Plymouth students experience the Royal Marines for a week

Students from schools in the Plymouth area have taken part in a Royal Marines work experience week.

The best 30 candidates from these schools were put through their paces by serving Royal Marines at bases across the region.

From learning the art of camouflage to getting hands on with cutting edge equipment the students have had a special insight into the service as part of the work experience week.

However, it was a challenge even before the work experience started…

Students from a number of secondary schools underwent a selection process over 3 days, testing them both physically and mentally. The assessments included a Royal Marines Fitness Assessment, a progressive multi stage fitness test of press ups, sit ups and pull ups.  

It also stretched their minds with a Royal Marine history test and a time pressured psychometric assessments. The top 30 students from hundreds of participants were then selected to attend the week long work experience course.  

The aim of the work experience week is to give a brief insight into some of the types of activity that they could expect to encounter as a Royal Marine.

During the week candidates visited a number of Royal Marine establishments including 42 Commando at Bickleigh Barracks, 30 Commando at Stonehouse and the home of the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone.  

They got to experience everything from Off Shore Raiding Crafts, the Royal Marines small fast boat of choice, to the lung buster of ‘bottom field’ at Lympstone.  

This initiative has been running for over 10 years and historically over 75% of the students who attend the weeks work experience go on and apply to join the Royal Marines or Royal Navy.  

This involvement with residents and schools is a great opportunity for young, enthusiastic and talented students to experience an exciting and rewarding career.