PUTTEN, THE NETHERLANDS – Six years before the First World War, British military planners launched a scheme to train university students as army officers. This was intended to create a pipeline of new officers in case of war, and forge connections between the next generation of elites and the army.
The new University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) swiftly proved its worth, training 20,000 officers to lead soldiers on the front lines of the First World War. The Corps trained a further 30,000-50,000 more during the Second World War.
More than a century on, around 1,400 students join the scheme each year. But a multimillion-pound price tag and a long-standing agreement that graduates can’t be called up has raised questions over its future.
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Are you having as much sex as everyone else?
It’s natural for libido to wax and wane due to life events, dating status or hormonal changes.
And it can be hard to say what a “normal” sexual frequency is. But research and case studies give us a rough idea.
The statistics
When it happens
61%
A 2023 survey concluded that almost two thirds (61 per cent) of us wait until night-time to have sex.
Only 14 per cent opt to get busy in the early evening, and 10 per cent in the morning.
Three
Research from 2019 suggests that the average number of times British live-in or married couples have sex per month is three.
Are Gen Z having less sex than older people?
I see my partner on the weekends and have sex with others in the week.
Leanne, a 27-year-old influencer from Bristol has sex three or four times a week, but only sees her long-distance partner on the weekends. They have agreed they can both sleep with other people during the week.
Millennials
35-year-old Rebecca usually sleeps with her partner once or twice per week due to not having much child-free time.
Clare, 32, says her job is busy and she has to schedule sex with her partner on weekends, or some afternoons twice a month. “Occasionally this slips and I do worry that it makes us not as connected,” she says.
Gen X
Daisy, 56
I haven’t had the issue of my sex life drying up with menopause. I’m more aroused now.
Anna, 52
I’ve been married for 15 years. I love my husband, but our sex life is non-existent, and has been for about five years.
Mimi, 46
I’m not really motivated to seek out partners; I vaguely like the idea of it but not enough to take any action.
Boomers
I’ve been married for 20 years and sex has become something of a rarity. We maybe have sex once a week on a Sunday morning as we’re both relaxed and I can take Viagra late on Saturday night – without it, I can’t perform.
JACK, 63, OFFICE WORKER, KENT
Couple, talk and arguing with fight at house for disagreement, conflict and divorce discussion. Woman, explain and bored man for conversation, toxic relationship and drama and marriage fail in lounge – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
The seven rules that could save your marriage
Keep your sense of self
I did what I thought I was supposed to do and forgot my needs and wants. I think it’s really important that you’re an individual and not just a person who is married.
KATIE STRATFORD*, A 55-YEAR-OLD MUM OF TWO, WHO DIVORCED ATER 19 YEARS
Caption: A married couple sitting in silence, looking in opposite directions. The image captures the concept of female loneliness within a marriage, emotional disconnection, and relationship problems. Symbolizes quiet desperation and isolation at home
Photographer: Galina Zhigalova
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Seven rules to save your marriage
(Photo: Kathrin Ziegler/Getty).
The small things
Small things, like being brought a cup of tea or saying thank you, make a big difference.
Therapists
Karen Deulofeu, who ended her six-year marriage, believes all couples should seek support, even before they think they need it.
Female psychiatrist discussing with mid adult woman during therapy session – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
(Photo: MTStock Studio/Getty).
Listen
Listen properly by repeating what you have heard and ask if you’ve got that right.
Don’t lose communication
People don’t talk about the deep issues; nobody else is going to do it for you. You don’t want to ask questions because it might rock the boat…you have to keep talking, and talk about what it is that you want within the relationship to keep going forward.
KATIE STRATFORD
‘One question is how to achieve such a longevity hack when most of us have relationships that unsettle us,’ says Dr Amir Levine (Photo: Oliver Rossi/Getty)
Seven rules to save your marriage
Remember that things change
“What you see on social media and what friends say is quite often the nice version. Everything is a phase,” says Deulofeu.
‘I’m genuinely considering returning to full-time work’ (Photo: PeopleImages/ Getty Images)
Caption: A senior couple spend time in an indoor sunny market. The woman looks through a clothes on a rail as her husband waits patiently behind her.
