Students threw themselves in the deep end when they undertook a swimming challenge to raise money for the Firefighters charity.

Cambs Times: Uniformed services with their certificates with tutors John Yare & Adrian Kent. Far Left is Hudson lifeguards Jess Stebbings and Lauren Bremner.Uniformed services with their certificates with tutors John Yare & Adrian Kent. Far Left is Hudson lifeguards Jess Stebbings and Lauren Bremner. (Image: Archant)

A group of 22 uniformed service students from the College of West Anglia (CWA), Wisbech campus undertook the formalised Royal Navy swimming test at the Hudson leisure centre.

The event raised £125 for their chosen charity, which supports members of the fire and rescue community.

Of the 22 students who volunteered to undergo the formalised test 20 successfully completed the assessment.

To pass the swimming test, students had to jump into deep water wearing overalls, tread water for two minutes, then swim 50 metres and climb out at the deep end.

“This is literally a pass or fail assessment or to put it another way a sink or swim” said CWA tutor Adrian Kent who, along with organiser John Yare, thanked the Hudson Leisure centre management and staff for their continued help and support.

The test simulates a Royal Navy person jumping off a ship into the sea from a damaged boat, fully clothed without a life preserver. The candidate must then tread water for two minutes in order to be picked up by a Life Raft/boat that fails to arrive.

They must then swim 50 metres away to an awaiting life raft where the candidate must extract themselves unaided into the boat to pass the test.

“The event has been of great value to me and given me a really good insight into the Navy physical tests,” said Jacob Troughton , 20, of Wisbech St Mary, who wants to join the Navy after finishing his course at CWA.

All successful candidates were awarded a certificate.