ARMY Cadet Leanne Noble gained promotion during the group's annual camp.
Leanne, from Seaham, was told at the start of the two-week camp in Scotland that she had been promoted to Cadet Sergeant Major.
She is a Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for County Durham, and has now reached the top in the Army Cadets.
Leanne said: "I am really pleased to have been promoted. It was a complete surprise."
She is starting a course in September to study sport and exercise at Sunderland University, and eventually hopes to join the Army as a PT instructor.
Leanne was one of more than 300 Army Cadets at the camp. They had two venues, one near Crieff in Perthshire, where the programme included canoeing, mountain biking, and abseiling.
The other was near Dundee, where the cadets were taught military skills.
There are vacancies for adult leaders in the cadets. To find out more, call Major Boris Spence, on 0191-3882351, or Lieutenant Colonel David Summers, on 0191-3847202.
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