The head boy from Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough has been appointed as the Station Commander’s Cadet at Royal Air Force Wittering.
Ahmet Kucuk (17) is a cadet sergeant in the RAF contingent of the Academy’s Combined Cadet Force and was presented with his certificate last night at the Queen’s Gardens campus in Peterborough.
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Cadet Sergeant Kucuk will wear the brassard traditionally given to the Station Commander’s cadet and will be allowed to keep it once his year’s stint is over. During the next twelve months he will be given a unique insight into the Royal Air Force and life at RAF Wittering, accompanying the Station Commander on a series of official engagements.
The competition to become the Station Commander’s Cadet is not easy. Ahmet was shortlisted from a long list of candidates in cadet squadrons across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and the South and East Midlands. The final selection was made after an interview with Group Captain Tony Keeling, Station Commander at RAF Wittering.
Ahmet said: “I was super nervous, but Group Captain Keeling was really friendly.”
Cadet Sergeant Kucuk’s success comes as no surprise to his commanding officer, Flight Lieutenant Martin Byford-Roux. Martin said: “Without any exaggeration, Ahmet is an awesome student and will always plough 110% into everything he does.”
Thomas Deacon Academy’s Combined Cadet Force includes contingents from the Army, Royal Air Force and Police. The academy also has plans to every year enter nine students for the bronze Duke of Edinburgh award as part of its Character Curriculum; an initiative to give students more of the life skills they’ll need in the outside world.
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Rick Carroll is the Principal of Thomas Deacon Academy. He said: “Ahmet was always a standout student and it speaks volumes about what the cadets and our Character Curriculum does for our students.“
A career in the engineering branch of the Royal Air Force is Ahmet’s long-term goal. The demands of a busy syllabus, combined with the roles of Head Boy and Station Commander’s Cadet might seem like a challenge, but Ahmet believes it will work. He said: “They tie in really well and I’m going to make the most of that.”
RAF Wittering Station Commander, Group Captain Tony Keeling said: “Station Commander’s Cadets must earn their appointment and be of the highest calibre. The minimum standards are exceptional cadetship and academic conscientiousness. Cadet Sergeant Kucuk embodies both these qualities and demonstrates great future potential; I’m certain the next twelve months will benefit him, the Station, Thomas Deacon Academy and the cadets.”
