Gliding Scholarships

The FAAOA Aviation Scholarship Trust awards gliding scholarships to young people between the ages of 16 to 23 who demonstrate an interest in pursuing a flying career in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. Gliding Scholarships are offered for beginners’ courses that are programmed to take place during the summer months. These courses are operated by civilian and Naval gliding clubs that are subject to the rules and regulations of the British Gliding Association (BGA).

The courses are staffed by BGA qualified instructors and offer 5 or 7 days of comprehensive ab initio ground and air tuition for selected applicants with no previous gliding or flying experience.

2024 Gliding Courses

14-19 July 2024 (Shropshire)

16-23 August 2-23 (Hampshire) 

Please read the application criteria below carefully.  In particular applicants must be British citizens over 16 years old by day one of the training and the upper age limit is 23 years old during training. **Please note that some gliding clubs cannot accept younger students, and they specify a lower age limit of 18.**

Applicants under the age of 18, and their parents, will be informed of opportunities that are available to them.

Applications not meeting these criteria may be rejected without acknowledgement.

Applications must be submitted using the online form.

The closing date for applications for 2024 is 7^th June 2024. Late applications may only be accepted in special circumstances.

What do the scholarships provide?

An intensive gliding course of either five or seven days at one of two locations - Portsmouth Naval Gliding Club (at the Army Aviation Centre at Middle Wallop, in Hampshire) or Midlands Gliding Club (at the Long Mynd, in Shropshire). The training is dependent on weather and your aptitude but can occasionally lead to a solo flight in a glider for the talented student who is blessed with good weather for the full duration of the seven day course.

In addition to gliding, students are taught teamwork, leadership and what it is like to work in a services environment. An alternative ‘bad weather’ program is provided.

Food and accommodation are provided throughout the course, and certificates of achievement are awarded to all students who attend the full course.

Applications

Applications must be submitted using the on-line form between 2nd January and 7th June 2024.

Please do not apply outside of this period, your application will be invalid and may not be acknowledged or actioned.

Please complete the on-line application form.

Who is eligible?

• Young people who -

  • Must be over 16 years old, but not older than 24 years, during the planned course.

  • Must be a British citizen or hold British dual citizenship.

  • Must have achieved five GCSEs (A* to C) or Scottish Standard grades or equivalent, which must include English and maths.

  • Must be able to demonstrate a strong interest in pursuing a career in the Royal Navy as a Fleet Air Arm aviator.

  hat happens next?

On receipt of an application form, the submission will be reviewed to ensure it meets the published criteria. If the criteria are not met, the application will be excluded. Compliant applications then become ‘under consideration’ and will be graded in a fair and equitable selection process. The number of applications always exceed the number of scholarships available, and the process aims to select those applicants who are deemed to be the most likely to succeed, and who are most likely to benefit from the scholarship. 

**The number of scholarships available in any given year is a function of the previous year’s fundraising activity. In 2024, we are hoping to provide 16 scholarships. This allows us to have a final group of 16 and a further reserve group of 4 potential beneficiaries.** 

The Gliding Scholarship Administrator will notify all applicants under consideration whether or not they have been successful by mid-June 2024. The successful applicants (and parents if aged under 18) will then receive guidance notes, an acceptance form, a parental consent form (for under 18s) and request for photo ID all of which must be appropriately completed and returned to the administrator by email in order for the applicant’s scholarship to be confirmed.

Once this process has been successfully completed, the final list of scholarship beneficiaries will be confirmed and course joining instructions and pre-course reading material will be sent to prepare the applicants for the gliding course. Anyone on the reserve list that has not been successful will be contacted and invited to reapply in 2025 if they still meet the criteria.

How are the scholarships paid for?

Successful applicants are sponsored by the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association through its charitable arm, the Aviation Scholarship Trust. Money comes from industrial and commercial companies and organisations in the aerospace and defence industries as well as individual members of the FAAOA.

If you are interested in encouraging young people to join the Fleet Air Arm by becoming a sponsor with a donation or a regular direct debit then you can request information by filling in the on-line enquiry. 

Please Note: FAAOA Gliding Scholarships are strictly limited to those who hold British citizenship.