OFFICIALlast verified 2026-10-18The Parachute Regiment (British Army)
Role Fitness Test (Entry) — Paratrooper
Every British Army candidate takes the Role Fitness Test (Entry) at the Assessment Centre: Mid-Thigh Pull, seated 4 kg medicine ball throw and a 2 km run, in any order. For the Paratrooper role the standards are 76 kg, 3.1 m and 2 km in 8:25 or less — the same as for an Infantry Soldier except the run (10:15). After that come the Parachute Regiment Development Visit, 13 weeks of Basic Training and Infantry training at Catterick, and the 19-week PARA Combat Infantry Course, which includes P Company.
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What a Paratrooper earns
- Parachute pay (RRP Parachute)£7.40 per day
- Separation allowance by days away, levels 1–16 (Longer Separation Allowance)£9.58 – £43.77 per day
Salaries are annual and already include the 14.5% X-Factor. Which trade supplement (1–4) applies to the Parachute Regiment is not public, so pay is shown as a range from supplement 1 to 4; the default is a Lance Corporal at OR3-01. Parachute pay (RRP Parachute, £7.40 a day) is listed separately and not added: eligibility rules and the annual calculation are not public. 1 PARA (Special Forces Support Group) is not on the UKSF pay spine.
The test, event by event
| Event | Minimum (Paratrooper, Regular) |
|---|---|
| Mid-Thigh Pull (MTP), peak force | 76 kg |
| Seated medicine ball throw, 4 kg (MBT) | 3.1 m |
| 2 km run | 8:25 |
Also required
- Age 16–36 at the start of training (apply from 15 years 7 months to 35 years 6 months). BMI usually 18–28; men with a BMI up to 32 may be considered in some cases, with a waist measurement.
- Parachute Regiment Development Visit (PRDV): confirms a basic level of fitness; no standards are published.
- Training: 13 weeks of Basic Training and Infantry training at Catterick, then the 19-week PARA Combat Infantry Course including P Company; candidates under 17 years 6 months do Basic Training at the Army Foundation College Harrogate. Parachute wings follow on the Basic Parachute Course at RAF Brize Norton.
- P Company (All Arms Pre-Parachute Selection): a 3.5-week course at Catterick ending in eight Test Week events. Per the MOD's 2019 FOI reply: 10 Miler in 1 h 50 min, 20 Miler in 4 h, log race 1.8 miles, stretcher race 5 miles, Trainasium pass/fail, steeplechase and 2 Miler as best effort, milling 1 min. Loads are not stated and the scoring matrix was withheld.
- Minimum (Paratrooper, Regular) — jobs.army.mod.uk — Paratrooper (role page, Role Fitness Test (Entry)) (2026-10-18)
Questions
How is the Role Fitness Test (Entry) carried out?
Mid-Thigh Pull: a bar at mid-thigh height, pulled up as hard as possible for 5 seconds on a dynamometer, 2 attempts, highest force counts. Medicine ball throw: seated with your back to a wall, 4 kg ball, 3 attempts, longest throw counts. 2 km run: after an 800 m warm-up, continuous running on flat ground in all weather conditions. Officers run the multi-stage fitness test instead of the 2 km.
Why are the P Company tests not in the calculator?
P Company comes during training, not at entry, and the MOD does not publish current standards. The only official document is a 2019 FOI reply (10 Miler 1 h 50 min, 20 Miler 4 h) that gives no loads; the MOD withheld the scoring matrix under FOIA section 26, saying candidates must give maximum effort in every event. Point totals quoted online are not officially confirmed.
Where do the numbers come from?
The thresholds come from the official British Army recruiting page for the Paratrooper role (jobs.army.mod.uk), read on 18 October 2026. The P Company figures come from the MOD Army Secretariat's FOI reply FOI2019/11940 of 28 November 2019, published on gov.uk.
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