Cadets from the King Edward’s School Combined Cadet Force (CCF) are the proud recipients of a new set of contingent drums after generous support by KES Parents enabled the purchase of four new drums.
The school’s CCF is numbered among the oldest contingents in the country, and recently members of KES parents were fascinated to hear about the unexpected musical history of the CCF. Upon learning of the enthusiasm of today’s pupils’ for trying out drumming, aided by the short-term loan of a corps of drums from a Devon contingent, KES parents elected to equip the school’s CCF with its own set of drums, thereby re-instating a long lost musical tradition.
The school’s cadet corps was first established in 1900, and today it is an army only section with affiliation to the King’s Royal Hussars. Open to both boys and girls from Year 9 onwards, and welcoming pupils from other local schools, including Beechen Cliff, the broad function of the CCF is to develop valuable life skills such as leadership, responsibility, self-reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance.
The new drums, consisting of three side drums and a base drum, are decorated with livery based on the original KES contingent design. With training in progress, the cadets hope to be ready to showcase the new drums at Bath’s Remembrance Day Parade in November.