When Cadet Sergeant Alice Hartopp of 121 (Nuneaton) Squadron received her Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award, she and the rest of her Squadron definitely had something to smile about.

Not only had she managed to achieve her own personal goal of completing the Silver Award programme but she also managed to push the Squadrons Silver Award total into record breaking double figures.

Over the last year a total of 10 Nuneaton based Air Cadets have completed the Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

During the challenging 6 month Silver D of E programme of activities designed to test their teamwork, perseverance and confidence the cadets all had to complete 4 sections, Volunteering, Physical, Skills and a 3 day (2 night) Expedition.

Flight Lieutenant Ian Crewe, Officer Commanding 121 (Nuneaton) Squadron said, “This is the first time the Squadron's annual total of silver awards has ever broken into double figures. We had 12 Bronze awards last year and thanks to the outstanding efforts of the cadets involved and indeed the supervising staff we have successfully managed to convert a record breaking 10 of them into Silvers. We now need to keep the momentum going over the next 12 months and see if we can convert these Silvers into Gold Awards.”