Courage was shown by participating in a range of live firing and field craft challenges.

A notable favourite was the sniper stalk; cadets wore full camouflage and enjoyed stalking through the woods towards the enemy, firing paintballs at Sergeant Byrne, Captain Morgan-Richardson and Captain Bate! According to Sergeant Byrne, "they didn't hit me once", but the cadets begged to differ!

By mixing with cadets from other contingents from other parts of the country, they made new friends and demonstrated respect for others. This value was particularly evident when socialising in the evening and when competing in the volleyball on the Altcar Challenge Day.

Cadets exhibited exemplary selfless commitment and loyalty through supporting and encouraging their fellow cadets. We were proud to see them working as teams, especially so on the giant paddle boards during the water sports day in Liverpool, where competition between the girls' and boys' teams was fierce.

Two cadets stood out during the section attack in the dunes, for demonstrating outstanding leadership and teamwork skills: congratulations to Cadet Leadbetter and Cadet Correia for being promoted to Lance Corporal, because of their performances. 

After long days of field craft, cadets demonstrated discipline by spending time stripping down, cleaning and re-assembling the weapons. Again, they left no-one behind, helping other cadets as soon as they had finished. 

Cadets also proved their integrity by approaching everything with a desire to "do the right thing", no matter how tough the challenge. 

Cadet Brocken- "My favourite part was the field craft. I liked the part where we shot, but stayed hidden. I really liked the water sports- the slide and watching Sergeant McCarthy jump in from the paddle board were my favourite."

Cadet Sarbutts- "The shooting was fun. It's also fun and exciting with your friends."

Cadet Jackson- "I enjoyed the shooting. I feel way more confident, as they have taught us to be comfortable doing the shooting and field craft. I'd love to come again next year."

The Contingent Commander's award went to Cadet Sarbutts, for persevering through elements which she initially found a real challenge - her tenacity shone through. Lance Corporal Leadbetter was awarded Best Cadet, for his grasp of the shooting and field craft skills, in addition to his leadership.

Their efforts were rewarded with a party on the last evening, including a disco, a professional dancer showing them some new moves, ice cream and burger vans, and even three life-size Wookies! 

We can't wait to return next year.