OASC

Sign in, collect room keys and relax for the rest of the night.

Day 2 Aptitude Testing - A unique set of tests designed to test the candidates inate abilities and skills, to see if they have the necessary requirements for their chosen branch. You are tested on things like instrument comprehension, hand/foot/eye co-ordination, memory skills, multi-tasking abilities and mental arithmetic. These tests are very greuling and mentally challenging and so it would be best to take with you a bottle of water or energy drink to stay alert and hydrated.

These tests can take up the whole morning, from 7am until lunchtime, and so are very tiresome.

Medical Testing - Candidates are called individually for medical tests including, eyesight tests, hearing tests, lung capacity tests, urine tests, height measurements, leg measurements and weight measurements.

After these, candidates are free to relax in the candidates mess for the duration of the night.

Day 3 Interview - Each candidate is given an individual interview, along the same lines and perhaps a little more in depth than the filter interview that all candidates must have passed at their AFCO (Armed Forces Careers Office) prior to going to OASC. Questions such as family background, qualifications, past experiences, Duke of Edinburgh Awards recieved, sporting activities, why you want a career in the RAF, what experience have you had with ATC (Air Training Corps), what rank did you achieve...

Part one is now complete and the candidate will undergo a review, and will be subject to 'the cull' if he/she has not met the requirements of the RAF, and successful applicants will move onto part two.

Part Two - The candidates now come together and form a syndicate, unlike in part one where all the exercises were individual.

Group Discussion - The syndicate will then get involved in a debate about a subject. Candidates are marked on their willingness to get involved, their communication techniques, their ability to take on other peoples ideas, and possibly the most important, their confidence in the points that they make within the group and ability to hold onto their beliefs.

Planning Exercise - The group then partakes in a scenario type situation whereby they have to plan and work together to solve a problem. The main abilities that selection officers are looking for here is co-operation, ability to perform Speed, Distance, Time equations and know their times tables for quick answers. This task is against the clock so get stuck straight in and don't be afraid to ask a team member for the answer to an equation or ideas.

Fitness Testing - The group then puts on their shorts and tee-shirt and heads to the gym hall. The candidates will then be required to take part in a bleep test (for which the pass requirements are posted in the Officer FAQ's), a maximal sit-up test, and a maximal press-up test. The time limit to do as many sit-ups and press-ups as you can is one minute

Day 4 This morning sees the candidates in the hanger exercises.

The first assignment is a practical test in a team, with no leader - the key to this test is to be able to communicate well, suggest ideas, plan a strategy, listen to other peoples ideas and hopefully complete the task assigned. But I wouldn't worry about this last point, they are looking to see how you re-act in a team exercise, you do not really need to complete the task.

The second assignment is a situation exercise, whereby each person in the group is individually chosen to be leader, who then has to formulate a plan, assign people to certain tasks and take on board ideas from his/her team to try to complete the exercise. Again this exercise is against the clock so try and get as far as you can through the exercise but it isn't all about completing it, it is more about your ability to lead people and manage a situation.

Then their is a tie-up review and the candidates can go home, but they will not know at that stage if they have been successful or not. That they will find out in a couple of weeks when they are sent a letter through the post.

END