Berkshire cadet among top three in the Country

St John Ambulance Berkshire’s Cadet of the Year for 2009 has been selected as one of the top three cadets in the country by a panel of judges from the charity. 

Natalie Dennehy, age 16 from Tilehurst and a member of Theale Cadet Division, was appointed County Cadet of the year for Berkshire after competing against other young members of the organisation from within the Royal County in November last year.

Represent Berkshire

Natalie then went on to represent Berkshire in a similar national competition, up against 36 other county Cadets which took place at the end of January. Cadets who took part were assessed on their skills in a number of areas such as communication, first aid and teamwork over the course of a weekend, at the end of which the best three cadets were appointed as National Cadet of the Year and Deputies - Natalie was selected as a deputy.

Natalie, who is in the sixth form at Kendrick School in Reading, has been a Cadet with St John Ambulance since 2005. She is hoping to go on to study medicine at university and cites this as one of her reasons for joining the charity who are best known for their first aid work in the community.

'St John has really helped me to realise that I want to go into a medical profession as so many members of St John are medics. I have learnt skills that will be invaluable to my future career and my experience with St John means that I am learning new things all the time.’

In her role as National Deputy Cadet of the Year, Natalie will have the opportunity to represent St John Ambulance at many events such as Royal receptions, key meetings and the Remembrance Day parade. Commenting on her appointment Natalie said, ‘It came as such a shock to me when they called out my name, but I was proud that I had done my best to represent Berkshire and will continue to do so throughout what is sure to be an amazing year.’