A campaign group has called for the closure of Harrogate‘s Army Foundation College after Parliament revealed how much it costs to run.
A question by Labour shadow justice minister Alex Cunningham discovered the annual running cost of the college, which provides basic training for 16 and 17-year-old junior recruits, is £85.5 million.
A separate question by SNP defence spokesperson Martin Docherty revealed it costs £133,000 for each trainee that completes the college’s 49-week junior entry course.
The questions were asked by the MPs on behalf of the campaign group Child Rights International Network.
Jim Wyke, coordinator for national security policy at CRIN, said the figures confirmed its suspicion that it costs more to train a 16-year-old at the college on Penny Pot Lane than it does to put an adult through the same process.
Mr Wyke said younger army recruits took longer to train (16 months vs. six months for the infantry) and were more likely to drop out (33% vs. 23%).
He also said the annual running cost of an average secondary school was £5 million, whereas the Harrogate army college costs £85.5m — 17 times more.
Mr Wyke said:
“The Army Foundation College is an incredibly expensive institution to run with an appalling track record on welfare and drop-out rates.
“It’s educational offerings fall well short of those available at a civilian college, while costing 17 times as much to run and with a record on sexual violence that would see any civilian college shut down.”
The college entrance on Penny Pot Lane.
A British Army spokesperson said:
“The Army Foundation College Harrogate trains over 900 junior soldiers annually and has exceeded 85% retention for the short course and is on track to exceed previous retention for the long course in February 2024.
“The full annual cost of the college delivers an excellent product at great value, with Ofsted rating all elements of provision such as facilities, infrastructure and resources as ‘outstanding’.
AFC Harrogate is a national employer, therefore it is disingenuous to compare it to a civilian college or secondary school.
“AFC Harrogate has very strong safeguarding mechanisms to ensure junior soldiers have the right support. The army is committed to stamping out all forms of inappropriate behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual offences; personnel convicted of a sexual offence will be dismissed.”
Read more:
- Nine rapes reported at Harrogate Army Foundation College in 13 months
- Hundreds of junior soldiers graduate at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College
UN report questions Harrogate army college’s recruitment of ‘child soldiers’
The United Nations has called for the army enlistment age to be raised to 18 — which would have significant implications for Harrogate’s Army Foundation College.
The recommendation was contained in a report published this week by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The committee cited multiple concerns over children’s rights and welfare in the British armed forces and urged the government to investigate all forms of abuse against children in the armed forces.
The Harrogate college, which trains junior soldiers aged 16 and 17, has been hit by a spate of recent allegations of abuse and bullying.
The UN committee heard evidence that, in 2021 alone, investigations were opened into the sexual abuse of 22 recruits at the college.
Jim Patrick Wyke, campaigns coordinator at the campaign group Child Rights International Network, called on the government to end recruitment at 16 in light of the evidence.
He said:
“The UK government’s continued recruitment of under-18s into the military is unnecessary, harmful and puts the UK well outside international norms.
“The government must heed the UN’s warning and end the recruitment of children into the armed forces immediately.”
Read more:
- Parents call for Harrogate army college to be closed after abuse claims
- Harrogate Army Foundation College instructor demoted for punching teenage soldiers
- Former Harrogate Army Foundation College instructor sentenced for sex assault
The Stray Ferret approached the British Army for a response and to ask what the implications would be on the college if the age was raised.
A MOD spokesperson said:
“We are proud of the opportunities serving in the Armed Forces affords young people, from upskilling in literacy and digital skills and support for postgraduate degrees, to high-quality accredited training and unique employment prospects.
“Recruitment of under-18s into the Armed Forces meets all legal and policy requirements, both national and international. We take our duty of care for all personnel extremely seriously and ensure under-18s are not deployed on operations that would expose them to hostilities.”
Last month, a government minister told the House of Lords that the Ministry Of Defence introduced new policies to deal with sexual offences, which had helped to improve the situation at the college.
Baroness Goldie, a minister in the MOD, said that the Army Foundation College had a “much improved climate” since 2021.
She said:
Parents call for Harrogate army college to be closed after abuse claims“The MoD has introduced new policies and changes to deal with sexual offences and unacceptable sexual behaviour below the criminal threshold.
“It has taken steps to improve the complaints system, has created the Defence Serious Crime Unit and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences and sexual relationships between instructors and trainees.
