Upper Sixth student Awarded Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Cadet

Upper Sixth Millfield student Sam Curwen has been awarded the role of Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Cadet in Somerset, for this year. He will be presented with a badge and certificate by HM Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Somerset, Mrs Anne Maw at Dillington House in Ilminster this month.

HM Lord-Lieutenants are chosen for being the best cadets in their respective organisations and have completed most of their training. Sam’s interest in the military is inspired by his parents and he has been motivated to be involved in cadets from a young age. He teaches younger cadets in his spare time, and has been involved in air cadets since Year 8 as he has a particular interest in flying. Sam’s commitment to the programme, consistent cadet service and his hard work that has helped him reach this level. Sam will assist the Lord-Lieutenant at civic and military occasions.

Sam said “It is an absolute honour to be awarded the Lord Lieutenant cadet, especially in the Queens 70^th platinum jubilee year. I hope that getting this award will inspire others to start cadets”.

Millfield’s Contingent Commander Captain Craig Middleton said “Sam is an outstanding cadet and has always led from the front. He has been an integral part of the team in help set up the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Millfield and assisting with expanding the younger cadet’s experience. He is a truly positive young role model for other cadets”.

The honourable achievement has been a result of the successful and evolving CCF programme which has been running at Millfield since 2019. Millfield’s CCF is aligned to the Welsh Guards and has grown from a voluntary after-school activity to a specialised programme with a full-time School Staff Instructor (SSI). The programme involves up to 100 cadets from all year groups, including 15 boys and girls from St Dunstan’s, a state school near Glastonbury. Acting as St Dunstan’s Sponsor Unit, Millfield CCF has been in partnership with St Dunstan’s School since the embarking on the journey to establish the CCF unit as part of the Cadet Expansion Plan. All participants benefit from a government grant that covers staff support, kit and heavily subsidised field and international trips.

CCF students can attend two sessions a week and they focus on a range of activities such as field craft, formations, communication with radios and weapon training to name a few. The cadets recently attended a camp where they practiced field activities including fire and manoeuvre, section attacks and cooking.

Sam plans to join the University Air Squadron and hopes to join the RAF as a pilot after his studies.

Find out more about Millfield’s CCF programme here.