Paget Primary School pupils reported for duty at Warwick Camp yesterday and completed a gruelling obstacle course.

The squad from the Active Learner Programme at Paget Primary School, who are on the autism spectrum, dressed in combat gear, scaled a wall, scrambled over the balance bars and crawled through barbed wire traps.

The trip was organised by Royal Bermuda Regiment Sergeant Major Rupert Lambert, assisted by Sergeant Major Luis Pereira.

Sergeant Major Lambert’s son, Rico, aged 9, is on the Active Learner Programme so he was “happy to oblige” when the school approached the RBR.

He said: “They really enjoyed themselves. They just took to it one time so that was exciting. The teachers did it as well and they did all right too.”

Sergeant Major Lambert said: “It’s great for the regiment to be involved in the community we serve and this is one of the ways we can do that.”

The youngsters were also given army-style dog tags and military-issue water bottles as souvenirs of their visit.

Freda Trimm, a special aid teacher at Paget Primary, said: “A part of our programme is teaching the students life and functional skills.

“In trying to reach the goal of self-sufficiency and achieving whatever level the students can achieve, it is felt that teamwork, skills acquisition and solution-focused thinking is important.

“The obstacle course and soldiering principles allow the children to realise the behaviours and attitude which would last them for many years to come.”

The outing was one of several events the pupils, aged from five to ten, have taken part in as part of Autism Awareness Month.