“All of that now reflects a much-improved climate at the college.”
Three parents have called for Harrogate Army Foundation College to be closed after claiming their children were abused.
Alison Blackwell, Charlotte Poad and another parent, known only as Kevin, expressed their concerns to the Child Rights International Network, which is a think tank that focuses on the human rights of young people.
The college on Penny Pot Lane, which provides basic training for the British Army for 16 and 17-year-olds, was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
CRIN sent an open letter to Ofsted yesterday questioning its rating and claiming the college is unsafe. The letter says:
“The ‘outstanding’ grade leads potential recruits and their parents to assume that the college offers the highest standard of care.
“With this open letter, we wish to repeat our concern that the college is unsafe, as evidenced by multiple formal complaints of abuse by staff, the routine use of stressors in training, and the imposition on recruits of legal obligations that deny them the right to leave at will.
“We believe that a civilian college with a similar record would be closed.”
The letter adds the army’s Joint Personnel Administration system had recorded 60 formal alleged incidents of violence against recruits aged under 18 by members of college staff since 2014, including assault and battery, and that 10 of the allegations were made since Ofsted’s inspection in 2017.
It also raises concerns about the college’s “very high attrition rate”, saying 30 percent of recruits aged under 18
drop out before they complete their training and that recruits have no legal right to leave during the first six weeks.
It claims the college operates daily use of physical and psychological stressors, such as the interruption of sleep and privacy and the use of humiliation to induce obedience.
Son died aged 17
Alison Blackwell is waiting for a Ministry of Defence inquiry into her son’s death. He died aged 17 while serving in the army.
She told the CRIN:
“My son told me he was hit, slapped, pushed, kicked and verbally abused by staff. He said he felt humiliated by this treatment and he never expected to be treated this way. He knew the training would be tough but this was abuse and the staff were power crazy.
“My son started drinking heavily and was very withdrawn, he rang me to tell me he was handing in his letter to leave. He told me his request was ripped up in his face. He was only 17 years old and devastated at not being able to leave. My son died last year while still serving in the army.”
Kevin, the father of a recruit who joined the college in 2015 said:
“My son had been bullied… he and the other recruits were talked down to, called the c-word and the f-word constantly, which seems at odds with AFC’s good Ofsted rating for health and well-being.
“I saw first-hand how the young soldiers were marched and drilled, brought into line. I saw lads who were limping, some with crutches, also being drilled and marched, trying in vain to keep up with the rest of the platoon. My son said that some keeled over and fainted as they marched and stood to attention.”
Charlotte Poad, whose son joined the college in 2016 said:
“I overheard several conversations with his fellow recruits discussing ‘bathroom beatings’ and ‘things going too far’. He also let slip he was actively encouraged to attend strip clubs by the staff members in charge of his group. We know that staff bullied and abused the young recruits, as well as encouraging fighting amongst peers.
“He is a completely different person since his time at Harrogate. He has attempted suicide and his mental health is permanently damaged.”
An instructor at the college was demoted at a court martial last week after being convicted of punching two teenage soldiers. Cpl Kimberley Hey was acquitted of six other charges of battery relating to three other soldiers. The court heard she told recruits, “you’re mine now, bitches” and punched teenage soldiers.
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The army’s response
An army spokesman said:
“We have very strong duty of care and safeguarding mechanisms at AFC (Harrogate) to ensure junior soldiers have the right support structures. This includes multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines.
“We take every incident seriously and will refer an allegation to the Royal Military Police for investigation. We also have a Ministry of Defence police officer based at AFC (Harrogate) to assist in education and investigation.”
Last month’s Ofsted report praised the college for its “very good training .. immaculate facilities”.
It also gave positive feedback on its safeguarding saying the college investigated incidents throughly and made necessary improvements.
A new Commanding Officer was employed in July 2020, Lt Col Simon Farebrother MC, with a new vision for the college.
The report added his ethos of “emotional and psychological safety, inclusion and teamwork is firmly embedded” within the college.
Lt Col Farebrother said at the time:
“I’m absolutely delighted, the grade reflects the hard work of my military, civilian and contractor staff at all levels. I’m enormously proud of them, continuing to deliver throughout an extraordinarily challenging period.
“The junior soldiers depart with valuable qualifications, a bunch of new friends and walk into a brilliant career, full of opportunity.”