Photographer: Catherine Falls Commercial
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Look at yourself first
“Focus on what’s in your control and what you can do differently, rather than the other person or a situation that you can’t control. Invest in understanding yourself,” she adds.
There are things that all mid-life men should know about keeping their hearts healthy.
From eating more purple fruit to avoiding large bowls of pasta, consultant cardiologist Dr Zoe Astroulakis [below] shares her simple lifestyle habits she wishes her patients would take on board.
Positive changes to make
Swap ‘bad’ fats for healthy ones
You don’t need to eat a fat-free diet; the key is to reduce your saturated fat. Reduce your dairy and swap your red meat for lean meat such as chicken and oily fish.
Shoppers are set to face spiralling food bills as a result of the war in Iran (Photo: Bet_Noire/Getty)
Caption: man eating fried chicken
Photographer: Prapass Pulsub
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Control your portions
You don’t need more carbohydrates in a meal than you can fit in your hand. Enormous plates of pasta can cause blood sugar spikes, which can lead to health problems.
Positive changes to make
Supermarkets report increasing demand for blueberries (Photo: RHS/Guy Harrop)
Look for purple
Blueberries, black grapes and aubergines are great for boosting “good” cholesterol.
Have oats
Porridge is one of the healthiest breakfast options because it’s full of soluble fibre.
Swap supermarket-bought cereals for wholemeal oats (Photo: Arx0nt/Getty)
Ketamine has become an increasingly mainstream drug used in clubs and festivals in recent years (Photo: Getty)
Stop taking cocaine
It can provoke a massive heart attack, even in younger people who don’t have existing artery problems.
Stay below the alcohol limit
‘She doesn’t really like me drinking and says that I smell after a night out with friends’ (Photo: Getty)
The NHS guidelines of 14 units per week is still more than 1,000 additional calories.
The safest level to aim for is zero.
If you’re drinking, make sure you have some alcohol-free days each week and space it out.
Interview
5 min read
Positive changes to make
Do cardio too
Don’t only focus on lifting weights. It might make you look toned, but it says nothing about the health of your heart.
Caption: Close-up view of female jogger tying laces of her sport shoes before running exercise routine. Motivation, healthy lifestyle and fitness concept.
Photographer: Xavier Lorenzo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Home blood pressure monitors are now available to buy for around £20, and are preferred over smart watches due to their more accurate readings (Photo: Getty Images)
Check your levels
You can get free blood pressure checks in many pharmacies or you can buy a monitor for around £30 to use at home.
Avoid night shifts
It disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm and can lead to increased cholesterol.
Engineers from a Thames Water leak hunting team unloads equipment from their van during a night shift in London in 2022 (Photo: Getty)
A sign to look out for
A beer belly is a sign you need to make urgent changes
Caption: glasses of Real ale beer on bar in traditional English pub
Photographer: Peter Cade
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Photodisc
It’s usually a sign you’re drinking too much. By the time your belly starts to bulge, it’s a sign that you’re consuming excess calories and storing too much fat internally.
LIFESTYLE
3 min read
Want a new career but worried it’s too late?
Mid-life is not too late to start again, says experienced recruiter Elizabeth Willetts [below].
Here, Willetts shares the best jobs to switch to during midlife if you want a change – without sacrificing pay.
Changing careers in your fifties
Mid-life career pivots can lead to higher earnings.
7.4%
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, workers aged 45 to 54 who voluntarily pivot jobs see an average wage growth of 7.4 per cent.
3.5%
And those aged 55 to 64 still see a 3.5 per
cent increase.
The AARP Global Employee Survey also found that over half of workers who changed jobs voluntarily experienced improvements in work flexibility and mental health.
So what job options are there?
Virtual assistant
As a virtual assistant your workload will be very varied and it could be anything from tidying inboxes, booking travel, sending invoices or updating spreadsheets.
More and more people are using AI for counselling (Photo: Oscar Wong/Getty/Moment RF)
Confident successful Indian female HR recruitment manager holding resume in hands while having an interview in a modern office, looking and listening to job candidate. Friendly interview between HR female director and caucasian job candidate. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
You can start out earning around £20 to £35 an hour, but it can scale into agency work, launch support or even project management. Some earn very well.
