Raw Recruits

The 16 and 17 year old boys and girls of Army Foundation College, Harrogate are the youngest soldiers in Britain. No other country in Europe trains soldiers this young. These teenagers will go through 5 months of tough Phase 1 training as the army turns 43 teenagers in to a well-drilled and disciplined platoon.

Allegations of bullying mean one Junior Soldier faces being kicked out for bad behaviour, while another tearful recruit wants to leave.

The discipline of army life has been a baptism of fire. But the regime is already transforming the teen recruits into young men and women. The mental and physical pressure of army life intensifies as the recruits are sent deep underground to train in dark, wet and tight caves.

To graduate from the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, Junior Soldiers need to be fit, disciplined and trained to kill. To teach law-abiding teenagers to be capable of killing, they are pushed to their limit. Every facet of their body and mind is tested.

The 16 and 17 year old soldiers of 7 Platoon survive outdoors for a fortnight of tactical exercises in the wilderness of Otterburn for their final stage of training. They have to ambush an enemy patrol during their first night-time mission and complete a gruelling 6 mile TAB - the results of which will determine their entire military future.

The Junior Soldiers of 7 Platoon are now Privates in the British Army and dispersed across the length and breadth of the country to join their chosen regiments. Now, they must learn new skills and get to grips with their jobs. From bridge building and demolition with the Royal Engineers, saving lives at the Royal Army Medical Corps and battlefield communications.