Dunmurry High School join the big guns
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Pictured after the ceremony are Lieutenant Colonel William Walker who is Vice Principal of the school and responsible for its considerable level of Cadet achievement and Dunmurry High School's Principal, Mervyn Magee. |
Members of Dunmurry High School joined the recent ceremony for HRH The Prince of Wales' birthday. |
THE Principal and Vice Principal of Dunmurry High School joined teachers from across the Province for a lesson in military ceremony recently as they attended the 21 Gun Royal Salute held at Hillsborough Castle to mark the birthday of The Prince of Wales.
Guests from the field of education gathered to witness the Royal Salute fired by officers and soldiers from 206 (Ulster) Battery, Royal Artillery (Volunteers). As the 'big guns' were rolled out at Hillsborough almost identical ceremonies were taking place at London, Cardiff and Edinburgh. After the formalities of the Royal Salute, guests heard more about the Cadet movement's 150th anniversary, marked this year under the CADET150 banner.
Speaking to teachers and educationalists, Colonel Norman Walker, Chairman of the Reserve Forces & Cadets Association Northern Ireland, said: "In Northern Ireland we have 3,600 Cadets who enjoy the camaraderie as well as the adventurous training and development opportunities which have always been at the heart of Cadet life. We are proud of our reputation for instilling confidence and commitment in young people and of equipping them with many of the skills which will make them good citizens in the future.
"There is no doubt that a record of achievement in the Cadets will help to add interest to any CV, but today our Cadets are also earning widely recognised qualifications. In this year alone 182 Cadets earned BTEC certificates equating to 728 individual GCSE passes.
"Given that background it is perhaps no surprise that we already enjoy such strong support from principals and teachers. Indeed there are many teachers amongst the 500 Adult Volunteers who are the backbone of the Cadet movement in Northern Ireland.
"We are delighted to have the opportunity both to thank the teachers and schools which are already giving us their whole-hearted support and to introduce the benefits of the Cadet movement to others. Rolling out the Big Guns hopefully made our 'thank you' all the more resounding."
Ulster Star
17/12/2010