Recruitment
Male candidate handshake with the recruiter at job interview – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
What it involves
You will source, screen and interview candidates to match them with the right job roles.
Who it’s for
You don’t need any qualifications but it’s suited to communicators and commercially-minded people.
Rearview female recruitment reading and checking resume in hands interviewing and hiring woman candidate for joи near laptop in office with glass windows – stock photo. (Photo: Olga Rolenko/ Getty)
From April 2027, retirement savings will be included when the tax bill for those inheriting money is calculated (Photo: Malte Mueller/Getty)
The pay
The salary van vary from £25 to £50k, but you can earn around £100k depending on commission.
Jobs to switch to in your fifties
Some estate agents give high valuations to drum up business (Photo: Monkey Business Images/Getty/iStockphoto)
Estate agent
It offers flexible hours and weekend staff can earn £15 per hour.
Training
This form of coaching for businesses could earn around £250 to £1,000 per day.
Caption: portrait of confident senior business man holding digital tablet in modern office
Photographer: zeljkosantrac
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
(Photo: Getty).
Sales
In the lower end, a sales rep can make £30k and on the higher end £50-60k, plus commission.
Why coaching is a good option
Coaching is incredibly varied and can be anything from career coaching, to confidence and leadership coaching.
As it is an unregulated industry, you don’t need qualifications but the more reputable option is the International Coaching Federation.
It’s a great career option for older people because clients genuinely value your wealth of life experience.
It’s flexible, scalable, and you can start doing it part-time alongside another role.
It could make you anything from £200 an hour, all the way up to £500 p/h+.
Even though the NHS Pension scheme is envied by many for its generosity, those working for the NHS facing financial struggles are choosing to opt out (Photo: Getty Images)
Consulting
This can be across HR, operations, marketing, finance, people strategy or project management, as it’s varied.
A huge number of businesses now want expertise without having to hire full-time staff so there is a big job market for freelance consultants.
Price on value, not hours – if your advice saves a client £200k, charging £150 an hour undersells what you’re worth.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
No more orange juice. (Photo via pixaby)
It’s estimated ultra processed foods make up at least half of the average UK diet (Photo: Getty)
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Caption: Gail’s croissant
Image taken from https://gails.com/collections/breakfast/products/croissant
Croissants
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
It is mostly carbohydrate and without protein or fibre, it is digested quickly, leaving you feeling hungry.
Caption: Toasted bread and white background
Photographer: Daniel Tamas Mehes
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: Minden jog fenntartva!
Yakitori’s on the menu at the Japanese restaurant – but what exactly is it? (Photo: Reuters)
Sushi
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Sarawak laksa is one of many varieties of this noodle soup (Photo: Tham Kee Chuan/Getty)
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Pizza
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Best pizza in Britain named – and owner reveals the secret to its success (Photo: James Linsell Clark/SWNS)
The Government has announced that the sugar tax will be extended to milkshakes (Photo: Scott Suchman)
Smoothies
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
‘Aged 14, I started what I considered to be my own little business selling confectionary,’ writes Beauty Dhlamini (Photo: Getty)
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
Which yoghurts are the best options? (Unsplash)
Caption: BANGKOK, THAILAND – OCTOBER 17: A “KT Herbalist”, a Kratom cocktail made from Kratom, coffee and siamese herbs is seen at Teens of Thailand, a bar in Bangkok’s Chinatown on October 17, 2021 in Bangkok, Thailand. In April 2021, the start of Thailand’s third and most deadly wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai government banned the sale of alcohol in restaurants and bars, crippling the already suffering food and beverage industry. With a lack of government aid and support, some bars have shuttered their doors in hopes of reopening post-lockdown, while others shuttered their doors for good. But six months into Thailand’s most recent lockdown, Niks Anuman-Rajadhon, owner of Teens of Thailand, a gin bar located in a renovated shophouse in Bangkok’s Chinatown, decided that instead of waiting for the government to allow the sale of alcohol again, they would take advantage of Thailand’s recent legalization of Kratom. Kratom is a locally grown herbal drug with mild opioid and stimulant effects and was reclassified from a type-5 narcotic to a legal-to-grow herb in August 2021. While Thailand prepares for a tentative reopening on November 1st, the alcohol ban and curfew are set to continue, leaving business owners questioning if the country can revive its suffering tourism industry. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Photographer: Lauren DeCicca
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
Alcohol
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
How to age well
without pain
Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.
