A FORMER Bridley Moor High School pupil has been commissioned into the Parachute Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant following a year's training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.

Officer Cadet Jonathan Cox, 22, who also went to Walkwood Middle School, previously graduated with a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Warwick.

During his time in the army, Jon completed an expedition to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and gained mountaineering qualifications.

But the highlight of his time at Sandhurst was completing a military skills competition at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The Sandhurst team won for the 12th successive year despite stiff competition from more than 50 teams from the US and Canada.

Having already completed the gruelling selection course for the Airborne Forces, known as P-Company, Jon is now attending the Platoon Commander's Battle Course in Warminster before being trained in military parachuting at RAF Brize Norton.

In his first posting, he will command a rifle platoon of 30 paratroopers from the elite regiment, part of the 16 Air Assault Brigade.