A MINEHEAD teenager is one of just a dozen young people from across the UK who will be travelling to Canada this summer as part of an Army Cadet Force exchange scheme.

Corporal Nancy McGowan, aged 14, will be following in the footsteps of her older sister Jessica who was also selected to represent the UK on the same scheme three years ago.

The West Somerset Community College student will spend six weeks in Canada during July and August, fine tuning various military skills, as well as taking part in kayaking, rock climbing, abseiling and shooting.

The course will also enable Nancy to potentially become a cadet leadership instructor.

She was chosen for the scheme having already represented the Somerset Cadet Battalion at national level in cross country running, hockey, athletics and swimming.

She has also represented the battalion in women's football at regional level.

Nancy is particularly well known for her shooting skills and is a member of the Minehead Platoon shooting team, which came 14th in the Cadet Hundred Competition.

She was placed 63rd in the top 100 best shots in the UK and finished sixth in the South West Smallbore Rifle Youth Championships 2009.

Nancy is also a member of the Minehead and District Rifle and Pistol Club and was the winner of Division Seven in the Somerset County Winter League competition.

Over Easter, both Nancy and fellow Minehead Platoon member Steve James successfully completed an advanced signals course and were made cadet assistant signal instructors.

The Minehead group meets every Monday and Thursday in Alcombe between 7pm and 9pm and is open to young people aged between 12 and 18. A similar group covers the Doniford area.

More information is available from the Somerset Cadet Battalion website at http://www.somersetacf.org.uk">www.somersetacf.org.uk.

Photo: Steve Guscott