How to know
Ageing well is maintaining the ability to do what you want you want for as long as you want without needing help. Everyone is talking about longevity but what’s the point in living longer if the last decade is painful and you’re [totally] reliant on people?”
The signs to look out for
Senior woman on sofa feeling and suffering from back pain. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
The most obvious early warning sign of bad ageing is pain says Harlow.
Another is losing confidence in doing daily tasks, which can quickly lead to a lack of independence.
One call Harlow often receives is people calling after having a fall and struggling to get up.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
How to age without pain
Many will worry about not saving enough for retirement (Photo: Alex Tihonov/Getty/Moment RF)
Not just stopping
When people retire, they often put their feet up and stop. Your body really is use it or lose it.
Sleep
Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.
Naps before 1pm can lead to better cognitive performance in the following hours (Photo: Lord Henri Voton/Getty Images)
Caption: Maribel Ezcurra, 77, a retired milling machine mechanic, practices tai chi with fellow seniors in a park in the Playa neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Photographer: Ramon Espinosa
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Social isolation
The lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death by
as much as 29 per cent.
Strength training
It really is the proxy for
overall independence.
The more muscle mass you have, the less chance of heart disease, diabetes, falls and even anxiety, depression and dementia.
Caption: This is a photo of a senior man helping his wife lift weights. See PA Feature HEALTH Physio. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA feature HEALTH Physio. PA Photo.Picture credit should read: Alamy/PA.
NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature HEALTH Physio.
Photographer: Alamy
Provider: Alamy/PA
Source: PA
The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.
How to age without pain
Daily habits
Do short bursts of exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, in otherwise dead time during the day.
Fit more walking into your day (Photo: andreswd/Getty/E+)
Sleep can affect your heart health (Photo: Flashpop/Getty/Digital Vision)
Stretch in bed
Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.
Don’t crash diet
It can increase the decline of muscle mass and bone density, which needs to be avoided.
Calorie counting every day can be a pain (Photo: Getty)
How to age without pain
(Photo: Inga Erhan/ Gingagi/ Getty).
Protein
Harlow advises 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight to stop muscle loss alongside resistance training.
Don’t wait
Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain.
Menstrual pain, woman with stomachache suffering from pms at home, endometriosis, cystitis and other diseases of the urinary system – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Caption: Close-up view of female jogger tying laces of her sport shoes before running exercise routine. Motivation, healthy lifestyle and fitness concept.
Photographer: Xavier Lorenzo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Recovery
For most people, it’s about reducing the number of times per week you’re exercising, not reducing intensity.
The three ageing tests to do
Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12.
The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.
Despite the job market hiring fewer entry-level roles, employers are still looking for grads…
But you should be prepared to keep an open mind.
We’ve compiled the sectors hiring graduate roles, what degree is required, and what they pay.
Plan 5 applies to students who began university courses on or after August 2023
(Photo: Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Getty Images/
Source: Moment RF)
The degrees to choose for a career
Hiring in the UK could
finally be on the up
47%
of employers offered entry-level
positions from July.
That is up nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year.
700,000
But graduate unemployment rose to six per cent in 2025 and 700,000 jobless graduates were claiming benefits.
Finance and insurance
Around 42 per cent of UK finance and insurance employers say they will be open to graduate roles this summer.
Business loan company Portman Finance Group has taken on 50 graduates over the past four years.
A lot of thought needs to be put into transferring a DB pension to a DC pot (Photo: Getty Images)
Portman graduates start on £36,000 for the two-year programme and the education you need to apply is a minimum “ABB” of A-levels, and a 2:1 or above university degree. But not in a specific subject.
Loose, natural fabrics are the best clothing option when the temperature rises (Photo: Kate Wieser/Getty)
Trade and logistics
What makes it particularly rewarding is that there’s always something to learn.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trade and logistics companies will be giving graduates a go this year.
Salaries start at £30,000 with an uncapped bonus, rising to £50,000 plus a company car as a senior account partner.
