National Award for Top Cadet

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We are delighted that Jerome Fernando, OW 2024 and outgoing School Captain, has been named the UK's top RAF cadet and awarded the The Sir John Thompson Memorial Sword. As reported on the RAF website,

CWO Jerome Fernando has achieved a lot in his four-year career as an air cadet at Wilson’s CCF (RAF) unit. He gives his all to everything he takes part in and with his strong leadership and intellect, it is no surprise that he is highly thought of by the St John’s ambulance cadets and his school where he is head-boy away from his air cadet duties.

He graduated the Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course last year and was just one of the forty people who were chosen to take part and he was named the Best Overall Student and the Best Air Traffic Control Student on the South Division. He’s also taken part in the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Programme and has a very solid brassard.

Group Captain Al Lewis said: I have met Jerome a few times and he’s an outstanding, lovely cadet who has a promising future ahead. He exuded presence, and inner confidence from the moment we met. He was the regions winner and now the overall winner for the whole organisation which is a fantastic achievement. This is the first time Regional Commandants have conducted SJTM interviews, and absolutely fitting to do so along wider DACRE candidates. The quality is humbling across them all. I really enjoyed our interview chat, and commend him as a superb CCF ambassador.

Congratulations Jerome!