Flying & Gliding

The Air Training Corps (ATC) offer you the opportunity to fly in both powered and unpowered (gliders) aircraft, the primary aircraft that cadets fly in is the Grob-Tutor (shown below) which is also the primary trainer for the Royal Air Force. Rather than just being a pleasure flight cadets are shown how to fly the aircraft and are given the opportunity to fly the aircraft under supervision of a qualified instructor.

Sport

Sport forms an important part of cadet training as 452 Hornchurch squadron compete against other units from all over London in Athletics, Swimming, 5-a-side Football and Cross Country. If you are into Football, Rugby, Hockey or Netball you will also have the opportunity to train and play for the London Wing team.

Adventure Training

Adventure training provides cadets with challenges of trying something new, conquering a fear, as well a being great fun. We regularly run activity days, weekend / week camps providing cadets with the opportunity to try Canoeing, Rock Climbing, Powered Watersports, High Ropes Courses, Mountaineering, Camping, Skiing and many more activities.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

The ATC is the largest Duke of Edinburgh's Award provider; many of the activities that cadets take part in contribute towards their Duke of Edinburgh award.

The Duke of Edinburgh award is a program for young people aged 14 - 24 to experience a wide range of activities outside of their normal life and comes in three levels Bronze, Silver and Gold. It is recognised by many employers as a way of showing your commitment to improving your skills and is also a great way to have fun and meet new people.

The award consists of four sections (five for Gold), Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition, each of which you complete and log a number of months of regular participation. Volunteering involves giving back to your local community, the physical section is your chance to improve your fitness in a wide range of sports, in skills you learn something new and your expedition is a number of days of hiking and camping, being completely self sufficient.

Shooting

Cadets at all levels of the Air Training Corps have the opportunity to participate in the sport of rifle shooting, initially with .22 rifles on an indoor range progressing through experience and training to a full bore rifle on ranges of 100m or more.

Safety is paramount with all ATC activities and shooting is certainly no exception. Training is an integral part of the system and each cadet is fully trained in whichever rifle they will be using. Supervising staff are similarly trained to deal with any eventualities and to ensure that the range is run safely and efficiently. All rifles are fired from the prone position (the firer is lying on their stomach) at static, targets.

Cadet .22 No. 8 Rifle

Parades

A Parade is one of the most public events that cadets from 452 Hornchurch Squadron attend and is great way of showing off our standards of discipline and uniform. Whilst many of our parades are in the local community being part of London Wing our cadets also have the honour of taking part in major London parades including the Lord Mayor's Parade and Remembrance Parade in Whitehall.

Qualifications

Part of being a cadet is learning new skills; however cadets can also gain academic BTEC qualifications through CVQO an edexcel approved centre. CVQO-led qualifications are intrinsically linked with community and volunteering. Every learner on a CVQO programme is an active member of a youth organisation and it is these activities that are at the core of the CVQO-led qualifications.

Click on the image above to visit the CVQO website