My first day
This week, we are delighted to include a guest blog from one of our participants working with our Essex team, Alfie Rankin, aged 13, who writes about his first day on the Challenger Troop programme.
Our First Day at Challenger Troop
“On Wednesday 20th April, me and some other students from Langdon Hills CSS and Fairview CSS went to Challenger Troopers in Chelmsford in the middle of nowhere. It took us 45 minutes to get there. We got lost about 3 times because the SatNav took us the wrong way to dead ends and eventually we found our way to the Challenger Troopers.
“When we got there, the Sgt Major called Carroll introduced herself and the two other Sgts introduced themselves. They seemed nice but were strict. The head of Essex Challenger Troopers introduced himself. The staff told us the rules – no foul language, no bullying, no racism was allowed. If there was, there would be consequences – PUSH UPS! Next, we went for a run to the end of the site and then we had to do 5 push-ups which were easy, and we took a jog back to the start of the site. It took about 10 minutes.
“After that, the Sgts taught us how to look after our kit. Our kit was army commando trousers, a red polo shirt with an army camo jacket and black boots. They made us polish our boots and then buffer them and then they taught us how to thread the shoelaces.
“After that, we played a game with Sgt Major Carroll called ‘Header or Catch’. The game involved catching the ball if Sgt Carroll said ‘header’ and heading the ball if Sgt Carroll said ‘catch’. The game was enjoyable. In the afternoon, they taught us how to do the drills. We had to stand at ease then, we had to stand to attention, pivot to the left, lift our leg up and stamp it to the ground shouting “1,2,3,1” at the same time Before we went home, we played a game called ‘Battleships’, where we all had to lay on the floor and throw a soft balls at each other. If you hit someone, they were out. This was really a fun game. When we were about to go home, they dismissed us. It took another 45-minute journey to get home. I am sort of looking forward to going back next week.”
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