Congratulations to Corporal Sophie Stewart!

On Friday 8 May, Sophie Stewart 9C was promoted by St John Ambulance to the rank of Corporal after passing a 2 hour assessment and will be awarded her epaulettes at a brief ceremony in the not too distant future.

Sophie has been involved with St John Ambulance since she was seven and a half, has been a Cadet since the age of nine and a half and has loved every minute of it! Her first contact with St Johns Ambulance, however, came when she was only 4 years old and needed first aid after an accident.

To prepare for her assessment, Sophie attended a gruelling weekend residential course in November last year that required would- be corporals to learn about what makes a good leader, team building activities including crawling through mud pulling a rope, climbing up and jumping off a pole, practising drills and marching, as well as presenting for duties in full uniform by 7am in the morning on Saturday and Sunday. It was a rigorous test of the cadets’ stamina and commitment to St Johns.

So, what will Sophie do now?

Having completed 6 sessions of leadership before becoming a corporal, Sophie will now put this into practice, teaching cadets about drill, organising games or demonstrating first aid. Describing her interview for Corporal with Mr and Mrs Maycock (District Youth Lead) as “deadly scary”, Sophie has shown that she is more than ready for her new role and we wish her every success as she takes her first steps forward as Corporal and progresses towards the heady heights of Sergeant in a year’s time. Sophie’s experiences with St John Ambulance will no doubt prepare her for the career in paediatrics that she is keen to pursue. Many congratulations and good luck for the future, Sophie!

Mrs Wendy Mackenzie
Teaching Assistant: English