News

Hebburn and Sunderland Sea Cadet Jade Longstaff, aged 17, has been awarded the prestigious role of Lord-Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear Cadet. Jade’s new role as Lord-Lieutenant Cadet of Tyne and Wear involves assisting the Lord-Lieutenant in events, such as on parade for Royal visits, military and civic events and church services, as well as to act as an ambassador for Sea Cadets and young people living in our region. The role will last a year from March 2015. 

Jade has been a Sea Cadet for three years and amassed a vast array of nationally recognised qualifications across a range of disciplines such as sailing, marine engineering, maritime skills, power boating and Duke of Edinburgh - which will all help to give her that great head start in life.

Jade is pictured with Susan Winfield, OBE, the Lord-Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear.

On 8 February 2015, we were very fortunate to have received an invite from the Commanding Officer of HMS Duncan to visit the ship whilst she berthed at Northumbria Quay in North Shields. This Type 45 Destroyer is the youngest in the fleet and a sister ship to HMS Dauntless which we were invited to tour earlier in the year, and she is due to deploy to the Persian Gulf later in the year. We had a fantastic time and our thanks go to the staff at HMS Calliope for arranging it and the crew on HMS Duncan for their hospitality.

It's official, as of September 2014 we are now the proud owners of a new minibus! It's a fantastic asset to have and will help many of our cadets gain qualifications and enable us to create more adventurous activities for our cadets to enjoy. Mini buses aren't cheap, so we have spent many months fundraising and our thanks must go to the local businesses and organisations who have supported us. We are very grateful and excited at the possibilities!

Look out for us as we travel around the region....and beyond!

Some of our cadets and adult volunteers spent a week in October 2014 at HMS Raleigh, a Royal Navy training base and participated in lots of adventurous activities and leadership tasks. The cadets also took part in a variety of exercises such as fire fighting, sea survival, ship and dockyard visits.

We run our training courses throughout the year so that we can offer the experience to as many young people as possible. Inevitably this means that some of our activities, like this one, took place in term time and the cadets had to secure school permission. We understand the importance of students keeping up to date with their studies, and where appropriate time is provided to complete home work.

The Department of Education recognise that time spent with us is not a holiday, and for many excursions just like the one at HMS Raleigh, was a life changing experience which complimented school activity because it offered the opportunity for our cadets to learn valuable skills, such as an understanding of citizenship and community values.

As Autumn falls, the 2014 boating season comes to a close for Hebburn & Sunderland Sea Cadets. 2015 year is full of promise with newly qualified staff and cadets, we are already planning how to improve upon our 16 boating hours per cadet average.

Over the winter months it is hoped that we can utilise the expertise and facilities that our Sea Cadet friends at Chester-le-street Unit have whilst at our own unit, work will start to boats up to a standard which will allow them to be put onto the water early in the new boating season.

Very well done to all staff and cadets for a fantastic 2014 season and we look forward to a fun and adventurous 2015.