HRH Prince Philip is the Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps, perhaps not suprising then that the Air Training Corps is the biggest operator of the Duke Of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

Here at 649 Squadron, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award is open to all enrolled cadets who wish to take part in an awesome challenge that will teach them a wide array of skills and will test them to their limits!

There are three awards available - Bronze, Silver and Gold, we operate all three, and most of our cadets work their way through them all in their cadet careers, however they may be elegible to "direct entry" to Silver/Gold if they meet certain criteria.

You may be suprised to hear that a great deal of the requirements for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award are already covered within the Air Cadet's Training Syllabus, it fits in naturally with the type of training and activities we partake in.

The Award is split into 4 sections (5 for gold);

Service
Cadets on 649 Squadron satisfy the Service element of The Award just by undertaking normal cadet activities!

Expeditions
Cadets Train for, Practice and then undertake an Expedition towards their D of E Award. For Bronze this is a 2 Day, 1 Night expedition. (Silver = 3days 2 nights, Gold = 4days 3 nights).

Skills
Cadets undertaking training with 649 Squadron gain a variety of new skills, many of these, such as passing cadet examinations, or becoming First Aid qualified count towards their D of E Skills section.

Physical Recreation
To meet the Sports criteria of The Award, Cadets must show an improvement, this can be a measured improvement in their fitness as a whole, or for example improving their swimming ability and gaining their ATC Swimming Proficiency Certificate.

Residential Project
(Gold Award only) A purposeful enterprise with young people not previously known to the participant - attending an Air Cadet Summer Camp meets this requirement!

The Award is widely recognized by employers as it helps demonstrate that award holders are keen to take on new challenges, have a higher level of self confidence than their counterparts, have leadership qualities with the added experience of teamwork.

Please take a few moments to view the pictures in the Gallery section of this website showing a recent expedition in the Cotswolds undertaken by group of cadets taking their Bronze Award.

For more information, please speak to the D of E Officer CI Jenkins or any member of staff or take a look at The Award website.