All ship-shape

Navigating an ex-police patrol boat across the Solent was just one of the activities in a packed programme for The Leys Naval CCF field trip to Portsmouth.

Lower Sixth-formers Nico Melesi and Wilson Wong, together with Year 10 pupils Erica Lai, Charlotte Mellor, Benjamin Hunter and Jesse Saunderson, took the helm of the Blue Swan and steered her from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight.

They were among a party of 30 Year 10 and two Lower-sixth pupils, led by Lieut. Richard Hill (OC Royal Navy Section of The Leys CCF) and Sub-Lieut. Rebecca Isdell-Carpenter, who all stayed on the training ship HMS Bristol.

Those who were not heading for Cowes - under the watchful eye of an instructor from Naval HQ in Portsmouth - toured Portsmouth Harbour and visited the Submarine Museum at Gosport. All of the pupils visited HMS Victory and the Royal Navy's exciting interactive area, Action Stations.