Technology and IT
More than half (52 per cent) of UK tech and IT firms are actively looking for graduates.
Successful entry-level candidates can earn a basic salary of up to £35,000, with the opportunity to triple that within their first three years of working.
Caption: Young business woman searching for job online. Woman writing resume on laptop.
Photographer: Maria Korneeva
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Public sector, health
and social services
46 per cent of public sector, health and social services organisations are also ready to take graduates, according to a survey by Manpower.
A policeman walking away from an elderly person’s home. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
For example, Police Now runs a graduate programme into policing. They recruit graduates from any degree field, as long as they achieve a 2:2 or above. Starting salaries range from £31,164 to £42,210 depending on location and rising each year.
Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?
According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.
The i Paper food writer Sophie Morris [below] asks chefs for their best ideas for hosting at home.
Always have bread
People will feast on the
bread, and then need less fish/steak/expensive whatever. All small plates restaurants know this: this is why the first thing on the menu is always artisan bread and butter.
ELLA RISBRIDGER, AUTHOR OF THE KITCHEN BOOK – GOOD FOOD FOR EVERY DAY
Female Hands cutting bread. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Use vegetables as centrepieces
Chef and food writer Helen Graham turns vegetables into centrepieces to cut down on meat and fish expenses.
Variety Fresh of organic fruits and vegetables and healthy vegan meal ingredients in reusable eco cotton bags on beige background . Zero waste shopping concept. Healthy food, clean eating, eco friendly, no plastic. Flat lay, top view – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Beautiful woman unpacks a full fabric bag with fruits and vegetables on the kitchen. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Add pantry items
Graham’s recipes include a braised cabbage with a preserved lemon sauce, a roast cauliflower with saffron, and harrisa roast carrots with mango labneh.
How to host on a budget
Many of the dishes we take for granted in British curry joints are entirely unlike anything you might find to eat in the subcontinent (Photo: Getty/E+)
Improve the everyday
Guests will always appreciate a stellar interpretation of the ordinary. Think lasagna or curry.
Generosity
Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.
(Photo: FilippoBacci/Getty Images/E+)
Man serving friends salad at backyard dinner party – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Ask for help
Ask friends to bring a contribution, be it a nibble or a pudding.
Big platter energy
[Presentation] can be the key to elevating something . Spaghetti and tomato sauce suddenly looks like a feast when tumbled on a lovely big plate, dressed with olive oil and parmesan and placed in the middle of the table.
Food writer and editor Eleanor Steafel
Entertaining doesn’t have to be stressful (Photo: The Good Brigade/Getty/Digital Vision)
How to host on a budget
Taco party
Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.
Traditional ice cream parlours are still going strong (Shutterstock)
Tacos are a popular dish throughout the country (Photo: Daniela White Images/Getty)
Sundaes
Shop-bought ice cream is so easily zhuzhed up with the help of handy toppings, says Eleanor Steafel.
Dozens of universities are involved with the UOTC, which has 15 units across 27 training locations. The i Paper joined one cohort for a recent training exercise in The Netherlands.
The UOTC contribution to British security is not easily quantified. But, as in the World Wars, its strongest suit may be the leaders it could offer the military in wartime.
Army officers are trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, but just 1,000 or so cadets graduate each year. There are plans to expand the facility, but it could still struggle to fulfil the requirements of a large-scale war.
Lieutenant Colonel Simon Pollitt, who leads the Yorkshire UOTC, said his unit could offer the Army the ability to scale up at pace.
“We know that during conventional warfare, the standing Army is going to have a high attrition rate in the opening few months or weeks, and so it’s about how we generate the next wave,” he said.
“The UOTC was set up to generate a cohort of people where we’ve already invested in and their education that could be commissioned in a national emergency. By running this constant cadence, we know what we’re doing if we need to.”
A student learns urban warfare in The Netherlands. Army officers are trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Photo: Molly Blackall)
But there’s a catch. Under their contracts, the university officer cadets don’t have any commitments to the military and can’t be called up unless they join a reservist or regular military unit. Last year, just 45 Army Reserve officers were commissioned through the UOTC.
