THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
CCF
CCF
key skill the Dulwich College CCF teaches to all within its ranks is how to deliver effective first aid treatment in a variety of everyday scenarios, from heart attacks and strokes to road traffic collisions and spinal injuries. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that our training has led to tremendous successes in the first aid field of the cadet organisation in the recent months and years. I for one am proud to have represented the College in numerous first aid competitions, bringing home even more silverware for our CCF award cabinet. A Last May, three DCCCF teams arrived at the London District First Aid regional competition, with high hopes for success. After training hard and revising all aspects of the St John’s syllabus, we had a long day of assessed mock-up first aid scenarios ahead of us, in which we would care for and treat various casualties in a team, and as individuals, using all the skills we had learned in our cadet training. Responding to conditions ranging from strokes and electrocutions to angina, all teams performed incredibly well under time pressure and the watchful eyes of St John’s Ambulance assessors, treating, caring for and reassuring their distressed patients. The results at the end of the day were outstanding, with our senior team winning second place in their category, whilst our junior teams came third and first respectively, and my team of four progressing to the National First Aid finals, held the following October. With the success of the regional competition behind us, F.Sgt Nick Blumschein,
F.Sgt Spike McGrath, F.Sgt Christian Bertrand and I trained hard for the remaining months of the year, determined to do our contingent, and the London District, proud, at the CCF National First Aid Competition in Birmingham. The day arrived, and we were put through our paces in scenarios including train crashes, drug overdoses, burns and head injuries, all whilst trying to stay calm under pressure and deliver the treatments we had practised all year. Our training paid off, with our team bagging an excellent second place, and progressing to the Inter-Services National First Aid finals the following day. Here, once again, we managed to secure an amazing second place, narrowly missing out on the top spot to Dollar Academy, by a mere two points, and being crowned best First Aid team in England and Wales. This year, our team of veterans is automatically through to the 2020 National First Aid finals, due to our victory at the RAF Air Squadron Trophy in March. Three more First Aid teams are lined up and ready to prove themselves in this year’s regional competition, with the hope of achieving a place in the national round. The DCCCF First Aid teams, and the training they provide to the cadets in the contingent, are second to none, with many cadets going on to put their skills into practice in real-life situations. With such an array of cadets now following in our footsteps, the DCCCF will, I am sure, continue to maintain its high standards when it comes to first aid training, and I am confident our legacy will be secure for years to come.
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