Hundreds of children were awarded a top award at the Youlbury Scout Activity Centre.

Oxfordshire County Scouts held their awards day yesterday to recognise the hard work put into challenges by thousands of Scouts in the county.

In Oxfordshire, there are over 6,000 young people who are members of the Scouts and this year the awards ceremony was special as the first ever Acorn award was presented to a Squirrel Scout, which is the association’s new section for four to six year olds.

In total, over 1,000 young children received a top award relevant to their age section this year in Oxfordshire.

This year the event was particularly special as William Butcher, 8, from Chipping Norton, and Darcy Oliver, 8, from Wantage, were given the bronze award.

The Scout’s Assistant County Commissioners, Val and Bill Butcher, have a combined service of over 90 years in Scouting and their son Steve Butcher is the Cub Scout Leader.

An Oxfordshire Scouts spokesman said: “Scouting is about providing fun and adventure to young people in order to provide them with life skills.

“The number achieving their award proves what dedication the youngsters of today are prepared to give.

“What made this year’s ceremony unique was that an uncle and his niece both received their Beaver Scout bronze award.”