Cadet Parade for Westbourne CCF
This Tuesday was our final Cadet parade for Westbourne CCF and it was a great pleasure to finish the year with presentations, promotions and awards.
We are lucky to have a Combined Cadet Force, as we are the only CCF that exists in Suffolk, outside of independent schools. Our Contingent regularly ranks amongst the best CCFs in the UK on our Summer camps and participate in Combat Cadet, a testing series of challenges for our more experienced Cadets.
Silverware and trophies are an important part of military and academic tradition, and we continue to celebrate the very best contributions made by our Cadets.
Two trophies have been presented to Westbourne Academy, in addition to our own, to be awarded every year. The first was presented by the Instructors of Dollar Academy CCF (Dollar, Clackmannashire, Scotland), who were so taken by the cordial good nature of Westbourne Cadets, whilst on Annual Camp in Scotland in 2024.
This year, the Aaron McClure Trophy was presented to our Contingent by Lorraine McClure, mother of Aaron and her partner Steven York (a Veteran Royal Anglian). Aaron, a former Westbourne student, was tragically killed whilst serving in northern Helmand Province, Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment. As part of a lasting legacy to his memory, we award this trophy to the most outstanding Cadet.
This year, the first-ever recipient was Year 10 student L/Cpl Lexie W, who is consistently outstanding in everything she does. We felt that she whole-heartedly deserved this very special award.
The Awards this year were as follows:
Awards – Aaron McClure Trophy – Cadet of the Year – L/Cpl Lexie W
Best Drill – Cadet Amelie M
Blenheim Award for Exceptional resilience and determination – Cadet Charlie K & Cadet Poppy S
Salamanca Award for Supporting others and setting standards. – Cadet Sgt. Liliana S
Best dressed – Cadet L/Cpl Milly S
Talavera Award – Contingent Commanders – Standout individual – Fraser G
The Award names are taken from the Battle Honours of the Royal Anglian Regiment, to which Westbourne CCF is affiliated.
Congratulations to all Cadets who received their One Star and Two Star attainment awards, and an especial well done to those cadets receiving promotions of rank, from Cadet to Lance Corporal and from Lance Corporal to Corporal.
We celebrated the awards with some festive pizza and good cheer. Thank you to our Principal Mr Higgon, Mr Stronach, SLT, Teachers, Support Staff and Parent/Carers for your support and especially to the following Staff that make it happen: PI Lyric Wilsdon, PI Zoe Berry, PI Christina Percy, Mr Abel Ojukwu and SSI C/Sgt Karl Carr for pulling it all together.
You can view photos of the award presentations here on our gallary page:
CCF Awards Gallery Dec 2025 – Westbourne Academy
Westbourne CCF wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.
Lt. Jeremy Farinós
Contingent Commander
Photo: L/Cpl Lexie W receiving the Aaron McClure Trophy from Contingent Commander, Lt Jeremy Farinós.
Photo: Capt. Jorge Pashler (former Contingent Commander), who presented the Dollar Academy Trophy for best Drill