Air Cadets achievements celebrated at awards ceremony

Squadron Leader John Fallon and Flight Lieutenant Kathryn Hearn, were awarded their City & Guilds Membership and Institute of Leadership and Management Level 3 qualifications respectively at RMA Sandhurst on Friday, October 14.

CVQO chairman, The Lord Lingfield presided over the ceremony, alongside chief executive Guy Horridge. Joining them in the celebrations was a group of nearly 200, comprised of graduates, award winners and honoured guests.

Dr S Martin Gaskell, Master at the Worshipful Company of Educators, and John Yates, Director at the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), were also on hand to offer their congratulations.

CVQO’s annual graduation ceremony recognises the achievements of adult volunteers who devote their spare time to running youth group and cadet units across the UK.

Through the charity, these volunteers are able to study for leadership and management qualifications accredited by both City & Guilds and the ILM.

The qualifications recognise the skills adult volunteers develop while running the youth groups, meaning they gain something internationally recognised and tangible that can be used to further their own careers or education.

CVQO chief executive Guy Horridge said: “For our graduates to find the time to do any of these qualifications where most have a busy work life, home life and cadet life is nothing short of amazing.

“But what is really fantastic is that each and every one is setting a great example to the cadets to show them that learning can be fun and also very rewarding.

“What they are doing is not just helping young people make the best of their lives, but also helping to create role models for the future and both of those I would suggest are essential for our country to succeed.”

CVQO is a vocational education charity working with young people and adults in community and uniformed youth groups.