Duke of Edinburgh Award
New Trophy for Northumbria ACF
Adult volunteers and cadets have enjoyed a fantastic year on the Duke of
Edinburgh Award programme. As DofE has become more embedded within the
County the participants are now really using their imagination in how they meet the
requirements of their award. From volunteering within their community to learning
new ski lls that vary from ladies cricket to music and dance, competitive shooting
and first aid everyone is enjoying their DofE experience. Gold and Silver
expeditions have taken place in the Yorkshire Dales, on Exmoor and in the Peak
District whilst the more adventurous have travelled to Bavaria and Austria.
Sergeant Instructor Charlotte Akam completed her expedition in the Allgauer Alps
impressing the assessors so much that she has been invited to return as an
expedition supervisor. Bronze expeditions have taken advantage of the
tremendous countryside we have in Northumberland.
This year we have achieved more staff qualifications and award passes than ever
before and this was recognised at the ACFA DofE conference where Northumbria became the first recipients of the
“In Action Together“ quaich. A real feather in the cap for the County. None of this would have been possible without
the dedication of the DofE team within the County and in particular Captain Kevin Stout who has not only been very
active in Northumbria but has assisted with the training of staff in other Counties. Hopefully 2015 will see even
more young adult volunteers and cadets benefiting from their participation in DofE.
Mountain Leader
Training
The Mountain Leader Award
(Summer) is a military and civilian
recognised qualification that
allows the holder to guide people
in the mountains of the British
Isles. The Cadet Centre for Adventurous Training
(CCAT) offers two courses for training ML candidates
as well as assessment of leaders. The Summer
Mountain Foundation Course is open to both cadets
over 16 and adults and provides a basic grounding in
mountaineering skills.
To be accepted onto the training course you have to
demonstrate an interest in leading groups in the hills, have a minimum of one year’s hill walking experience and
provide evidence that you have completed a minimum of twenty quality mountain days, to show that you
understand navigation, equipment, weather conditions and being in the mountains.
The course is well structured with lots of navigation to demonstrate your knowledge of safe route selection, safety
techniques for working on steep ground including rope work for belaying and abseiling with only a short rope.
There is a two day expedition with a wild camp, practical safe river crossings and an understanding the features
around you including plants and animals.
I enjoyed my course massively! The staff are friendly, enormously experienced and cadet orientated.
I recommend this course to anyone who would like to lead young, and not so young, people in the wilderness areas
of our country and I’m looking forward to my assessment and gaining my ML(S) award.
Sergeant Instructor Charlotte Akam
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