A-Levels: student on target for Army career

Caroline Oliver (18) gained a C in Biology and a C in Music at Mount St Mary’s School in Sheffield the Spinkhill school and will now take a gap year before going onto university and then joining Sandhurst.

Caroline, from The Stag in Rotherham, began her army cadet career with Mount St Mary’s combined cadet course where she proved to be a very capable young pupil.

In Year 11, Caroline was named top cadet and in sixth form at the Mount she became a senior cadet and was given a place at Sandhurst, beating thousands of people nationwide to one of the limited places available each year.

Sandhurst in Surrey is where all officers in the British Army are trained to take on the responsibilities of leading soldiers.

The scholarship will give Caroline financial support during her degree before she enters the Army for officer training after she graduates.

Caroline also excelled in her musical studies at the school, specialising in trumpet and flute and earlier in the year she organised a retro concert at the college in aid of Help the Heroes which raised more than £500.

Caroline said: “Some of my relatives are part of the services and so the inspiration to get involved came from that really. 

“I’m looking forward to starting the scholarship and I’m thinking about getting involved in the Military Police, the Royal Artillery or the Army Air Corps. 

“For now, I am just taking some time out before I apply to university in September where I hope to go on and study music.

“I also became a sergeant major in the cadets and so it has also given me some great leadership skills.”

Her sister, Francis, 20, was also a cadet at Mount St Mary's College.