We look forward to welcoming you to the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
The Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is one of two colleges at the Defence Academy. JSCSC equips future leaders from the UK and its partners with the tools they need for success in military leadership, industry, and government. The College collaborates with King’s College London to ensure it provides graduate-level education and regularly adapts its curriculum to tackle new and emergent threats.
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 areas of the Cormorant Building. Phone signal is available in most areas across site.
Toilet facilities
Single-gender, gender-neutral, and disabled toilets are available on each floor of the Cormorant Building.
Coats and bags
A cloakroom to leave coats, bags, and larger luggage is available on the ground floor of the Cormorant Building. Please note, items are left at their owners’ risk.
Disabled access
Lift access is available to all floors of the Cormorant Building. Ramps are available to access the stage of the Cormorant Lecture Theatre, and wheelchair spaces are available in the auditorium.
Food and drink
In addition to any refreshments your host may have arranged for you, the Fieldhouse Café is situated on the ground floor of the Cormorant Building and the Grass Roots Café is centrally located on site. 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 celebrate 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 or videos of you while you are here. These photos or videos will be used on the Defence Academy’s, and possibly MOD’s website, social media, and internal communications systems.
If a photographer or videographer is present during your visit, they will make themselves known to you. If you do not wish to be featured, please let them know. They will be able to anonymise photos (e.g. by only including 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 licencing 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 in the Cormorant Building. 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 the Cormorant Building, please check the photography rules with your visit sponsor before taking photos.
Sharing your visit
We encourage you to publicise your visit to JSCSC. 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.
The national flags placed around the Cormorant Building’s Forum represent all the nations who have had a student on the Advanced Command and Staff Course (ACSC) at any time in the past or present
ACSC has run annually in its current format since 1997 and the Higher Command and Staff Course (HCSC) since 2000. ACSC regularly attracts more than 200 course members every year, with 100 members drawn from over 50 different nations.
Royal Navy Division runs two intermediate level courses four times a year, plus two Advanced Amphibious Warfare Courses.
Royal Air Force Division delivers three modules of the Intermediate Officers Development courses, educating over 1000 residential course members every year.
The striking design of the Cormorant Building that houses JSCSC is designed to represent elements of a warship, tank, and aircraft: a reminder of the enduring collaboration between sea, land, and air that takes place within working areas of the College.
The red external ‘pillars’ fitting the curvature of the building, and concrete internal pillars, represent the ancient stone circles that can be found across the county of Wiltshire, where the JSCSC is currently located.
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.
