Welbeck
College:
A Community of Interest and Excellence
Tony
Halliwell, Principal
Welbeck
College is a sixth form college which prepares young people to enter
the armed forces. In particular it trains recruits for :
-
the Army Technical Corps :
- the Royal Signals,
- the Royal Engineers,
- the Royal Logistic Corps and
- the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers;
- the Naval Engineering Branches :
- aircraft engineering,
- marine engineering, and
- weapons engineering;
- the Royal Air Force Engineering trades :
- weapons and aircraft systems engineering, and
- communications and electronics engineering.
The
College was founded in 1953 to produce potential officers for the
Army Technical Corps, and its stated aim is “to produce young
men and women with the necessary academic, leadership and physical
fitness qualities to become leaders post A Level and degree training.”
There are plans to move the College and develop it to include Civil
Service engineers as well.
Students
are recruited mostly from the state sector of education, with a
few from independent schools. They undertake a two-year course at
Welbeck, to achieve their A and AS Levels. They then expect to undertake
a three or four year degree course at a university approved by the
Ministry of Defence, and they receive financial support from the
College while they train.
This
is followed by one-year training courses at Sandhurst, Dartmouth
or Cranwell (for the army, navy or air force respectively), when
they are paid as officer cadets. They are then required to undertake
a minimum of three years’ service in the armed forces.
Newcomers
join a like-minded body of students, and their lives at Welbeck
are very focussed. The work is hard, and their progress is monitored
by a traffic light system, which tracks their fitness in their academic
work, their discipline, their potential as officers, their physique
and their health.
The
programme is very varied, but targeted on the skills and knowledge
which the students will need in the services. They do self-reliance
training in their Junior Year, which entails hill walking, map reading,
river work and first aid to deal with casualties. Later, they move
on to drill, fieldcraft, weapon handling and communications, and
they have platoon competitions in drill, sports and rafting, with
obstacle races. There is also a special arduous external exercise
in Snowdonia over a 72-hour period, with orienteering, water-based
command tasks, a timed mountain race and navigational route-finding.
Between
the first and second years there is a twelve-day summer camp in
the mountains of the Scottish lowlands, which includes a 72-hour
self-reliance exercise, a 72-hour command and control exercise,
military training and a field exercise.
In
the Senior Year, there is military training, which consists of instructing
the Juniors and basic pre-officer training.
The
core values of the College are :
-
selfless commitment,
- courage,
- discipline,
- integrity,
- loyalty, and
- respect for others.
Students
are expected to abide by the Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct
:
-
adherence to the law,
- avoidance of discrimination and harassment,
- avoidance of bullying,
- good social conduct,
- avoidance of social misconduct,
- avoidance of drug abuse,
- avoidance of alcohol abuse,
- avoidance of irresponsible indebtedness,
- lack of contact with the media, and
- avoidance of unacceptable behaviour.
The
students are challenged :
-
to obtain the best possible AS and A Level qualifications,
- improve their physical fitness.
- demonstrate the appropriate military and leadership skills through
the College’s programmes, and
- demonstrate throughout the programme a thorough understanding
of the “Values and Standards” document issued to all
officers in the armed forces.
The
students receive their board and keep and extra-curricular activities
free of charge.
The
College is divided into three houses of sixty students each, and
is run on a prefect system. Prefects are expected to :
-
have genuine concern for the interests of other students,
- be committed to the aims of the organisation.
- have a commitment to, and support for, a broad range of school
activities,
- have good work habits,
- lead by example,
- have a smart appearance,
- respect the College rules,
- avoid letting their peers rule their decision-making processes,
- understand the channels of communication,
- understand the use of various sanctions and when to apply them,
- be familiar with the College line management diagrams,
- realise that those in positions of responsibility accept responsibility
for their actions - and equally for their inaction,
- understand the schools and colleges have to work within a legal
framework, and
- seek help when placed in a difficult situation.
Prefects
are expected to understand their role and the limitations on their
powers. They have a responsibility to help new students to settle
in, and they have to be sensitive to the needs of those at risk,
combating bullying and prejudice.
The
outcome is that prefects should be able to experience genuine responsibility,
learn something about themselves, develop a social conscience, know
how to give and take, develop a sense of duty, contribute to the
success of the organisation and know that they have achieved a job
well done.
The
outcome of this training programme is that Welbeck students succeed
and stay in the work. Ten years after joining the services, 90%
of service men and women who have been through Welbeck are still
in the services.
