Personal Awareness Course - Amport House

PERSONAL AWARENESS COURSES

INTRODUCTION

1.Personal awareness courses for cadets are run at the RAF Chaplains' School, Hampshire. Normally, weekend courses are Fri pm to Sun pm and weekday courses are Tues pm to Fri mid﷓morning. A similar course held annually in Scotland (see para 5), and entitled ‘Leadership for Life’, is open to cadets from Scotland & N Ireland and North Regions.

COURSES CONTENT

2.The courses aim to instil the responsibilities of being a citizen in a community, set against a background of the Christian faith. To be suitable for the course, cadets should have demonstrated leadership potential. The course consists of group discussion and participation to stretch students mentally rather than physically.

ELIGIBILITY

3.Females may attend the courses provided a female supervisor is available (see para 10). All cadets must be:

a.Over 16 years of age.

b.Interested in and open﷓minded about the world of ideas and serious thought. This open﷓mindedness should extend to the Christian faith (but note that the course is open to cadets of any faith).

c.Willing to talk about the difficult issues in life and adopt sensible attitudes to the various views presented and discussed.

d.Medically fit.

e.A first time attendee at a Personal Awareness course.

NOMINATION AND PREPARATION

4. Sqn Cdrs are to liaise with sqn chaplains about the nomination of their cadets. Following selection, cadets should have some initial instruction prior to attending the course; discussion with the sqn chaplain would be helpful. No more than 2 or 3 cadets should be nominated from any one sqn.

5.The course programme for Amport House will be published annually by HQ AC (TG3). Sqn Cdrs should make nominations through Wg to HQ AC and each nominee must meet all the conditions of para 3 of this ACTI. Should the number of applicants exceed the number of places, HQ AC will allocate the places proportionately between Wgs. The ‘Leadership for Life’ course in Scotland is administered by ACRHQ (S&NI). Cadets in S&NI and North Rgns may apply also for the Amport House course but can attend only one or other of the courses.

AMPORT HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

6.Reporting Instructions. Reporting Instructions will be sent from HQ AC. Wg HQs are to add the appropriate travel plan and railway warrants before sending them to the cadets.

7.Messing. Cadets will be required to pay the current daily messing contribution plus a further small sum to cover extra messing and amenities. These charges amount to less than £10.

8.Medical.  There are no medical staff at Amport House and cadets who require daily medical treatment are not to attend or be nominated to attend. This does not apply where cadets are taking routine medication for a controlled condition eg diabetes, but they must take their medicine with them.

9.Discipline.  Students are on duty for the duration of the course and are subject to normal Service discipline; they must comply with School standing orders.

10.Adult Staff.  Amport House permanent staff conduct the course. Also, Corps adults attend for supervisory duties and to assist the Amport House staff in all aspects of the course including full participation in discussion and studies. Four officers or AWOs (including at least one female) are normally required, but applications from CIs with particular interest in the course will be considered. Sqn Cdrs are to ensure that all volunteers understand that the course is run on relatively informal lines, with no overt rank structure. Applications will be invited in the annual HQ AC letter which publishes course dates. (para 5 refers).

11.Dress.  Uniform is not required at any stage of the course. Clean, casual clothing is appropriate for cadets and adults. The latter should also take clothing such as they would wear in a Service establishment in the evening.