Children connect with Royal Navy at Culdrose

As part of an exciting adventurous visit to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose children from St Erth Community School near Penzance, were put through their paces with a Royal Naval Physical Training instructor and staff from the Air Engineering School at the Air Station.

Circuit training and visits to the Engineering Training Section as well as a personal tour around the fire station were all on the agenda for the day, which was organised by School Head Nikki Rodgers and Class teacher Chris Armstrong along with Lieutenant Derek Barr from Culdrose. “We’re extremely grateful to all the staff at the Base for organising such a wonderful learning experience for the children,” Said Chris.

Several class projects were combined for this particular outing including; 'How food and exercise helps towards a healthy life-style’ and 'Vehicles and Transport’, and a look at some the different types used by the Royal Navy at Culdrose. Chris continues, “The trucks and lorries really fired up the children’s imaginations. It was great to see how a busy Air Base works on a daily basis. You only had to see the smiles on all the children’s faces throughout the day to know how much they were enjoyed every activity.”

Taking the class in the Gym was Leading Physical trainer Leah Ravuoco, who led them through a lesson on exercise techniques and a special circuit training session which many of the pupils said was great fun and especially how loud Leah’s whistle was! This was followed by a trip to the Air Engineering School where they saw the dissected helicopter engines and a bedazzling array of interactive displays used to teach navy trainees.
But it is probably the fire station which will be most remembered. Here the children climbed over some of the fire tenders and saw first-hand how a fire is extinguished with water and foam, producing a resounding WOW! (from the kids.)

Lieutenant Derek Barr who runs the Engineering Training school said, “School visits like this are really important for Culdrose. Children get to see helicopters flying over their playground and gardens every day, it’s important to engage their imaginations and show them close up what we do.”

But the last word must go to the children themselves who thanked RNAS Culdrose with drawings and letters describing all the things they did on such a wonderful day and what they enjoyed.

“Fire Engines, Helicopters, Jets, Gym, Circuits, Hangars - it was the best school trip ever!”