Resilient (continued)


before the meal, and completed the formality politely, such as gentlemen pulling out the chair for the lady to sit down.


The meals provided were largely enjoyed by the cadets who were attending, with meals such as seasonal vegetable soup, roast turkey with all the trimmings and chocolate brownie. These were the most popular meals and all of the cadets enjoyed the experience of going out for a formal meal. We are extremely grateful to the kind hosts who managed to make this night so successful and memorable for all of the cadets. Following this the toasts were cast, starting with the Captain General of the Combined Cadet Force who is the Queen. This is normally conducted using Port, however our cadets still managed to take part in the ceremonious toast by using red schloer.


Having completed the toasts, Captain Fairnington then went on to lead speeches, recounting stories of what made Contingent special and how he has more evidence of us overcoming adversity, recognising our successful year and the development of Matravers CCF. Dr Riding then went on to talk about how the small project of a Combined Cadet force had grown. He spoke about how immensely proud he was of all the cadets and how we should carry on chasing our ambitions.


This concluded the formal part of the evening and the Cadets were encouraged to relax, and enjoy the remainder of their evening before being taken home. This was once again a great success for the Cadets and a reminder of how their hard work paid off in the past year.


S/Sgt K Bradbeer


PASSING OUT PARADE Returning to a calmer month in January, preparation began for our Passing out Parade. On the 5th February, Colonel Scott visited to provide our newest recruits their beret and badges and to welcome them formally into the Contingent. During an inspection and presentation, the Colonel spoke with each cadet to gain insight into their experience and ensure they are enjoying cadets.


Following the parade refreshments were provided,


allowing the Colonel to speak to the cadets in more depth. Colonel Scott was impressed with the formality of the occasion, and how well the cadets held themselves demonstrating pride in what they were doing. The Contingent Eagle was awarded to Cadet Abigail Doughty, in recognition for being the best new recruit.


www.matravers.wilts.sch.uk EXERCISE TIGER VENTURER MATRAVERS


Over the course of the first term we had been quietly planning our first ever overseas expedition. We achieved permission for a snowshoeing expedition in the Alpes Maritime, Mercantour national park, France.


We invited five cadets to undertake this opportunity as a reward for their dedication to the Contingent and in recognition that for some, it would be their last year with us.


On February 17th Matravers CCF set off for the Alpes Martime in the Mercantour National Park, France. Eager and keen, our transport to London Heathrow was a lot easier than we expected. Our flights were on time and we landed in Nice airport at 20:20, greeted by our provider Mel and met with a humid evening near the Mediterranean. From here we were transported to our accommodation Gite La Zourciere, situated in the Vesubie Valley. Arriving at 21:45 we had food waiting for us, where we quickly settled in and got a good night’s sleep.


Following a good rest, we enjoyed an amazing breakfast to prepare us for the day and setting an incredible precedent for the week. The team received instruction on the use of their snowshoes and transceivers before busing off to our first location, to get some practice in ready for a big week. The conditions were amazing, we had plenty of snow and the warmth of the sun. Even though it was day one, we could see our goals for this expedition were being fulfilled, as the cadets were mesmerized by the alpine environment and the volume of snow on the mountains. After journeying and ascending into the valley, we cleared away a place for lunch. The scenery was beyond imagination, our cadets horizons were expanding and they were loving each moment in the mountains. It prompted discussion around career opportunities in France, talk of future holidays when they were older and quizzing our guide about how he stumbled across the Alpes Maritime. Following lunch, the cadets were given an avalanche scenario, split into two groups, casualties and searchers. The difficulty of the terrain and the snowy environment tested the cadets’ ability to travel quickly but also use the appropriate searching techniques to find the casualties within a 5 minute window. Following our training, we made our way back down the mountain side for a debrief, our dinner and time some evening revision!


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