We're thrilled to announce that Team 2286 have been crowned the winners of the Warwickshire & Birmingham Wing Duke of Edinburgh Award Trophy 2021-2022! The award is given to the Squadron who has the most participants complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award during the year - and this year, 2286 Air Cadets have smashed the record.

The 2021 expedition season was particularly busy for the Squadron, catching up on missed expeditions from the previous year, and between various groups of staff and cadets, there were only about three non-activity days all summer holiday! The hard work paid off though, as a total of thirty awards - fourteen bronze, fourteen silver and two golds - were completed, a record result.

Cadets begin the award at 14, and work on it with Squadron staff up until their 25 birthday, if they haven't already completed it by then! Each of the three levels requires cadets to work independently on a volunteering project, a skills project, a sports or exercise project and a challenging expedition. These areas give cadets a chance to expand on their interests - including, in the past, rocketry, cookery, wood carving, make up, cryptography, computer coding and much more.

Commanding Officer Julie Seymour, a long standing DofE Assessor, was particularly proud of her team of staff and cadets, saying "all our team have worked extremely hard, and the thrill of watching our cadets achieve these awards never gets old. My particular thanks to the organising staff, to the Squadron community who help support these expeditions, and of course, to the Duke of Edinburgh who developed this amazing award".

It is, of course, a poignant year for the DofE, with the sad passing of Prince Phillip who pioneered the Award. Many of the staff at 2286 Air Cadets hold a Duke of Edinburgh's Award and have fond memories of their time in the scheme and visits to various palaces to collect their Gold awards.

If you're interested in learning more about the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, about what you could get out of Air Cadets, or are already interested in joining, please feel free to get in touch! 2286 Air Cadets is always pleased to welcome potential new recruits from Coventry aged 12 - 20, as well as potential staff and civ com members and alumni of the Squadron. If you'd like to get in touch, the Squadron can be contacted on email via oc.2286@rafac.mod.gov.uk, or by telephone on 024 7659 2286 Tuesday and Friday evenings 7pm - 9pm.