Sea Kings descend on Exeter School

Exeter School pupils were given the experience of a lifetime when two Sea Kings descended onto the playing fields on Friday 4 March.

The Royal Navy helicopters had flown from RNAS Yeovilton especially to give 80 lucky combined cadet force (CCF) cadets a 20-minute flight as part of their training.

Head of CCF section Dr Geoff Chapman said it was an amazing opportunity for the whole school and CCF.

“The visit of the Sea Kings was exciting enough, but being able to get 80 cadets airborne was an unprecedented opportunity which I am sure pupils will remember for a long time.

“We are very grateful to the Royal Navy and, in particular, Commando Helicopter Forces and Lt Col Venn for setting up such an amazing visit and opportunity for the whole school and particularly the CCF.

“Activities such as this are a key part of our extracurricular provision and the CCF where the breadth and diversity of activities and opportunities help develop cadets’ resilience and character.”

Amanda Herring, Head of the Army section and an Army Scholar in the Upper Sixth, said it was an overload of the senses to go up in the helicopter and that, combined with adrenaline, made it an unforgettable experience.

“It complemented what we learnt in training to see how it could be put into action,” she said.

“The CCF has developed my leadership and people skills to last a lifetime.”

James Harris, a Year 10 (Middle Fifth) pupil who was recently awarded 'Most Promising Cadet' and given the Silver Bugle – an annual school award – said: “It was a once in a lifetime experience to go up in the helicopters before they resigned to history forever.”

Both pupils were interviewed by BBC Spotlight about their exhilarating experience.

Junior School pupils enjoyed watching the landing and twenty pupils were offered the opportunity to look around the helicopters with the flight crew.

Amelia Johnson in Year 5 said she had never been up close to that type of thing before.

“There were so many buttons you could never finish counting them. The helicopter was absolutely enormous! The sensation when I went in there was amazing and it was incredible to go in something so important and actually used for war.”

Year 3 pupil Aidy Wilson was surprised at how much space there was inside: “I was expecting it to be much more cramped.”

Megan Roberts, also in Year 3, said it was interesting to see how different the seat belts were: “I really enjoyed the experience,” she said.

Wilfred Venn of Year 3 was surprised to hear the pilots had to listen to two radios at a time!

Year 4 pupil Xarinelle Keay said it was so exciting when she went on the helicopter. “I had so many questions. We even got to wear one of the helmets. It was cool!”