Sea Cadets is a national youth charity offering a different kind of adventure for 10 to 18-year-olds, with every young person launched for life.
Vision: Inspiring young people to achieve their potential through challenge and nautical adventure guided by the customs and traditions of today’s Royal Navy.
Values: Respect, Loyalty, Self-Discipline, Commitment, Honesty & Integrity and Courage
Sea Cadets make exploring the world and who you want to be safe and exciting.
Sea Cadets is different from school. There's a lot of learning. But it's done through activities – on and off the water – and our volunteers lead by example.
It's also different from home, a break from screens and being cooped up inside. The platform we offer is built on the customs and traditions of the Royal Navy. It inspires our work and commitment to supporting young people today.
We are based in Stratford-upon-Avon with 50 cadets (aged between 10 and 18) and 20 adult volunteers. The unit is part of a large national youth organisation with over 400 units, 15,000 cadets and 9,000 volunteers. Sea Cadets is the UK's largest maritime youth charity.
This creates opportunities for our young people to meet other cadets at events around the UK and on trips abroad. As a result, they get comfortable meeting people from different places and backgrounds. In addition, they become confident in dealing with new situations, which can make going out into the world much easier later on.
Our friendly, trained volunteers – some from a naval background, many not – are role models for cadets, looking out for them and helping to draw out anyone who's shy.
If you think Sea Cadets sounds like having orders barked at you, think again. Many cadets want to learn to be more self-disciplined, and our volunteers will help with that and make it fun. But they also help young people to try things they've never done before safely and to support them until they achieve them.
Everyone looks after each other at Stratford-upon-Avon Sea Cadets. There's a lot of respect in the air. And many teenagers and volunteers say it feels like a second family.
We take this responsibility seriously and have robust, active safeguarding practices to ensure all young people feel secure and protected.
At Stratford-upon-Avon Sea Cadets, we aim to give young people an experience that will help them grow into the person they want to be in a safe and friendly environment. Through various activities and adventures, we learn teamwork, respect, loyalty, self-confidence, commitment, self-discipline, honesty and how to be the best version of ourselves.
This is achieved through various activities on and off the water. These include orienteering, rock climbing, rowing, kayaking, sailing, ceremonial drill and parading, first aid, marine engineering, seamanship, leadership, navigation, weather forecasting and power boating. In addition, we encourage our cadets to participate in regional and national competitions…
Our cadets can also gain different external qualifications through the RYA, DofE, BTEC and British Canoeing.
