Charlotte wins County Cadet of the year 2008

A 16-year-old from Bishop's Stortford has been appointed St John Ambulance's Cadet of the year 2008 for Hertfordshire.

Charlotte Sullivan was chosen at a competition held in October 2007. Two Deputy Cadets of the year were also picked: Elizabeth Kipps, 17, from Chorleywood, and Rebekah Clark, 16, from Ware.

Charlotte has been a member of St John Ambulance Hertfordshire since since 2004. She represented the county in the National Cadet of the year event in Nottingham in January, where she was put through her paces and judged for initiative, teamwork skills and leadership qualities.

Despite not winning the overall title, Charlotte said she enjoyed the experience: 'It was an amazing weekend. It was a very tough competition, but tremendous fun as well. Trying to master the Argentine Tango was hilarious.'

Charlotte performed many tasks throughout the weekend in Nottingham and was judged for her presentation, ability to work in a team, and her knowledge of St John Ambulance as an organisation.

She added: 'Even though I didn’t win the overall title, I still feel the experience will be incredibly valuable to me because we learnt about things like interview skills and talking to members of the media – which are all things which will be useful as I get into a career.'

Mary King, in charge of youth activities for St John Ambulance in Hertfordshire, said: 'We are all feel that Charlotte is a very deserving county Cadet of the year and are delighted she had the opportunity to take part in the national competition.

'She is a very popular member of the division and a shining example to other young people.'