We look forward to welcoming you to the Defence Leadership and Business Group.
The Defence Leadership and Business Group (DLaB) is one of three groups at the Defence Academy. Comprised of three centres, DLaB delivers leadership, business, and spiritual education to the UK and its partners. They collaborate with other organisations in the defence enterprise: government, academia, industry, and international partners to ensure course members are equipped with the skills and networks they need to succeed in business, leadership, and spiritual roles.
Please bring photo ID.
Please arrive in good time and ensure that you have contact details for your visit sponsor upon arrival.
If you are travelling by vehicle, please abide by the 20mph speed limit and adhere to the Highway Code when commuting across site.
The Defence Academy is a smoke-free and vape-free site. For information surrounding our smoking policy, please contact your visit sponsor.
Internet access
Guest Wi-Fi is available in most buildings on site. Phone signal is available in most areas on site.
Toilet facilities
Single-gender, gender-neutral, and disabled toilets are available across site.
Coats and bags
There are allocated areas to leave coats and bags. Please note, items are left at their owner’s risk.
Food and drink
In addition to any refreshments your host may have arranged for you, the Grass Roots Café and Fieldhouse Café are centrally located. The cafés are open to staff, students, and visitors. They offer a range of hot and cold drinks and meals, open-plan seating areas equipped with electrical sockets, and accept cash and card payment.
We are keen to showcase our collaborations and partnerships with other nations and organisations, so our Communications Team may reach out to you before, during, or after your visit. We also encourage you to talk about your time here. See some of the options available below:
Photography by the Defence Academy
To mark your visit, our Communications Team may ask to take photos of you while you are here. These photos will be used on the Defence Academy’s, and possibly MOD’s website, social media, and internal communications systems.
If a photographer is present during your visit, they will make themselves known to you. If you do not wish to be photographed, please let the photographer know. They will be able to anonymise photos (e.g. by only including the backs of heads) or may decide not to cover the visit at all.
If photos are planned for external use, you may request digital copies of the photos taken during your visit. Due to MOD licensing rules these will need to be attributed to ‘Crown Copyright’.
Taking photos yourself
If agreed with your visit sponsor, you are welcome to take your own photos within areas of DLaB activity. However, for security reasons we ask that you do not take photos of classified information, security systems, or people who have not given you their explicit permission to be photographed.
Please note, different areas of Shrivenham Station have different rules surrounding photography. If you visit areas other than those listed above, please check the photography rules with your visit sponsor before taking photos.
Sharing your visit
We encourage you to publicise your visit to DLaB. For security reasons, we ask that you do not post publicly about your visit beforehand. However, once you have left Shrivenham Station, we look forward to seeing your coverage on social media (unless there are specific sensitivities told to you by your sponsor).
You can engage with the Defence Academy on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or LinkedIn. To request copies of photos or official quotes from Defence Academy representatives, please contact the Communications Team via the ‘Contact us’ form, selecting ‘Media enquiry’, on our website. They will be happy to assist before and after your visit.
In a typical year, DLaB delivers over 100 courses between the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre (AFCC), Business Skills Centre, and Defence Leadership Centre.
AFCC has received official accreditation from the Chartered Management Institute for their modern chaplaincy courses.
DLaB is supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of Op INTERFLEX.
Please use this site map to navigate during your time with us. The map highlights your route, parking, emergency evacuation points, and the nearest food and retail outlets to your area of visit.
