Exeter teenager lands Sandhurst scholarship
An Exeter teenager has secured an Army scholarship and a place at the hugely-prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Lizzie Godwin, who attends Trent College school in Nottingham, is set to take up her place at the British Army’s celebrated officer training centre on completion of her studies after discovering she had successfully passed the intense two-day ‘Westbury’ assessment in October.
Along with rigorous fitness tests, Corporal Godwin, a member of the Combined Cadet Force at Trent College, had to prove her capabilities in a series of mental aptitude tasks, leadership and planning exercises and interviews with high-ranking Army Officials. She completed a three-day insight course at Okehampton Camp, Devon in July before the two-day Final Board in October.
Lizzie, who is from Exeter, joined the Long Eaton independent school for A-level studies in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Design and Technology in September. Now she is looking forward to further developing her leadership skills within the CCF in preparation for becoming an Army Officer.
Lizzie revealed: “I was so happy when I found out I’d secured a place at Sandhurst. I was very satisfied that all my hard work had paid off. This scholarship not only gives me a goal to aim for, it also secures a career of my dreams after university!
“I joined the CCF in 2011, and loved the activities involved from the outset. It was only when I spent two weeks in Namibia, South Africa in the summer of 2012 that I realised how much I wanted to travel and pursue a career where I would be helping others.
“Playing sport from an early age and being from a family with history in the military, many people around me also realised it may be a career I would really be interested in. I researched further into careers in the military and discovered the careers I was interested in civilian life, for example Medicine or Engineering, I could do on a much more active level in the Army. It just seemed like the dream career!”
Lizzie said the most challenging parts of the assessment were having three minutes to complete an obstacles circuit, and the planning exercise where candidates had to find solutions to problems and work out calculations under pressure. The insight course was also challenging, where a poncho, bungee cords and 2 pegs were home for the night, with a night exercise, a 5am start and a three-mile run followed by an obstacle course, all before breakfast!
Trent College has a proud recent record within the CCF, with former Head Boy, Will Moon, judged Cadet Best in the CCF (RAF) in June this year. Will was presented with the Sir John Thomson Memorial Sword by the late Sir John’s wife, Lady Thomson.
Lizzie added: “CCF is such a great opportunity and really gave me an insight into the Army. You learn a variety of skills, from field day rabbit skinning to weapons training and also the structure of the Army ranks. It was also where I learnt to shoot and got involved in a shooting club.
"Trent College offers so much within its CCF in its field day and Monday afternoon activities. Trent also gives older members the opportunity to develop their leadership qualities and become NCOs taking charge of the younger years.”
Major Ben Ward, CCF Contingent Commander and Head of Graphics at Trent College, said: “We are extremely proud of what Lizzie has achieved. She is a relatively new member of our CCF, but has already demonstrated high standards of leadership and capability. She will be an outstanding Army Officer.”
For more information about Trent College visit www.trentcollege.net
