Royal Academy

The sole establishment for initial officer training in the British Army since 1972, and unified for all officers since 1992.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) serves as the British Army's initial officer training centre, commonly known simply as Sandhurst. Located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, its ceremonial entrance sits in Camberley, Surrey, straddling the counties with the Wish Stream marking the border. All British Army officers, including late-entry senior non-commissioned officers and Warrant Officers, are trained here alongside men and women from overseas. It stands as the army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, having formed in 1946 through the amalgamation of the Royal Military College (Sandhurst) and the Royal Military Academy (Woolwich).

Quick Facts

Location: Town of Sandhurst, Berkshire (ceremonial entrance in Camberley, Surrey)
Affiliation: British Army
Primary function: Initial officer training centre
Status: Active

Lore & Background

Sandhurst's history is defined by significant mergers and structural shifts. Founded on the site of the former Royal Military College (established in 1802) and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich (founded in 1741), it became the exclusive training ground for male officers after closing the Mons Officer Cadet School in 1972. The academy unified male, female, and overseas cadets under a single Commissioning Course in 1992, following the 1984 merger of the Women's Officer Training College Bagshot. Notable moments include hosting the modern pentathlon running leg during the 1948 Summer Olympics and the controversial renaming of Mons Hall to King Hamad Hall in 2013 after a £3 million donation from Bahrain. In 2015, Colonel Lucy Giles became the first female college commander.

Reader's Guide

Training at RMAS is rigorous and highly selective. Candidates are identified by the Army Officer Selection Board in Westbury, Wiltshire, where nearly 10% of cadets are female and another 10% come from overseas; over 80% hold university degrees, though none are required. Instructors undergo a demanding 3–4 week cadre selecting 30 senior non-commissioned officers from 60 candidates. The Regular Commissioning Course lasts 44 weeks for direct entry officers, while the Short Commissioning Course runs eight weeks for reserve and professionally qualified personnel. A Late Entry Officer Course exists for senior soldiers. Although not a university itself, Sandhurst partners with the Open University to award 120 credit points toward an Honours Degree in International Studies, or allows non-graduates to earn a BSc from the University of Reading.

Did You Know?

A significant proportion of entrants are university graduates, although a degree is not required for admission.
In 2019, an inquest into the death of cadet Olivia Perks found that the army missed opportunities to prevent her suicide due to unrecognized signs of stress.