The Coldstream Guards is one of the seven regiments in the Household Division – the personal troops of Her Majesty the Queen. The Division was formed in 1650 as part of the New Model Army during the English Civil War; the regiment swore allegiance to King Charles II in 1660 and has guarded the country’s monarchs since.

The recruitment manager along with four other members of the Coldstream Guards gave a presentation to Year 11 and 12 students of Ivybridge Community College on Monday, 8 February. This presentation covered all the aspects of the Division. Bill Hussell and Matthew English in Year 12 said “it opened all our eyes to the great opportunities it has to offer, such as driving large and small vehicles, handling explosives and ammunition, all the aspects of combat, team sports and many more fantastic activities.

After the presentation took place we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to talk with the guards about their experiences and stories, which helped us to understand a bit more of what they had to offer including extracurricular activities. After that we made our way to the Sports Hall where all the students and additional Year 7 students took place in an assault course which they set up, to give us all a small taster of what team building and fitness activities are in the Division. The assault courses consisted of 35kg stretcher carry, tyre squats, tyre flips, push-ups, mountain climbers, log squats and many more basic fitness and teamwork activities.

This opportunity to take a deeper look into the military career choice has been invaluable and we both thoroughly enjoyed listening to the experiences and stories of the division members. It has definitely opened our eyes to what the future may hold.”