A group of local young air cadets are celebrating after achieving their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Cadets from the 1094 City of Ely Squadron Air Cadets took part in the squadron’s final expedition of the year and achieved five silver, 10 bronze and seven pre-DofE awards.

A spokesman said: “Congratulations to Sergeant Pieters, Corporals Harris, Stubbs, Donoghue and Cadets McDonald, Bausor, Omar, Collins and Collins.”

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a youth awards programme founded in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations.

The awards recognise young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises modelled on Kurt Hahn’s solution to the ‘Six Declines of Modern Youth’.

Participants select and set objectives in volunteering, physical, skills and expedition categories and at gold level, participants must do an additional residential section, which involved staying and working away from home for five days.