A St Albans pupil has a watertight reason for taking on a charity challenge in early July – to help raise funds for Royal Air Force veterans and their dependants.

Sixteen year old Ross Ferreira, an air cadet from St Albans School, will battle tides and jellyfish while undertaking a relay swim of the English Channel.

The challenge is one of many events the RAF Air Cadets - whose royal patron is the Duchess of Cambridge - are holding this year to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

Ross, a Cadet Under Officer who is part of the school’s Combined Cadet Force, has been training hard for months at the City of St Albans Swimming Club and the Hercules Open Water Swimming Club at Northwood to build up endurance and stamina as well as getting used to the motion of the sea.

The teenager said: “We have all put in a massive amount of training and had to go through a rigorous selection process so it will be good to get into the water.

“We’re all very excited and hopefully we will also raise a good sum of money towards the Air Training Corps 75th anniversary fund.”

Numerous events have been planned by RAF air cadets to mark the milestone year, including a torch relay, aerospace camp and sports challenge.

Mike Neville, RAF benevolent fund director of strategy and fundraising, wished Ross good luck for the Channel swim, and praised the student for being “a shining example to the Air Training Corps and the cadets in his squadron”.

The 21-mile swim, being undertaken by two teams, will be adjudicated by an observer from the Channel Swimming Association to ensure that all rules are followed for the event to be officially recognised. The event is planned for the first week of July, depending on the weather.

Major Kenny Everitt, his commanding officer at school, described Ross as “a very strong swimmer”, adding, “We wish him the best of luck with this mammoth event. He has trained extremely hard and has earned his place in the squad.”

• For the latest updates on the Channel swim follow @AcoSwim and @SASHerts on Twitter.