[3] These provide a taste of life in the service and to give experience to their members in preparation for taking up a career as an officer in one of the RAF's many branches.

On the run-up to World War II the squadrons were an important source of pilots for the RAF during the Battle of Britain.

[7][9] After completing the selection process successfully candidates are formally attested and mustered at the rank of Officer Cadet,[4] and their training can commence.

Successful completion of the Core Syllabus qualifies the student pilot for the award of the Preliminary Flying Badge (PFB), or 'Budgie Wings' as they are sometimes called.

There is no specific time requirement as with the core syllabus, as progress in the advanced phase is made at a rate by which the student pilot is able to achieve the desired results.

Although squadrons generally do not follow the syllabus as a training plan, the majority of subjects are covered at some point through the students' academic year.

Most squadrons also offer camps at Easter, Christmas, and September for Officer Cadets to undertake intensive periods of sport, flying and adventure training.

Expeditions can include all manner of adventurous training, such as mountain biking, parachuting, alpine sports, rock climbing, abseiling, white water rafting, coasteering, gorge walking and canoeing.