Sussex Pupils Discover What it Takes to Become a Royal Naval Diver
West Sussex prep school, Windlesham House, had the privilege of hosting the Royal Naval Divers from Delta Diving Unit 2 recently, as part of the school’s ambitious Futures Programme. Based in Portsmouth, the divers, who are part of the elite Diving & Threat Exploitation Group (DTXG), delivered a fascinating interactive session to the children. During their visit the divers explained to the children how they are trained to conduct several tasks including disposing explosives of historic ordnance, defusing improvised explosive devices around the UK, clearing sea mines and combatting terrorists.
The session was led by Lieutenant Forster, who explained how the divers
also carry out emergency underwater maintenance on warships and execute special operations as part of an elite team. After an exciting Q&A session, where the children got to ask lots of questions, they were also given the opportunity to interact with a specialist diving kit, robotics equipment and a drone. Ben Evans, Headmaster at Windlesham House School explained, “Hearing from the Royal Naval Divers was an amazing experience for our pupils. Learning experiences like these really help children to understand the array of career opportunities available to them in the wider world, and how working within important sectors like the armed services contributes to peace keeping as well as saving lives.” Enriching and hands-on opportunities like these, are designed to have a positive and long-lasting impression on young people’s futures, as they explore interests beyond the school gates. “We want our pupils to discover new things, we want to encourage curiosity and expand their horizons when considering their futures. Even some of the small activities we offer in school such as completing the PADI diving course or extending swimming ability are all great starting points to a much wider life experience that is full of opportunity,” added Mr Evans.
About Windlesham House School
(https://www. windlesham.com) Windlesham House is a leading independent day and boarding prep school for boys and girls aged 4-13 years. A distinctive school, where tradition meets innovation, Windlesham provides opportunities for children to be creative, courageous and successful. Set in 65 acres of beautiful grounds in the West Sussex countryside the school was established in 1837 as the first ever UK prep school. It was also the first to admit girls in 1967 and is still one of the few prep schools in the UK today not to have a school uniform. While the school exceeds pastorally and academically, Windlesham House is passionate about creating a happy, safe and rich learning environment where children have the space and freedom to be children. The school also encourages its children to make a difference in their world and nurtures them to flourish as confident, curious, kind and clever people.