# Does England have a Naval or Airforce Academy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129 "2015-08-18T00:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/1 "2015-08-18T00:29:48Z")
Or is all students streamed through Sandhurst and then to what ever service. Thanks Declan ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/2 "2015-08-18T00:31:43Z")
yes they do. In fact the old Royal Naval college has great artwork. They moved to another place but here is where they used to be: [https://www.ornc.org/paintedhall](https://www.ornc.org/paintedhall) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/3 "2015-08-18T01:44:57Z")
The Air Force equivalent is the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/4 "2015-08-18T02:02:37Z")
Wiki sez: Royal Air Force: [Royal Air Force College Cranwell - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force_College_Cranwell) Royal Navy: [Britannia Royal Naval College - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Royal_Naval_College) British Army: [Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Military_Academy_Sandhurst) It seems these are all run on a different model than US practice. These are more like officer training schools that take in graduates of civilian colleges then gives them a 1+ semester finishing course to become an officer. They’re not like the US service academies: 4-year universities that confer degrees and commissions in an integrated multi-year training program. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/5 "2015-08-18T02:14:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It seems these are all run on a different model than US practice. These are more like officer training schools that take in graduates of civilian colleges then gives them a 1+ semester finishing course to become an officer. You don’t even [need to be a university graduate](http://www.army.mod.uk/training_education/24475.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/6 "2015-08-18T02:22:42Z")
Since **LSLGuy** has covered the three major UK Armed Forces, I would add that the other branch, the [Royal Marines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines) (who hold a similar position _vis-a-vis_ the [Royal Navy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy) as the [USMC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps) does to the [USN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy)), is unusual in that officers and other ranks are trained at the same location, [Commando Training Centre Royal Marines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_Training_Centre_Royal_Marines) in [Lympstone, Devon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lympstone). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/7 "2015-08-18T12:03:10Z")
I’d also point out to the OP that “England” and “Great Britain” are not interchangeable terms. England has no military and hence no academies or officer training schools. Great Britain owns the stuff I posted above. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/8 "2015-08-18T13:09:04Z")
As the OP has been answered it maybe worth mentioning that although in the UK each of the services has its own officer training college there is only one Staff College, the [Joint Services Command and Staff College](http://www.da.mod.uk/Colleges-Business-Units/JSCSC) at Shrivenham in Oxfordshire, part of the[Defence Academy of the United Kingdom](http://www.da.mod.uk/). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/9 "2015-08-18T13:43:26Z")
When I left school I took the entrance exam for Sandhurst. The requirement for taking it was not very hard; the entrance exam was. We all went to a public hall and took various exams over a two day period. There was a choice of subjects but we had to do five, including English and Maths. As Sandhurst could only accept a limited number of entrants each time, it was a competitive exam with only the top 20 or so being accepted. I remember looking at the results sheet with,maybe, a hundred or so names in order of marks gained. There was a line drawn under the twentieth and my name was two below that. The guy at the top had done English, Maths, Greek, Latin and History - he had 98% or more in each one. I sometimes wonder how he got on - many drop out during the course. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/10 "2015-08-18T21:45:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d also point out to the OP that “England” and “Great Britain” are not interchangeable terms. England has no military and hence no academies or officer training schools. Great Britain owns the stuff I posted above. I use England and GB interchangeably, so I never even would have noticed. As well, GB might own them, but the services I mentioned, do have the royal prefix. So technically Beth owns them. Declan ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/11 "2015-08-18T21:53:54Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > I use England and GB interchangeably, so I never even would have noticed. As well, GB might own them, but the services I mentioned, do have the royal prefix. So technically Beth owns them. > > Declan ‘Beth’ is not Queen of England, so your point has no validity. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/12 "2015-08-18T22:09:55Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > ‘Beth’ is not Queen of England, so your point has no validity. So your telling me, that Elizabeth second of her name, is not Queen of England + freight train of other official titles. Declan ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/13 "2015-08-18T23:10:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d also point out to the OP that “England” and “Great Britain” are not interchangeable terms. England has no military and hence no academies or officer training schools. Great Britain owns the stuff I posted above. Not Great Britain, but the United Kingdom. Although there is a sense in which England “has” these institutions, in that they are physically located in England. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/14 "2015-08-18T23:50:33Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > yes they do. In fact the old Royal Naval college has great artwork. They moved to another place but here is where they used to be: > > [https://www.ornc.org/paintedhall](https://www.ornc.org/paintedhall) Wow, that’s certainly one hell of a dining room. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/15 "2015-08-19T02:08:17Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > So your telling me, that Elizabeth second of her name, is not Queen of England + freight train of other official titles. > > Declan Well, she’s Queen of England to the same extent that she’s the Queen of Saskatchewan. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/16 "2015-08-19T02:13:23Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > When I left school I took the entrance exam for Sandhurst. The requirement for taking it was not very hard; the entrance exam was. > > We all went to a public hall and took various exams over a two day period. There was a choice of subjects but we had to do five, including English and Maths. As Sandhurst could only accept a limited number of entrants each time, it was a competitive exam with only the top 20 or so being accepted. I remember looking at the results sheet with,maybe, a hundred or so names in order of marks gained. There was a line drawn under the twentieth and my name was two below that. The guy at the top had done English, Maths, Greek, Latin and History - he had 98% or more in each one. I sometimes wonder how he got on - many drop out during the course. One wonders just how useful he found his knowledge of Latin and Greek, in the Army. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/17 "2015-08-19T02:48:43Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > So your telling me, that Elizabeth second of her name, is not Queen of England + freight train of other official titles. > > Declan She’s not. She’s English, more or less, and she’s a queen, but “Queen of England” is not one of her “freight train of official titles”. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/18 "2015-08-19T06:16:59Z")
I believe the Sandhurst course is 44 weeks. That certainly beats the 90 day wonders US OCS turns out. But it does lead to another question. Cadets at West Point are studying for a B.S. along with their studies for their Commission. How long would they have to attend if the B.S. classes were omitted? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/19 "2015-08-19T07:58:49Z")
Here’s Her Majesty’s current Royal Style and Title for the United Kingdom: > [@](#): > > Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith Source: [Style of the British sovereign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style_of_the_British_sovereign) ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129/20 "2015-08-19T08:32:32Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Wow, that’s certainly one hell of a dining room. If you like it you can [hire](http://venuehire.ornc.org/corporate-events-and-galas/painted-hall/)it for the evening 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-england-have-a-naval-or-airforce-academy/728129.md?page=2)