It was a right royal day for Emilie and Stewart

Eimile Sherman from Coleraine, a Sea Cadet and Stewart Phillips from Balymoney, a Royal Marine Cadet, both were presented with the prestigious accolades and congratulated on their excellent achievements. The guest of honour and presenting the awards was Northern Ireland sporting legend, Dame Mary Peters, The Lord-Lieutenant of the City of Belfast. She was attending the ceremony in her official capacity as the Queens' Representative.

Mrs Joan Christie OBE (Lord-Lieutenant for County Antrim) attended the function as a special guest.

Both cadets were accompanied by the head of the Portrush Sea Cadets, David Philpot, parents and friends, everyone had a great day in the beautiful surroundings of the recently refurbished City Hall.

Dame Mary Peters and Mrs. Christie congratulated the two cadets, the ladies spent quite some time with the two recipients while they enjoyed tea and sandwiches after the formalities. The cadets were delighted to have met both distinguished ladies and appreciated their interest in their involvement with the Sea Cadet Corps.

Of the 170 Army Cadets, Air Training Corps and Sea Cadets based all over Northern Ireland, Eimile and Stewart were the only Sea Cadets from the Province to take part and qualify - more to the point, with distinction! A proud moment for the cadets, parents, their Sea Cadet colleagues and, the Adult Volunteers who give so much of their personal time to see these advantageous qualifications through with the young people they look after

Portrush Sea Cadets organised the BTEC Vocational Qualification over the past 12 months, as part of the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation which is a national body with direct links with all the various examination authorities and the BTEC equates to 4 GCSE's at A*.

Portrush Sea Cadets meet every Monday and Thursday throughout the year from 7.00pm to 9.30pm - at their newly refurbished Unit building in Dunluce Avenue beside the British Legion in Portrush. The cadets offer many courses and opportunities in lots of different disciplines all mixed with a big heap of fun and friendship, if you are free and want enjoyment whilst meeting many young people, do come along, Portrush Sea Cadets would be happy to see you or, telephone 708 25 999 to make an appointment to visit. Also required, adult volunteers to enjoy themselves whilst teaching many skills from IT, marketing, sailing, canoeing, power-boating, mountaineering and much, much more.

The Cadet organisations are voluntary youth movements.?The Cadets offer schools an opportunity to fulfil the National Curriculum, particularly core skills - communication, teamwork and problem solving. School Children are given the opportunity to develop their motivation, social skills, self confidence and employment prospects and to be involved in the work of the local community. There are 280 Sea Cadets in Northern Ireland, based at eleven land Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) Training Ships. Two of these Training Ships (TS Formidable, Belfast and TS Duke of York, Portrush) are affiliated to the Royal Marines. Their Charter is to help young people towards responsible adulthood by encouraging valuable personal attributes and high standards of conduct using a nautical theme based on Naval customs.

Activities include: training in subjects from First Aid to Meteorology and Engineering to Band Music. Sailing, power boating and canoeing, training at sea. Adventure training, sport and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Teamwork, leadership development and service to the community. Achievements recognised in National Record of Achievement. Sea Cadets is the UK's largest maritime youth charity. If you are between 12 to 18 you can join as a Sea Cadet, 13 to 18, as a Royal Marine Cadet, more to the point – join and enjoy 14,000 other Sea Cadets across the United Kingdom. As a Sea Cadet you can go to sea, learn to sail and do adventure training, all on a naval theme, plus get extra qualifications to give you a head start in life.

2010 will mark 150 years since the Cadet movement first started, when the Cadet Corps was formed to help bolster the country's defence numbers following heavy losses in the Crimean War.

Through Cadet150, the year promises to be an exciting one for the wider cadet family. The 131,000 current cadets will be taking part in events across the country and overseas, showcasing their movement and what it's all about. The 25,000 Adult Volunteers will also be recognised through Cadet150. Without the support of these dedicated people the Cadet Forces could not operate.?And it's not just current cadets and volunteers that are the focus for the year. Cadet150 is also about the wider cadet community; the hundreds and thousands of former cadets and volunteers who have been part of this fantastic movement over the years.