Watch: New class of corporals given stripes at RAF Cosford

Friends and family joined the new officers at a formal graduation ceremony and less formal celebration at the Cosford airbase.

After an arduous nine-month course, 13 new physical training instructors will now take up posts across the UK and beyond, responsible for the fitness of the air force.

Having completed 10 weeks of basic training the recruits, most fresh out of school, college or university, then had to undergo rigorous entry trials to get on the course.

Stacey Mellor, from RAF Cosford, said: "They're going to be posted to a unit and basically will be trusted to keep that unit fit - to a standard that is fighting fit.

"You have to know how to get the best out of people."

She said they could be even be deployed overseas, as PTIs could find themselves running gyms at places like Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

"Everyone who does PTI training comes here first - nowhere else does it," she said.

Cpl Jordan Kirk-Ellis, 21, from Nottingham, won best overall student and will be going on to be an initial officer trainer at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire.

He said: "It fills you with pride really. There couldn't have been a better group of lads to work through he 39 weeks with."

Cpl George Westpfel, 23, from Sidcup, who won best practical, said: "I'm just ecstatic, it's a relief and a dream come true.

"The course has been enjoyable as a whole, some parts of it were difficult but what I've always wanted to do.

"I'll be going straight to RAF Cranwell tomorrow to get settled in and I'll start work next week."

He said he would, however, find time to attend the wedding of fellow graduate Cpl Owen Collins, who will have double cause for celebration.

It was co-incidence, however, the 25-year-old Cpl Collins, who will be stationed at RAF Brize Norton close to his home in Oxfordshire, said.

"We booked it a long time ago and the graduation just happened to fall on this weekend," he said.

He said four of his fellow graduates would be at the wedding in Reading tomorrow, with the rest invited to the evening do.