Military students on Tyneside are helping fight the good fight against Covid-19. The lot have signed up for the Covid testing programme. This is a collaboration between students from the Military Preparation College (MPC) Newcastle and the Newcastle College.

The group will be giving three days every week to the college’s testing site, where they will function as Covid Marshalls.

MPC Newcastle offers a range of academic, functional, health, fitness, and physical fitness, public-speak and communication training courses. It is one of 35 institutes across Wales and England.

Students here are exceptional because they are directly trained by former personnel from the British Armed Forces.

Going forward, 15 to 20 MPC students will be using the time from their own training to help the students at the college.

MPC Newcastle Regional Operations Manager Laurence Corbett spoke about how spirited the team was for the endeavour. He said they were “delighted to be able to support a neighbouring college. We teach our students that a military life is about service – at home and abroad.”

“Teamwork is a big part of military ethos and it is more important than ever that every single one of us helps where we can,” he added.

This is a truly remarkable effort and speaks to the amount of focus, dedication, and sacrifice they are willing to put in for the safety of all.

We commend the efforts of these students and hope the collaboration will bear fruit.