Junior Gazette: Gruelling test for Rossall School army cadets in bid for Canada place

Rossall Schools Army Cadets who took part in a selection process for a trip to Canada.

Over the Easter weekend, we travelled down to the Army base in the Brecon Beacons, as we had made it to the final trials of the Army Cadets Canada Exchange programme.One hundred and thirty cadets were chosen from the regional rounds but only 46 were selected for the Canada trip.

When we arrived, we were put into our groups and went straight to the swimming test. This was a pass/fail test and we had to swim in our army clothes, which was hard but we both made it. We then went straight into the fitness tests, where we had to do the Bleep Test, Army press-ups and sit ups etc.

On the second day, we had to navigate and hike for 22kms. It was really hot!

In the evenings, we had a military knowledge test, interviews with the Army examiners and a French test. The area we are going to in Canada is also French-speaking, and we will be living together with the Canadian cadets there.

On the final day, we went kayaking and mountain biking, which was amazing, as we had to climb to the top of a hill and then come down at top speed.

On Easter Sunday, everyone was called in one by one for the results, which was really nerve-racking but we both made it. We will be away for six weeks in the summer, training to be Sport and Fitness Instructors at an army base in New Brunswick, Canada. We cannot wait to go and feel very lucky that we were chosen.