Prestigious award winner meets the Queen

On 17th February, William Parker Sports College Sixth Former, 17 year old Petty Officer Cadet Paul Huggett of TS Hastings SCC, met the Queen.  He joined 6 other Sea Cadets in London to celebrate the launch of Cadet 150, to mark 150 years of the cadet movement in Britain.  Paul was among 26 cadets drawn from across all of the Cadet Forces.

Paul was recently chosen to be the Southern Area’s Navy Board Cadet for 2010.  This is a very prestigious award which is given to the best cadet in each Area and he will be one of only six cadets in the whole of the UK. 

Since joining TS Hastings at the age of 10, Paul has taken advantage of every opportunity available to him and has succeeded in the process.  Last summer he was awarded his Silver Wings on the first SCC Aviation Course and will be training for his Gold Wings later this year. He also holds the Junior Instructor Marine Engineering qualification, the only cadet to have this in the Southern Area.  Added to these, Paul has gained 1st First Aid, Small Bore Marksman, Advanced Piping, Level 2 Kayaking and Pulling Instructor, as well as progressing from Cadet to PO Cadet.

Paul managed to gain 12 A*-C grades in GCSE and is now in his second year at the William Parker/Helenswood Federal Sixth Form.  He is also studying for his second BTEC Diploma; his first having been for Engineering, when he was part of a team of four boys from William Parker who each gained a Gold Crest Award from the Engineering Education Scheme. 

He was selected to be the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports’ cadet for 2008/09, a duty he was very proud to undertake.  His duties now, as Southern Area’s NAVB Cadet, will be to accompany a Navy Board member/very senior Royal Navy Officer to such events as Royal occasions, opening ceremonies, ships visits, formal parades, presentations and awards, recruiting events and cocktail parties.  During these events, Paul’s role will be to brief the senior officers on issues relating to the Southern Area.

Paul has worked extremely hard to achieve all he has over the past seven years and will continue to work towards his goal of becoming a pilot in the Royal Navy.  He has been supported by his Commanding Officer Lt (SCC) Alison Brennan-Wright, and William Parker Sports College for allowing occasional leave to attend courses and events. Paul thoroughly enjoys National courses and has been away 16 times to bases in Edinburgh, Prestwick, Preston, Plymouth, Weymouth and Portsmouth, as well as two trips to the Navy Outdoor Training Centre in Bavaria.

Southern Area have quoted Paul as being “an excellent role model to younger cadets and stepping up to teach and assist the cadets when required, he has been a consistent example of what a Senior Cadet within a unit should be”. He does have some spare time, and enjoys playing rugby for Hastings & Bexhill Colts.  He likes a variety of music and has been playing the drums for a year.  Before that, he played the violin for eight years, including five years in the William Parker Orchestra.