Forty cadets aged between 13 and 18 years from Greater London South East Sector, Army Cadet Force spend the half term break (28 May to 4 June 2022) in Snowdonia, North Wales as part of an adventurous training package aimed at challenging and developing the young people by encouraging them to try new experiences and promoting a sense of adventure and challenge.
As part of the action-packed week, the cadets took part in a series of different adrenalin-filled activities which included: mountain walking, kayaking, coasteering and rock climbing, with the week culminating in an overnight expedition. This expedition enabled the cadets to put some of their skills they learnt into practice. The week also included a fascinating and educational visit to the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Centre which was very popular with the cadets and adults.
The young people are from a wide range of diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds from the South London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Bexley and Bromley. The camp was an opportunity for cadets to learn outdoor skills and stretch comfort zones in a safe environment. It also strengthened their teamwork, confidence and communication skills as well as many other inter-personal skills.
Notable quotes from parents and cadets were:
“[My child] absolutely loved it. Thank you so much. He can’t stop talking about the adventure. “
“[My child] had a great time and can’t stop telling all the fun he had.”
“I have never seen [my son] so happy and confident .. you have all done so much for him thank you all “
‘Going up the mountain was cool, it was hard. But when we got to the top it was like. Wow! I have just climbed a mountain and the view was amazing’
‘The kayaking was awesome, paddling in the water and playing all the games. It was really good fun’
‘The rock climbing was really cool, I enjoyed getting to the top’.
‘The coast steering was scary jumping off the rocks into the sea, but It was great”
Our adult staff also reported that their cadets were raving about the camp afterwards to adults and to each other.
The weather was quite variable but generally kind to the cadets apart from midges as usual in the evening which were quite a nuisance!
Due to the gap in training caused by COVID, this was the first time for many of the cadets to access the great outdoors and from conversations during the camp it appears that some cadets had not really been out of London before. Therefore this adventurous training camp was very important in rebuilding the morale and motivation of cadets and adults in our Sector. And after the success of this camp, we aim to continue providing adventurous training in Snowdonia and elsewhere as part of our wider offer to our cadets.
The cadets and adults are immensely grateful to the Ulysses Trust for their very generous funding provided to this project which was used towards offsetting the cost of each cadet attending. It made our project a real success and was really appreciated!
The Ulysses Trust also wish to thank the generosity of the Macrobert Trust for supporting this expedition.
