Almost three dozen Voronezh high school students sat at their desks in military uniform this year. After going through a serious competition and tough selection, they became the first students of the new cadet engineering school for gifted children. The cadets had at their disposal spacious classrooms and laboratories with the most modern equipment and the opportunity to continue their career at the Air Force Academy.

A regular physics lesson at a cadet engineering school. All students wear 3D glasses. On the screens is a model of an aircraft engine. “You can look at it from all sides, from all angles and see how the engine works in dynamics,” explains the teacher.

By moving the computer mouse, any detail can be examined in great detail, even the movement of pistons and the operation of valves. The cadets say that such classes cannot be compared with lessons in secondary schools.

“At school, for example, at most they will just show some figure, and nothing else. But here you can see a hologram, and it will tell you in more detail. Better than any cinema,” says cadet Fyodor Sankov.

To get to these desks, they all went through a strict selection process. Out of more than 100 applicants, only 29 successfully completed the entrance examination.

“On the aptitude test, too, a lot of people dropped out. And in the end, only the best of the best reached the tests for academic subjects,” says cadet Alexander Gusev.

Now they live and study in the new cadet corps. Their first half of the day is spent in classrooms. They solve problems and write dictations. In the second - practical and elective classes.

The cadet school itself was created at the Voronezh Air Force Academy. It is on the basis of its departments that some of the classes take place. For example, in the audience they can not only tell, but also show an airplane. It just doesn't take off. Engines are disabled. Otherwise, all systems work properly.

“You will move the control stick of the plane, you can move the pedals, and everything will react - left and right, back and forth. Feel like an operator of an aviation complex - that is, a pilot,” the teacher says to one of the cadets.

“I didn’t expect such a multifunctional aircraft. Again, this is a lot of new sensations,” says cadet Dmitry Borunov.

Some people like the profession of an airplane pilot, others choose helicopters. There are also those who see themselves as a design engineer. Many also attend an optional course on unmanned aerial vehicles. For this purpose, the school management specially purchased several quadcopters.

“To learn how to change course, this will happen after two weeks of continuous flights every day,” the teacher promises.

They have only been here for two weeks, but have already firmly decided to link their future fate with the army. Everyone dreams of becoming cadets at the Air Force Academy after graduating from school.

“They themselves dream, and we would like this, so that their talent does not go unnoticed, so that it is in demand in our country, and so that it, naturally, is useful for our state,” hopes the head of the Air Force Academy. N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin Gennady Zibrov.

In the meantime, there are two difficult academic years ahead. According to the school management, all this time the students will have to prove that they are worthy of the title of cadets. There will be no concessions for anyone. If you study, then only with “excellent” grades.

The first cadet school of aviation engineers in Russia opened at the Air Force Academy named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin in Voronezh in 2015. There are two similar cadet corps only in St. Petersburg - at the Military Academy of Communications and the Military Institute of Physical Education. A RIA Voronezh correspondent visited a unique school and saw how the cadets who passed the strict selection live and learn.

Why is a cadet corps needed?

For the same thing as graduating classes any school – completion of complete general education and preparation for entering universities. The main difference between the cadet school is that only boys who have completed 9th grade are accepted here secondary school, have a penchant for engineering sciences and have an excellent knowledge of mathematics, physics and computer science. Graduates of the corps will not have any advantages over other applicants (including to the Air Force Academy itself), except for enhanced engineering training - it may also be useful when entering civilian universities and institutions.

What kind of preparation is this?

Students of the cadet school are trained according to secondary general education programs for grades 10 and 11, but with integrated programs aimed at developing creativity and the formation of scientific interests of gifted children. To involve them in research activities, taking into account military professional orientation, once a week the guys go to classes at the faculties that exist at the Air Force Academy.

How to enter the cadet corps?

Upon admission, the children had to pass exams in general education subjects, and undergo physical training testing, a medical examination, and professional selection.

During the first intake of future cadets, the competition for admission to the engineering school was 2 people per place. With a recruitment plan of 40 people, only 29 were able to enroll - the selection of candidates was so strict.

We did not chase the number of 40 people, but recruited exactly those children with whom we could actually work. We are making very big strides forward here, we cannot delay and wait for those lagging behind to catch up,

Vladimir Shevchuk

head of the cadet corps

A gifted student from any region can become a cadet at an engineering school. The first intake into the cadet corps included guys from Voronezh and the Voronezh region, Rostov, Belgorod and Lipetsk regions and the Republic of Crimea.

How else is the building different from the school?

Teachers in general education disciplines also passed the strictest selection process. All of them are the best teachers in Voronezh schools, having passed a competition of 8 to 20 people per place, depending on the discipline. Classes in military specialties are taught by senior officers of the academy.

