Commodore BRNC has overall responsibility for the University Royal Naval Units (URNUs). There are currently 14 URNUs supporting the UK's leading Universities in England, Wales and Scotland. The organisation's Mission is to:

"Educate a wide spectrum of high calibre undergraduates who show potential as society's future leaders and opinion formers in order to better inform them of the need for and role of the Royal Navy, and to develop awareness of career opportunities in the Service."

Each URNU is commanded by a Royal NavyLieutenant who is responsible for 51 undergraduates who each join the URNU as Royal NavyReservists for their three years at University. Training is conducted one evening a week in shore units at or near the University and at sea, over the weekends and during the vacations, by a dedicated Archer Class P2000 20 metre Patrol craft.

The 14 URNUs are located at the following Universities, and recruit from an area within one hour travelling on public transport:

• Aberdeen, Glasgow & Strathclyde
• Manchester & Salford, Northumbria
• Liverpool, Yorkshire (based at Hull)
• Birmingham, Wales (based at Cardiff)
• Bristol, Oxford
• London, Cambridge
• Southampton, Sussex

The URNU/First Patrol Boat Squadron headquarters is a combined office at Portsmouth responsible for the administration and support of both the shore Units and the associated P2000 ships.

The University Office

The University Office at BRNC is responsible for the pastoral care of all Sponsored Undergraduates (SU) at University. The office is headed up by a Lieutenant, the University Training Officer, and a civilian assistant.

The office is responsible for looking after 220 SUs who have either been given the opportunity to study at University after joining the Royal Navyand spending a year at BRNC (University Cadet Entrants), or before they embark on a naval career (Bursars). Their degrees range from Anthropology to Engineering to Zoology at 50 universities across the UK. Sponsored Medical Cadets are also administered by the office. The financial level of sponsorship varies on each of the schemes.

Two other P2000s (HMS Pursuer and HMS Dasher) were relocated to Cyprus in 2002 to form a new "Cyprus Squadron", and these are used to patrol the waters around the Sovereign Base Area (SBA). HMS Ranger is currently part of the Gibraltar Squadron but is planned to return to the UK in 2004 to bring the URNUs back up to full strength with respect to allocated vessels.

All enquiries should be directed to the University Office on 01803 677281

Contact Details

Staff Officer URNU - 02392 725057

Further information about each URNU and its training boat can be found here