Call-ups would only be issued in the case of a widespread mobilisation of soldiers. In that scenario, Pollitt believes they would be well placed for leadership roles.
“If we’re going into a large-scale war, there will be some changes in policy, and there might be some form of conscription or similar. The point is that we’ve already invested a level of training in them, and that they’re already at a state that could mobilise,” he said.
In wartime, UOTC graduates could also become leaders in non-military sectors.
“There are also people that we need to run industry and other areas of defence that aren’t deploying,” Pollitt said. “A lot of my students from Sheffield are in technical degrees, and they may end up being critical to the war effort in a different way than deploying.”
The Corps also recruits officers in peacetime, with around 40 per cent of the course participants going on to join the regulars or reserves. Most trainees who spoke to The i Paper said they were at least considering a career in the military.
More than 200 University Officer Cadets, supported by 40 instructors, trained alongside Dutch counterparts bolstering their front line warfighting skills during a two-week training exercise in The Netherlands (Photo: Mark Owens/British Army/MoD Crown)
The UOTC was also designed to strengthen the relationship between the military and universities, to endear young people to the military and upskill the population as part of “a general national resilience”, Pollitt said.
Supporters argue it is one of the cheaper military programmes, but it still requires staff and funding. The scheme is run by more than 400 military staff on part-time contracts, as well as more than 100 military and civil full-time employees.
Students are also paid for their training; roughly £50 to £63 per day of training, equating to around £1,600 per academic year. With 1,400 cadets recruited each year, the costs run well into the millions.
At a time of strained defence spending – when Andy Burnham’s new Government is scrambling to fill a £4.7bn black hole in military funding and hospital, train line and housing projects facing the chop to fund defence – the UOTC faces questions over the value it offers.
But Sir Julian Brazier, a former minister for the reserves and reservist officer, believes that the scheme is vital to the UK’s ability to sustain a long-term fight.
“If you are preparing for a national war, rather than a war of choice like Iraq or Afghanistan, the essence of sustainability is the ability to expand,” he told The i Paper. “As the last chief of general staff put it: professional armies start wars, citizen armies finish them.”
The greater challenge for expansion is producing officers rather than soldiers, he adds. “You can train a soldier in basic skills in a very short space of time. In Ukraine, they take as little as eight weeks. But producing officers is much more difficult.”
Allies that don’t have conscription models such as Australia and the US have more training options for officers than the UK, which is reliant on Sandhurst, said Brazier.
“The whole of the expansion of the British Army, in the event of war, has a single point of potential failure, which is Sandhurst,” he said.
The former minister does not believe contracts for the students should be changed to allow them to be called up. He believes that many will find their way into the forces anyway.
At a time of strained defence spending, the UOTC faces questions over the value it offers (Photo: Mark Owens British Army/ MoD Crown)
“Subjecting them to the idea that you can call them out for an operation short of total war, I think, is a bad idea,” he said. “I think if there was a war, almost all of the good ones would volunteer anyway.”
Paul O’Neill, a former RAF officer and Ministry of Defence official with responsibility for recruitment, now a senior associate fellow at defence think-tank Rusi, said that the scheme was popular within the military – but one of its core ideas might be out of date.
The UOTC was intended to build connections between the military and the nation’s future leaders. When it was created in the 1900s, just 5 per cent of the population went to university, so they were likely to make up the future elites. Today, the figure is around 50 per cent.
“If you’re lobbying for funding, having a group of influential people who believe in what you’re trying to achieve and who understand the threats that are being faced [is useful],” O’Neill said. “It was very much about creating a favourable environment amongst those who would eventually go on to become elites within society and that, I don’t think, is any longer true.
The UOTC still creates that societal awareness among the scheme’s participants and their networks, O’Neill said and could “play an important role in creating this whole of society approach and understanding of the role of defence and the risks facing the nation”.
It also “generates talent and the nation’s human capital” – even if the youngsters never join the military.
But the scheme may need a clearer objective. To make the UOTC more useful today, O’Neill suggests it could give a broader education with less of the expensive military-specific training, with the money saved used to increase the number of participants.
“There is a potential role within this idea of homeland defence for the university units, which may or may not require them in uniform, but would give you a valuable role and potentially a better return on the investment,” he said.