I spent four months reporting from inside Sandhurst, but is it working for women?

Rosie Laydon, the BFBS Forces News journalist behind our new special report Sandhurst Women: Leading the Fight, shares what it was like being a fly on the wall at the prestigious academy.

Driving through the main gate and down a densely wooded lane, I arrived at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on a brisk January day to stand on the parade square in the snow, staring up at the imposing facade of Old College.

I was there to film "Ironing Board Sunday" the traditional name for the first day of term at Sandhurst, and get a feel for what the officer cadets experience on arrival day.

When I got there it was working like a well-oiled machine with smartly dressed officers and sergeants welcoming the fresh arrivals as they said tearful goodbyes to parents, boyfriends and girlfriends and walked up the steps to meet their new platoons.

Watch all four episodes of Sandhurst Women: Leading the Fight

But as well as the tradition of over 200 years, Sandhurst was embracing something new: a Critical Mass trial to raise the number of women in platoons from 10% to 30%.

This new policy was brought in as part of the response to wide-ranging criticism of a "complete breakdown in welfare support" and a "culture of staff fraternisation and inappropriate relationships" which came out of the inquiry which followed the tragic suicide of Officer Cadet Olivia Perks in 2019.

I wanted to see what the academy was doing differently and how the young women who came here felt about it.

So producer/director Paul Condon, cameraman Lewis Bartley and I followed the women and men of 5 Platoon, one of these Critical Mass Platoons, endlessly.

We spent four days a week for four months trailing them all around the college, up and down the mountains in the Brecon Beacons, on the parade square, into the uniform store, out on the exercise field and into their rooms and accommodation.

All three of our team have worked for the British Forces Broadcasting Service for more than 20 years (?!) but this project felt fresh and interesting.

The women we spoke to came from all over the UK with a mix of different backgrounds, and although I wasn't aware of arriving with preconceived ideas about wannabe British Army officers these bright, intelligent, funny, capable, down-to-earth and supportive women were not what I'd expected.

I've learned things about military training and marching I never knew before, I've not learned, but watched others learn how to fold their socks into smiley faces, use the correct knives and forks at formal military dinners, how to survive in the field with minimal food and minimal sleep - and crucially how to command soldiers.

And at every turn we filmed them and asked them questions about what they were doing, how they were feeling, and the meaning of it all. Later filming longer sit-down interviews as well and, again, I was impressed by these women's frankness and ability to articulate complex thoughts and emotions.

So what did they think of Critical Mass?

Well, they had mixed views. Most of them liked having more women serving alongside them, but some questioned whether they needed as many as 30%.

They also weren't all convinced of the benefits of additional support mechanisms like the Female Forum: a women-only space for cadets to talk through any issues.

But staff argue the fact they don’t feel the need for such a construct is a sign the new approach is working, and that without so much in place for women the academy risks reverting to the dark toxic environment it was accused of creating just a few years before.

As I mentioned at the start, I've reported on the UK Armed Forces for more than two decades but I've always tried to keep a healthy distance from my subjects - and the fact that I never had any desire to join the military myself seems to me a positive part of retaining a neutral view on subjects and stories.

But I can honestly say watching this group of cadets improve their fitness, learn to survive outdoors in the elements and tackle complex leadership decisions, is the closest I’ve ever come to being tempted by an Army career.

I wish them every bit of luck in their future journey, which I will be watching with interest.

You can watch Rosie's fascinating four-part special Sandhurst Women: Leading the Fight here on our website or on our YouTube channel.