News

The Ulysses Trust is honoured to announce that His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has become Royal Patron of The Ulysses Trust charity. The Ulysses Trust fosters confidence, resilience, and self-awareness by providing funding and expert guidance for challenging and adventurous expeditions undertaken by members of the UK’s Volunteer Reserve and Cadet Forces. These experiences ...

Many thanks to everyone who attended our Odyssey Circle meeting at Google HQ in London yesterday evening. It was a wonderful night! The Odyssey Circle is a society of like-minded people who support the Reserve and Cadet Forces through expeditions and the life changing opportunities they represent. The purpose of the event was to thank our ...

The Ulysses Trust Outstanding Service Award celebrates Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) who have made an exceptional contribution to the development of cadets through challenge and adventure. This new award recognises volunteers who plan and deliver cadet expeditions supported by The Ulysses Trust, highlighting both the benefits to the young people who take part and the ...

Our Summer 2025 newsletter is out now. IntroductionOur new look e-newsletter aims to keep you informed about some of the recent expeditions we have supported, our latest news and a video presentation for grant applicants. We’re trying a new electronic format for this edition of the newsletter. It saves money on printing and posting, its more ...

The Ulysses Trust is pleased to offer a limited number of bursaries to Officer Cadets, Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers who are aged 18-25 to attend the Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS) Explore event 31 October- 2 November 2025 at the Royal Geographical Society, London. We also have a special discount code for cadets who ...

The Ulysses Trust is delighted to announce the generous donation of £10,000 from Cambridge Management Consulting, an international consulting firm. This contribution will directly support cadet units across the UK to deliver adventurous and challenging expeditions to army, air and sea cadets. The donation was marked by a formal cheque presentation at Cambridge MC’s London office, ...

The Ulysses Trust is proud to announce the publication of our Impact Report Ed 33. Since 1992, we have supported over 44,000 cadets and reservists to undertake more than 3,100 expeditions. The Impact Report contains a detailed summary of our work and how this compares to previous years. In terms of results and in comparison with 2023: The ...

On Wednesday 7 May 2025 we hosted a special event at the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) to meet our special guests and Ulysses Trust ambassadors, Dr Amelia Wendy Searle and Louis Rudd MBE. Our guests were greeted by Sea Cadets from London Area Sea Cadets Adventure Training-LASCAT who escorted the guests into the venue. Following introductions from ...

Our expeditions do more than build resilience—they inspire action for our planet. By embracing eco-friendly travel, zero-waste practices, and hands-on conservation, cadets and reservists gain firsthand insight into climate change and environmental protection. These adventures foster leadership, deepen appreciation for nature, and spark lasting commitment to preserving our world’s precious resources. The evidence from our ...

A new report has revealed what many in the world of adventurous training already know—experiences like those offered through cadet forces can be life-changing for young people. According to The Impact and Value of School-based Cadet Forces in the UK, published by the Ministry of Defence in partnership with the University of Northampton, joining a cadet ...

Online Talk – Monday 12th May 2025 In celebration of World Mental Health Week, Speakers for Schools in partnership with The Ulysses Trust hosted an inspiring talk with Sally Orange MBE—former British Army Major, multi-record-breaking adventure athlete, and passionate mental health advocate. From running marathons on every continent to cycling the length of Britain dressed as ...

The Ulysses Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Colonel Mark Siebenaller TD VR FRGS as a new Trustee to its board. With a distinguished career that spans over four decades in both business and the military, Colonel Siebenaller brings a wealth of experience that will greatly benefit the Trust. Mark’s military career began in ...

The latest edition of our newsletter is out now. This edition is introduced by our CEO, Polly Marsh and includes reports from reservist, officer cadet and cadet expeditions as follows: Exercise Report: Kelly Offshore 2024 – Twelve cadets from Hebburn Sea Cadets and RMCD braved the waves to set sail aboard the James Cook to explore ...

In a world where digital screens dominate daily life, a compelling research paper, “Conceptualising the Power of Outdoor Adventure Activities for Subjective Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review,” offers an invigorating reminder of the transformative power of nature and adventure. This study synthesizes a wealth of research to explore how outdoor adventure activities—think hiking, rock climbing, ...

Here’s an extremely useful report entitled: The Benefits of Adventure for Children: A Summary of the Evidence – which has been produced for the Adventure Mind – a collaboration of individuals and organisations including outdoor leaders, researchers, health practitioners, universities, adventure charities and companies. The authors of the report include Ulysses Trust Advisory Officers: Prof. ...

On 09 October 2024 we held our second meeting of the Odyssey Circle – a society of like-minded people who support the Reserves and Cadets through expeditions and the life changing opportunities they represent. It was wonderful to see so many of our supporters in this prestigious venue in the heart of Mayfair. We heard some ...

The first of our prestigious Expedition Awards was presented by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Johanna Ropner (pictured right) on Thursday 3 October 2024. The Trust’s Expedition Awards highlight the very best in leadership, challenge, courage and planning. The latest awards were selected from the 88 cadet and reservist expeditions supported by The Ulysses Trust ...

Ulysses Trust ambassador Jordan Wylie MBE delivered a talk to the Speakers for Schools network entitled: Adventures in Resilience: A Journey to Mental Well-Being on Thursday 10th October 2024 – World Mental Health Day. Jordan is an award-winning adventurer, international bestselling author and one of the stars of channel 4’s BAFTA nominated shows “Hunted” and “Celebrity ...

“A generation scarred by the Covid-19 pandemic” published in CentrePiece – the magazine of The Centre for Economic Performance considers how the closure of schools during lockdown has impacted on social interaction skills and mental health as well as educational achievement. It suggests firstly that, compared with other countries, the UK’s response to the pandemic was ...

Pupils who take part in cadets at school have an ‘edge’ according to a new study published by Professor Simon Denny, Professor Richard Hazenberg and Dr Claire Peterson-Young of the University of Northampton. The report, titled ‘Getting an Edge: The Impact and Value of the Cadet Forces in Wales’ was commissioned by the RFCA for Wales, ...