Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1997 (under current name) |
Preceding agency | |
Parent agency | Ministry of Defence |
Website | SCE |
Service Children's Education (SCE) was an organisation of the United Kingdom government responsible for the education of the children of British Armed Forces families and Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom. They provided schools and educational support services from Foundation Stage through to sixth form. They are headquartered at Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire. [1]
It was previously an executive agency of the MoD, but this status was removed on 31 March 2013 following the reduction of service personnel based abroad. However, it continued to operate under the SCE name as part of the MoD's Directorate Children and Young People (DCYP).
At one point the organization's mission was taken over by DCYP, [2] which was created in 2010. In 2021 DCYP was separated into two organisations: Defence Children Services (DCS) and Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding (AFFS). [3]
During the 1980s, the British Families Education Service (BFES) was renamed Service Children's School (SCS). In 1997 it took its current name Service Children's Education (SCE). Despite the various changes to the name and administration, it continues the mission of its predecessors: providing education for the children of British Armed Forces personnel. Former teachers who taught in SCE schools or under its previous incarnations the BFES and SCS may join the BFES/SCE Association. [4]
In 2001 the records of the British Families Education Service / Service Children's Education Association were deposited at the Institute of Education, University College London. [5] The papers chart the establishment and development of the BFES. [5] Since then numerous additions have been made to the collection and material is continuously being acquired. [5]
SCE are headquartered at Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire. [1] The business support office are co-located with that of the Children's Education and Advisory Service since August 2012. [6]
SCE was headquartered in the Wegberg Military Complex in Wegberg, Germany, [7] [8] until 2012.[ citation needed ] It briefly moved to JHQ Rheindahlen, [6] until that base closed, too, in 2013.[ citation needed ]
In addition SCE had offices in Bielefeld, Germany and Episkopi Cantonment, Cyprus. [9]
Schools follow the English National Curriculum, administer national assessments and public examinations, and are inspected by His Majesty's Inspectorate, via Ofsted. Teachers have recognised UK professional qualifications and the majority are recruited specially from the United Kingdom through the Civil Service.
The agency operates primary and secondary schools in Europe and Asia and also provides educational facilities in territories such as the Falklands and Gibraltar where there is a significant British military presence. The schools are typically grouped by garrison (including its outlying bases).
Schools are: [10]
Bünde Primary School
Hildesheim Primary School
Pasir Panjang Infant School
Wegberg is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
JHQRheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. Latterly it was also known as the Rheindahlen Military Complex, part of Rheindahlen Garrison. It was named after the local village of Rheindahlen, part of the city borough of Mönchengladbach.
Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, is a former command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, initially in what was known as West Germany as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) following the Second World War, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold War. The commander of RAFG doubled as commander of NATO's Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF). Its motto was 'Keepers of the Peace'.
Royal Air Force Station Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations built for the Royal Air Force in West Germany during the early 1950s.
The former Royal Air Force Hospital Wegberg, commonly abbreviated to RAF(H) Wegberg, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military hospital located in Wegberg, near the city of Mönchengladbach, in the then West Germany. It was opened in 1953 to serve the British Armed Forces personnel already in the area, and in anticipation of the construction and opening of the large RAF Rheindahlen base, nearby.
Sennelager is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable for its association with the military since the 19th century.
Windsor School was a secondary school in Germany for the children of British military personnel. It was located within the military complex at JHQ Rheindahlen, near Mönchengladbach. The school operated from 1986 to 2013. It was one of several secondary schools in Germany operated by the Service Children's Education organization.
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Pewsey, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the market town of Devizes, and 20 miles (32 km) north of the cathedral city of Salisbury. The A345 and A342 roads run through the village.
12 Flight Army Air Corps was an independent flight of the British Army's Army Air Corps.
Prince Rupert School was a secondary school in Rinteln, Lower Saxony, Germany, and was operated by the Service Children's Education for children of military personnel and its employees of the former British sector of West Germany. Over the years it has taken both day and weekly boarding pupils from the military garrisons of Buckeburg, Detmold, Hameln, Herford, Hohne, Nienburg, Bunde, Hanover, Hildesheim, Minden, Osnabrück, Paderborn, and Rinteln. It was originally located at the North Sea port city of Wilhelmshaven before moving to its present location. After the school was closed, it served as a camp for refugees. Now the buildings are set to be demolished and replaced by a residential area.
The British Families Education Service (BFES) was an organisation set up by the British Government in 1946 to run schools for the children of British military and government personnel serving in West Germany.
Warrant Officer Gary Wilcox is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) airman and military aircraft engineering technician. He was the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer (CASWO) to Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, taking post on 27 July 2009, until his retirement in February 2012; making him the most senior other rank (OR) member of the RAF during that time.
Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose were Australian tourists shot dead in Roermond, the Netherlands by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 27 May 1990, which stated it had mistaken them for off-duty British soldiers. The attack was part of an IRA campaign in Continental Europe.
Second Allied Tactical Air Force was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). 2 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.
St. John's School is a secondary school located within the British military complex Episkopi Cantonment in Cyprus and is run by the Service Children's Education (SCE). It is one of two schools serving the military families and employees of the Western Sovereign Base Area (WSBA). Younger children attend Episkopi Primary School.
At the end of the Cold War in 1989, the Royal Air Force (RAF) structure was as follows:
Kent School was a British secondary school in Germany, with boarding facilities, for the children of military personnel. It was located near the military complex at JHQ Rheindahlen, at Hostert, near Mönchengladbach. The school operated from 1963 until 1986 when it was amalgamated with Queens School, Rheindahlen, to become Windsor School. It was one of several secondary schools in Germany operated by the Service Children's Education organization.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.
No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment was a Ground Based Aircraft Defence (GBAD) squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The squadron operated mostly outside the United Kingdom since its formation in 1951 until 2006 when it was disbanded. It started out as a field squadron before becoming involved in the GBAD programme, where it operated the Rapier missile system.
The Langenbruck bus crash, occurred on 11 February 1985, when a double-decker bus carrying up to 40 musicians from the Band of the Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG), crashed on an autobahn between Nuremberg and Munich. The fatal crash happened near to the village of Langenbruck, 18 miles north of Munich, in what was West Germany. Twenty-one of the occupants were killed in the crash, which included the driver and one RAF policeman, the other 19 were RAF bandsmen. Six of the military victims were buried in the cemetery of RAF Wegberg in Germany, whilst the others were repatriated back to the United Kingdom. In terms of lives lost, it was listed as the worst bus crash in West Germany for 20 years.