Elite Commando Group (ECG) was set up and founded by former Royal Marines Commandos. They offer their skills and expertise running a range of courses that aid team building and personal development.

The Elite Commando Group ran an enrichment day for our Key Stage 2 pupils in our Junior School. They provided activities where the focus was on building resilience, bravery and learning through practical activity. Every girl was challenged during the event and everyone received a certificate of achievement from the army instructors.

Year 5: 

Key Stage 2 pupils enjoyed the Elite Commando Survival activities during P.E. We were all so excited about it and we were chatting about it all the way to the field. When we got there we were split into two groups, our group got to choose what we wanted to do first. It was a very hard decision as there were tyres, a fire and an inflatable course. The first thing we all did was a warm up. We had to get into partners and hold each other’s shoulders and try and get each other’s feet, then we got on our hands and legs and try and get our partner on the ground and the last part of the warm up was sitting down back to back with our partner and then trying to stand up at the same time. It was a great way to start.

One group began with the fire activity, they learnt the main products that make a fire and the different ways you could use one. The best bit for everyone was when we were given marshmallows to roast, they were so delicious! 

The tyre activity began by us being split into two groups to race against each other. We were given 6 truck tyres and the challenge was to get our team across a large square without touching the ground. It was hard because if we fell off the tyres we had to do five push ups! It was also tricky because there were not enough tyres for everyone, so we had the have four people on one tyre and you then had to work out how to reuse the other tyres. One teams’ technique was to set out the tyres one in front of the other, three people then got on one and then they moved across to the net one and so on. When or if you ran out of tyres the people on the last one had to move up and then you could pass the tyre to the person in front.  It worked out to be a really good strategy and one that the other teams used as well!

The third activity was the inflatable obstacle course.  Strangely it was really good fun simply because it was quite scary! It was very exciting though and we learnt lots of new skills. Lots of us helped each other on the last obstacle by pulling down the hoops so they could get through the top hoop and finish the course.  Some of us were awarded army caps for resilience, team work and for being brave and everyone received a certificate of achievement.  The activities were all challenging but great fun. We all agreed that everyone really enjoyed the army day. We also all think it has helped us build up stamina for PGL.

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Comments from Year 3 and 4:

'It was great fun cooking marshmallows on the fire, they tasted sooooo good'

'I loved the obstacle course as it was fun and I have not done anything like that ever before'

'The inflatable was great, I was terrified of all the balls the first time but the second time I just loved falling down into them'

'When I first saw the obstacle course I thought it looked easy, but it was actually quite hard. I kept getting stuck on the poles but my friends helped me and then it was ok'

'I liked the tyre race because you were not allowed to touch the grass, our team managed to get across to the other side of the cones first.  We won!'

'Today showed me I have to be resilient because for the obstacle course, you had to run through a tunnel, I banged my nose because I lost my balance but I kept going a I wanted to try all the other obstacles on the course'

'When we did the tyre activity, I learnt that you need to help each other to achieve the goal and work as a team'