lowering the entry age to attract more cadets!
Not quite as simple as that...
..... as I understand it, the entry is now Year 8 (2nd Form in old money) rather than an age, and the logic, at least in part, was to save breaking up groups of mates.
Bunch of kids arrive, Sqn Cdr says "You can join now, you can come in at Easter, but you can't come 'til Summer!"
Net result - they
all go somewhere else. (As a Gemini, it always peed me off to be the last-ish one in class to be able to do anything (legally!
)) And for numbers to be meaningful, they must be put against the size of the cohort/age group. There is (a bit of) a "demographic trough" affecting cadet age; remember all those primary schools which closed a few years ago due to "falling rolls"? That cohort is now of cadet age.
That accounts for some at least of the missing cadets. I'm not saying that
none have left because of lack of gliding, nor that 2 FTS is a model of managerial competence, or that OC 2 FTS is a Saint.
But I
AM saying that
post hoc rarely equals
propter hoc; there are usually a number of contributory factors. As an example, real world pressures contribute to a lack of adult volunteers, which is absolutely a key driver of cadet numbers. In times of austerity/economic stagnation/low pay, fewer people want to be the bloke/lass who has to get off sharpish every Monday and Thursday (or whatever).
And cadet exit age remains their 20th birthday.
Just saying'..........