In addition to the mandatory classrooms in the basic cycle subjects of the federal component, four specialized classes have been additionally created in the cadet corps: a class of mechanics and unmanned aerial vehicles, a class of electronics, radio electronics and nanoelectronics, a laboratory of optical research and technology, and a laboratory of thermodynamics and heat transfer.

– If you look at the schedule, they have a maximum of one hour of free time throughout the day. “Everything else is studying: additional classes in 16 disciplines in addition to the main ones, plus several specialized classes and enhanced physical training,” said Vladimir Shevchuk.

Where do the engineering school cadets live?

Especially for the cadet corps, a separate 4-story building was built on the territory of the academy, inside which there are classrooms, laboratories, a dining room, recreation rooms and bedrooms.

The residential area occupies the 3rd and 4th floors and is divided into small sections. Each section has two rooms for two cadets, a shower, a toilet and a dressing room. In the same area there are several rest rooms.

All the guys are on state support. In addition, they receive a small allowance.

What do cadets do during the day?

The cadet's morning begins at 6:20, and only on Sunday you can sleep longer - until 7:20. As in any military university, the morning is scheduled minute by minute: making beds, washing, formation, exercises, breakfast. From 8:30 to 14:10 training sessions in classrooms. Just like at school, everyone training lesson lasts 45 minutes. After lessons there is a break for lunch, and then another 2 hours of additional classes in special disciplines. Then another 2 hours of self-study. Also, the daily schedule must include classes in sports sections, circles and clubs. At 22:00 – lights out.

When should you rest?

The only day off is Sunday. Twice a month - from Saturday to Sunday - cadets from Voronezh have the right to receive leave and go home. Those who remain in the cadet corps (there are usually 3-4 people) are taken on excursions around the city by the officer on duty, the teacher or the head of the school. On Sundays, when there are no days off, all personnel of the cadet corps go on excursions around Voronezh or the Voronezh region. The engineering school has vacations that coincide in time with vacations in regular schools. In addition, on Saturdays and Sundays, relatives and friends of cadets can come to the corps.

The Cadet Corps, also known as the engineering school, opened at the Air Force Academy. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin September 1, 2015. A class of 29 boys was recruited who had completed 9 grades of regular schools and had a penchant for mathematics, physics and computer science. Before entering the cadet corps, the guys lived mainly in Voronezh and the Voronezh region, but there are students from other regions - Rostov, Belgorod, Lipetsk regions and the Republic of Crimea. Four engineering school students are from military families.

Head of the VUNTS Air Force “Air Force Academy named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin" Gennady Zibrov and the head of the engineering school Vladimir Shevchuk showed the head of the region the main premises of the new building: classrooms, including those equipped with specialized equipment, a medical block, a dining room, a library and a residential floor. The engineering school is designed for 80 students - 40 people each in the 10th and 11th grades, if we draw an analogy with general education. But this year, one 10th grade class was recruited, since the cadet corps had just begun its activities. On next year, when today's students move on to the next course, another class will be recruited. This year there were many people who wanted to enroll, but only 29 people who showed a sufficient level of knowledge passed the competitive selection. Basically, cadets live at school, in rooms of two, and on weekends they either get leave to go home or spend time with classmates and teaching officers, attending various excursions within the region.

Gennady Zibrov noted that the four-story building of the cadet corps was built in just five months, and the quality of work and finishing did not cause any comments. The technical content of the classrooms is also at a high level. The governor entered a specialized class in optics and radio electronics and a class in mechanics and unmanned aerial vehicles, where cadets demonstrated the knowledge they had acquired since the beginning of the school year.

By the end of 2015, four more specialized classrooms will be equipped to train students in specialized disciplines - aircraft and aircraft engine structures, and radio-electronic technologies.

This is a unique institution of general education. Three of these have been created in the country with the assistance of the Russian Ministry of Defense. We can say that this is a target set of guys who want to become military. Talented, active, prepared people are accepted here, and it is important for us that today 70 percent of students are Voronezh boys. Children and their parents can pay attention to this institution and prepare already in primary school“to enroll and get a good education here, not only in terms of knowledge, but also good physical training, moral education, that is, to become a full-fledged citizen,” emphasized Alexey Gordeev.

He especially noted the energy, optimism of the students and the fact that they enjoy studying at the engineering school, and that they took a responsible approach to choosing their future profession.

We are glad that such an institution has appeared. Our Air Force Academy is the largest military university, solving many military problems. Such an integrated multidisciplinary approach is not only prestigious and important for the development of the defense capability of the country’s Armed Forces, but also sets high level education in the Voronezh region in general. One can only thank the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the head of the academy and look up to what is being done here,” the governor said.