military in schools/colleges
ForcesWatch briefing: Expanding the Cadets and ‘military ethos’ in UK schools
December 2012
A ForcesWatch briefing on the Government policy of expanding cadets and promoting 'military skills and ethos' in schools.
Three Army instructors sacked over claims teenage cadets were whipped and tied up in campaign of abuse at camp
28/11/2012Mail Online
Mail Online
Police, Army and council officials are investigating claims that recruits were whipped and tied up as part of a catalogue of abuse.
We shall reach them in the classrooms: promoting a ‘military ethos’ in schools
Earlier this month the Department for Education published a statement on their website outlining their ambition to promote a military ethos in schools across the country. Through developing projects such as Troops to Teachers and expanding schemes such as the cadets and other alternative military provision in schools (such as Challenger Troop), the government is now actively encouraging schools, especially newer Academies and Free Schools, which tend to exist in more disadvantaged areas, to foster a military ethos. This article was originally published on Bright Green
Militarising Education
This article was originally published on openDemocracy The incursion of the military into the British education system will mean that alternatives to war and peaceful ways of resolving conflict will be more difficult for young people to explore. In the long term we will all pay a heavy price.
Cadet plan needs consultation
16/11/2012ForcesWatch letter in Islington Gazette
ForcesWatch letter in Islington Gazette
This week the Ministry of Defence released news that the City of London Academy Islington (formerly Islington Green School) is to host a cadet unit. ForcesWatch urge parents, governors, teachers and students of the school not to accept this development until after a public consultation on the matter.
Figures reveal high number of visits by armed forces to Norfolk schools
22/10/2012ForcesWatch press release
ForcesWatch press release
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information reveal that the armed forces are visiting nearly all secondary maintained schools and academies in Norfolk and some schools have activities run by the military many times a year.
Figures reveal high number of visits by armed forces to Edinburgh schools
08/10/2012ForcesWatch press release
ForcesWatch press release
Event: Questioning the presence of the military in schools, Thurdsay 11 October, St Augustine's United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL, 7.30-9pm
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information reveal that the armed forces are visiting nearly all schools in the Edinburgh area and some schools have activities run by the military many times a year. (1)
Of the 23 state secondary schools in Edinburgh, 22 were visited by the armed forces an average of 7 times during a two year period. A further 11 independent schools and FE Colleges also had visits. Since September there have been a total of 225 visits to 33 schools and colleges (2). Balerno High School had the highest number of visits, with the armed forces recording having been at the school 22 times since September 2010. Some of the visits are for individual interviews, but the majority are for careers briefings, award evenings, curriculum support, presentations and team building events.
The figures have been obtained by ForcesWatch who are concerned about the level of military involvement in UK schools and colleges across the UK (3).
Press release: Questioning the involvement of the military in education: a series of public debates
12/09/2012ForcesWatch press release
ForcesWatch press release
On 18 September ForcesWatch (1) begins its national series of public events that will debate whether the armed forces should be involved in education activities in UK schools and colleges. Events will take place in Oxford (18 September), Bath (20 September), Edinburgh (11 October), Norwich (23 October) and London (25 October).
Military and education not compatible
17/07/2012ForcesWatch letter to the press
ForcesWatch letter to the press
Letter to the media in response to article by Labour MPs inviting the 'military to invade our schools'.
David Lammy’s Army School for Rioters
17/07/2012Huffington Post
Huffington Post
There was a truly awful article in last week's New Statesman by Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy, accusing 'the left' of a curmudgeonly attitude towards the government's plans for military-staffed 'service schools.'
Lammy condemns critics of the scheme for propagating the idea that ' servicemen and women are "brainwashed", "killers", and hell-bent on converting our sons and daughters to violence' - arguments that he describes as ' nonsense - and offensive nonsense at that.'
With that strawman out of the way, he goes on to argue that
The military already play a hugely positive role in our schools. The Combined Cadet Force and Army Cadet Force are fantastic national institutions. These are organisations which offer adventure training, flying, sailing, white water rafting, and navigating Britain's finest landscapes from Cornwall to the Cairngorms, all for free.
Of course all these activities could and should be available in schools. The problem is that neither school budgets nor the curriculum allow much space for them, not to mention the obsessive risk assessment process which makes schools reluctant to take their kids beyond the school grounds, let alone go canoeing in the Cairngorms.