline, would commence in just 10 minutes. Having completed this exam style assessment, we changed into our Wedgewood Blues uniform for Drill & Uniform competition. We knew we’d done well and the feedback from the Drill Sergeant who assessed us boosted our confidence for the rest of the day. The team then split in half to compete in either air rifle shooting or micro-heli. Following lunch, the whole team reunited for Command Task, a tough challenge of both leadership and followership, featuring an escape room. The final two disciplines were conducted simultaneously at different locations: First Aid (FA) and Aircraft Recognition (AR).
After a long day of testing, all nineteen competing teams from various CCFs in the London and South East Region (LASER) mustered for a Final Parade, led by our very own Flight Sergeant Mircheva who was selected on the strength of our performance in the Drill Competition, where the top teams for each discipline were revealed and overall winners crowned. Wilson’s School won Drill and RAF Knowledge, with Sergeant Fernando and Lance Corporal Aslam collecting the shields for these disciplines, respectively. We also achieved solid 3rd place podium finishes in both Aircraft Recognition and First Aid, led by Cadet Marcoz and Corporal Kachiraju, respectively. The improvement in First Aid performance from previous years was marked.
It was finally time to unveil the top three teams who would qualify to Nationals in March. We achieved what must have been a very narrow victory and finished as Regional Champions. Sergeant Fernando once again had the honour of collecting the trophy to tumultuous applause. Dulwich College and Maidstone Grammar CCFs also qualified. Special thanks to Flt Lt Luck, Flg Off Paschoud and Mr Peronius for giving up their Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings to supervise our training. We also need to acknowledge our travelling reserve, Cadet Nand, who came with us in case substitutions were required. Two additional team members, Flight Sergeant Rajan and Corporal Pandit, unfortunately could not attend, but their efforts have also been noted. Lastly, a big thank you to Lt Col Burton and Plt Off Cady for accompanying us on the day.
Training will shortly commence in the coming weeks for Nationals, where we will prove that we truly are the best RAF section in the country. Watch this space!
Article by LCpl Aslam and Cdt Raj
A word from the Contingent Commander
I am always hopeful that the RASTC team will progress through the regional competition to the National Finals, but this team was very inexperienced and was missing a couple of key members of the squad. It is testament to how hard they worked to achieve this result that the Drill Sequence was as good as any I have seen at this competition. The staff running the competition specifically chose FSgt Mircheva to lead a final parade of over 300 cadets and adult volunteers as a result of this performance.
The thing that impresses me most is the effort that they put in in preparation, parading independently of the usual parade nights on Thursday evenings and some weekends. I would like to add my thanks to those above, both to the staff but also the cadet senior NCOs who plan and deliver the training. The willingness of squad members who know they will not be able to attend the event itself to turn up for this training is credit to team members past and present who have developed a culture of hard work and ambition for this particular competition. Well done to all who took part and good luck in the National Final.
Lt Col Burton
