BRITISH ARMY AIR CORPS LANDS APACHE HELICOPTER AT ST MICHAEL’S!
We were thrilled to welcome two British Army Air Corps pilots who landed their Apache helicopter on our playing field this afternoon, much to everyone’s delight!
As many of you know, Aldbourne village has strong military links and over the course of World War Two, British and Canadian forces were based here, with the Americans also arriving in 1944. This included the now famous US paratrooper unit Easy Company – the “Band of Brothers” immortalised by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks in the 2001 TV series, based on Stephen E Ambrose’s book.
As a school, the visions and values are in many ways aligned with those of the military. A shared sense of pride and purpose helps enrich us all.
The children were thrilled to witness the Apache helicopter land, it was wonderful to see so many excited faces! Aside from the excitement, it acted as a great case study to reinforce parts of the curriculum across the different year groups. For example, Acorn class have been learning all about ‘people who help us’ and have had several talks from different industries about the opportunities available in the work place to make a difference to people’s lives, the military being a perfect fit.
There are also the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) areas of study that are linked to the rigorous training associated with flying these prestigious aircrafts. The design, technology and engineering were the main topic of conversations between the older pupils and the pilots themselves.
A huge thank you to the pilots and soldiers who visited us and answered all of the many questions the children had for them.
