Hannah a student from Barrow Hall College, Great Sankey, has become the first ever female to win the top cadet award for the Junior Leadership Air cadets’ course. In doing so, she is also the first ever female out of the Greater Manchester Wing to pass, and the very first out of the Lymm Squadron.
Of her achievements the Lymm Squadron posted the following message of support:
‘Our very own CWO Clarke has not only passed the arduous Junior Leaders course but has been awarded with the Top Student award!
This is a testament to her commitment and dedication.
We're very proud of her achievement’
The Air Cadet Junior Leaders (JL) Course is a yearlong training course for 17-20-year-old, Master Cadets. The course aims to develop leadership and other important skills within the cadets, both for use in military and civilian life. Over the past 20 years 1200 cadets have completed the course and Hannah is 1 of only 23 cadets who has managed to achieve the top award.
The award itself is assessment judged, based on a number of different criteria and is described as ‘the toughest but most rewarding of the Air Cadets leadership courses – any Cadet that makes it through has the makings of a very successful leader’. As well as the assessments which Hannah passed with flying colours, staff also had a vote in who had performed the best during the year, and who showed the most potential, this included some very high-ranking officers. Hannah received 95% of the votes, showing how incredibly well she had performed throughout.
Hannah chose to join the cadets and challenge herself as she is keen to pursue a career in the military, speaking about her achievement in becoming the first female to be given the top award she said she ‘feels very proud’, and would like to ‘inspire more females to join the cadets’.
When asked what she had learned from this whole experience Hannah stated, ‘I have learned how I work myself, I have become more head strong and confident. I wasn’t always like that, in the beginning I was very shy’. During her time with the Air Cadets Hannah has also achieved a number of different qualifications including her Gold First Aid, where the cadets
‘demonstrated a high level of skill, impressing the staff throughout the week, and have come away from the course as very competent and knowledgeable first aiders and instructors, ready to assist their own Wings in the delivery of first aid training.’
She also achieved her ILM level 3 in leadership amongst many other qualifications.
Hannah has done incredibly well to achieve all she has so early in her life, and her main aim is to continue the hard work and become a regiment officer in the RAF. To top off what has been an amazing few months for Hannah she has also been invited by her Air Commanding officer to the Kings Coronation on Saturday 6th May. She will travel to London the day before and spend two days rubbing shoulders with royalty.
Everybody at Great Sankey is extremely proud of the commitment, dedication and hard work that Hannah has displayed to achieve all she has, and she is a credit to the school and town of Warrington. Good luck with everything you do going forward Hannah, and enjoy your day with the royal family, you deserve it.
