110 (City of York) Sqn

This is something that all Cadets should take part in because it is very rewarding to do and has many benefits as well. They can start the Award Scheme at the age of 14 because that meets the right age criteria for the Bronze Award and then work their way up to the Gold Award.

There are 3 levels to the Award Programme; they are Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve an Award, there are 4 sections (5 for Gold) that need to be completed and signed off in your log book, which all have different criteria for entry and the level of achievement too. The 4 sections are Service (helping local community), Expeditions (walking route planned), Skills (i.e. Cadet Exam) and Physical Recreation (i.e. circuit training). The extra section for the Gold Award is the Residential Project, which involves you helping the community, but you are away from home; meaning you do not know anyone.

The Cadets are well prepared and receive excellent training from the Staff. Ultimately, if they complete all 3 levels, they are invited to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Award from the Duke of Edinburgh.

When applying for a job, having these Awards behind you, especially Gold will help you greatly because it shows them a lot about your character in a positive way. For more details about the Award Scheme, click on the link: http://www.theaward.org

Cadets can participate in Sports at various levels, gaining recognition for themselves, their Squadron, Wing, Region or even the Corps, if they are selected. The higher up the scale, e.g. Region, the more competitive it gets due to the best going through.

As we want Cadets from our Sqn to go through, we prepare by having regular Sports sessions on a Cadet Night so we can get the best result possible. The Sports on offer for Boys at a competitive level are Rugby and Football (5 A-Side). The Sports on offer for Girls at a competitive level are Hockey and Netball. For everyone; Boys and Girls Swimming, Cross Country, Volleyball and Athletics are on offer at a competitive level too. Also for Boys and Girls there are Junior and Senior groups to make the Competitions a fair contest.

The main points of these Inter Sports Competitions are to develop team work and to make the taking part the most important thing. That is because if you do come last you will still gain points for whatever you are representing, e.g. Sqn. If you do come first, second or third then that is a bonus obviously!

There is the chance to take part in non competitive Sports Competitions down at the Squadron or against other Squadrons from within your Wing, e.g. we did have a York Sqn vs. Easingwold Sqn Sports Competition at Linton, which ranged from a Football and a Volleyball Competition.