Army Foundation College The Army Foundation College in Harrogate ( abbreviated AFC ( H ) ) trains future soldiers from the infantry , armoured corps , artillery and elements of the Royal Logistic Corps ( RLC ) . School - leavers aged between 16 and 17 years and five months of age are eligible to join . The AFC ( H ) offers young men and women the opportunity to learn as they earn experience in battle . Through military training and vocational education , soldiers under training gain the soldiering skills needed for the British Army . Situated in Uniacke Barracks , which is located in Harrogate , North Yorkshire , AFC ( H ) opened in 1998 . The barracks was notably and continually used for trainee junior soldiers from 1947 until August 1996 as a part of the Army Apprentices School , Harrogate , which was later renamed to the Army Apprentices College , Harrogate . Mission . The mission of the AFC ( H ) is to train and educate junior soldiers in order to Training . All soldiers under training must complete Phase 1 training before moving on to a Phase 2 ( special to arms ) training establishment . Training for a soldier includes : On top of the basic Phase 1 course , which lasts for 20 weeks , junior soldiers undertake an extra 22 weeks at AFC ( H ) ; during these extra weeks , junior soldiers take classes that include vocational education , military studies , and leadership and initiative training , all of which are taken before any further trade training at the appropriate arms and service - specific Phase 2 training school . Vocational education . Treated as adult learners , all soldiers under training at AFC ( H ) undertake vocational education ( VE ) , designed to help young soldiers train for their future jobs within whichever cap badge they have chosen . The VE programme has proven to aid promotion for soldiers trained at AFC ( H ) . Wherever possible , learning materials will involve real military documents , exercises and working situations . The AFC ( H ) tries to gain all soldiers under training additional qualifications and tutors are employed to aid course planning . Additional learning support is available for soldiers with specific learning difficulties or basic skills deficiencies . Soldiers may have an apprenticeship for IT Users , which includes a Level 2 National Vocational Qualification ( NVQ2 ) . There is also the opportunity to gain modules of the European Computer Driving Licence ( ECDL ) . Application of Number and Communication Skills is a Maths and English class used in an Army career . Soldiers with no previous qualifications will reach Level 1 or Level 2 ( GCSE standard ) . Those with a GCSE or equivalent pass already will work towards Level 3 . Soldiers capbadged to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Royal Engineers will do an additional technical course that includes another NVQ2 in Performing Engineering Operations ( PEO2 ) , involving work in the workshops . Military Studies . Military studies ( MS ) instructor officers from the Educational and Training Services Branch teach soldiers about the military . The subjects taught include : In addition to the classroom education , all Junior Soldiers visit Normandy , France on a ' Realities of War ' tour to see the core values in the actions of those that fought in the Invasion of Normandy . The officers and NCOs from Harrogate , many of them veterans of operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan , compare their own experiences to those of the soldiers who fought during the D - Day campaign . Leadership and initiative training . Leadership and initiative training ( L & IT ) aims to take soldiers to develop them as team leaders and team members . This development takes place over five one - week packages spread over the year so that soldiers have a chance to consolidate and build on areas before returning . The packages are : Permanent staff . Permanent staff ( PS ) are mostly from the British Army and represent what most capbadges have to offer . The PS represent their parent unit whilst serving at AFC ( H ) . Command development . Whilst " character development " is what the AFC seeks to achieve with soldiers under training , " command development " is the term used for the training that members of permanent staff must undertake . Training includes mandatory professional development , providing the motivational tools to help leaders / instructors gain the best from soldiers under training , and teaching and coaching qualifications .