Welbeck College
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| Welbeck - The Defence Sixth Form College | |
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| Established | 1953 |
| Type | Public School |
| Principal | Mr Tony Halliwell |
| Location | Woodhouse, Loughborough Leicestershire LE12 8WD England  |
| Students | c.340 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 16 to 18 |
| Houses | Nelson, Portland, Alanbrooke, Stirling, and Trenchard |
| Website | www.welbeck.mod.uk |
Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (Welbeck DSFC) is a sixth form college in Woodhouse, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom,[1] providing A-Level education for candidates to the technical branches of the British Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence Civil Service.
Welbeck is located near Loughborough and is funded by the Ministry of Defence.
Prior to 2005 the College was known as Welbeck College and was based at Welbeck Abbey near Worksop in Nottinghamshire, where it provided an education for A-Level candidates planning on joining the technical branches of the British Army.[2][3]
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[edit] Role
Welbeck DSFC provides a two year programme of education and training leading to A-Level qualifications in preparation for University entry on the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme followed by entry to the Armed Forces or MOD. Academic work is complemented by leadership development inculcating a military ethos and an understanding of the purpose and structure of the British Armed Forces.
[edit] Selection and entry
Candidates for DSFC are sponsored by the elements of the British Armed Forces or the MOD Civil Service, entry is predicated on having been selected as a potential officer candidate or technical civil servant. All candidates must be considered as likely to succeed in a technical undergraduate course and will be funded through University and accepted into the sponsoring service.
Royal Navy[4] candidates are required to undergo the Admiralty Interview Board and are selected into the Engineer branch specialising in Weapon Systems, Marine Systems or Aviation. After undergraduate studies they will enter Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth for initial officer training.
Army[5]candidates are required to undergo the Army Officer Selection Board and are selected into a technical role; Royal Signals, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Engineers or the Royal Logistic Corps. After undergraduate studies they will enter Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for initial officer training.
Royal Air Force[6]candidates are required to undergo selection at RAF College Cranwell Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre and are selected as either Engineer Officers, Medical Officers or Dental Officers. After undergraduate studies they will enter RAF College Cranwell for initial officer training.
Civil Service students[7][8]also attend the OASC at Cranwell, and as such go through much the same process as the RAF candidates, however there are usually fewer Civil Service applicants, and so fewer boards.
[edit] History
Founded in 1953, Welbeck only took on Army candidates. The College was housed in the grounds of Welbeck Abbey in the 20,000-acre (81 km²) estate of the family of the Duke of Portland. There were two entries per year one in September and the other in January. Selection for this took place with a series of interviews and exams over a period of three days. At any one time there would be 150 students in the College. In 2005 applicants from all services and the MOD were added when the college relocated to its current site in Leicestershire.
[edit] Curriculum
As DSFC prepares candidates for technical branches the academic syllabus emphasises science and technical subjects, recognising that Officers in the Armed Forces are first and foremost officers rather than engineers, opportunities exist to study non-technical subjects.
First year students study four subjects with all being required to study Mathematics and Physics. Other available subjects include: History, Government and Politics, Biology, Chemistry, Business Studies, Information and Communication Technology, Electronics, Systems and control engineering. Students also study The BTEC national Diploma in Uniformed Public services, supporting a future career in the military or MOD.
Second year students are required to study four subjects, opting to continue all four from the first year or opting to replace one with an enrichment subject. Opportunities for enrichment include: Further Mathematics AS, Critical Thinking, Sport or a distance learning topic of their choice.
[edit] Extracurricular activity
[edit] Combined Cadet Force
A permanent military staff exists at DSFC to support military training for students. This military training is delivered through a Combined Cadet Force structure which is mandatory. Training occurs Twice per week each time for half the college
Initial training encompasses parade training and basic military knowledge, successful completion of which leads to the entitlement to wear stable belts in uniform.
Training for first year students includes: hillwalking and navigation, military history, adventurous training and leadership.
Training for second year students includes: Community service, battle PT, Officer skills and adventurous training.
It used to include etiquette includes defence writing and behaviour in an Officers’ Mess, culminating in a dining in night.
Battle PT improves fitness and teamwork, involving the assault course and running whilst carrying heavy objects, and often each other.
[edit] Adventurous training
During the autumn term students are required to undertake a 72 hour field exercise to practice fieldcraft skills learned in the CCF. First year students are expected to be self sufficient in field conditions but not required to be so, second year students are required to be self sufficient.
During the summer term students undertake a two week camp. At the old site this was in the Gareloch area near HMNB Clyde, but is now based at Warcop in Cumbria. This camp used to involve three rotations of activities: Hillwalking, military exercise and adventurous training, but the hillwalking phase has been dropped as of the 2007 camp and replaced with a 3 day hillwalking exercise in Snowdonia in the months leading up to Summer Camp. Each CCF platoon is separated into randomly selected platoons for the duration of the camp and over the exercise each platoon lives in the field under tactical conditions, and is led by a regular officer.
A good performance on camp may lead to promotion in the CCF unit.
Second year students undertake "Senior ex", a 3 day tactical exercise held at Catterick. Here, the JUO's becomes platoon commanders and PUO's section commanders. They have to receive and give orders, and make the decisions. CCF staff supervise, but only intervene if necessary.
[edit] Sport
Sport plays a big part in life at Welbeck as it does for the careers that the students pursue. Welbeck have many teams including:
- Rugby
- Hockey
- Football
- Basketball
- Netball
- Cricket
- Squash
- Athletics
- Cross country
- Tennis
- Rowing
- Badminton
- Swimming
Students have compulsory sports sessions twice a week, but many choose to continue their interest, or pursue a new one in their spare time as the facilities are open throughout the working day and after prep.
[edit] Accommodation
Students are accommodated in one of five boarding houses named for significant figures in British military history and the history of the college: Nelson, Portland, Alanbrooke, Stirling, and Trenchard. Healthy rivalry exists between the houses and a number of inter-house competitions are undertaken.
[edit] Facilities
Welbeck is home to a variety of on-site, independent facilities.
Welbeck put a heavy emphasis on physical educational in order to help prepare students for their later careers. To do this Welbeck is home to the following facilities:
- 25m indoor heated pool
- Various fields (for rugby, football, cricket including cricket nets among other sports)
- Floodlit astro turf
- Large indoor sports hall with basket ball hoops
- Indoor climbing wall
- 4 indoor Squash courts
- A weights room (comprising of free and resistance weights)
- A cardiovascular room (comprising of running, rowing and cycling machines)
- Hard surface tennis/netball courts
Although they are the core facilities, the range of sports available is very much dependent on the students as they are free to arrange / organise sports at their own leisure, and if there are enough people wanting to do it, specialists can be called in / equipment can be purchased. These include such sports as karate or archery.
Students take part in 2 compulsory games sessions a week (on a Wednesday and Saturday) and get to choose three major sports a year. Pupils also have one PT session a week where they have the chance to learn theory as well as taking part / trying different training techniques.
Students are very much encouraged to do sport in their spare time, and due to the nature of the inhabitants there are always people in the gym / pool / playing rugby / running.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- British Army
- Royal Navy
- RAF
- Desg
[edit] External links
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