Chief Scout Bear Grylls honours Scouts’ top achievers

Colin Anderson, Matthew Collier, Jack Corps, Daniel Hooten and Vikki McIntyre from Edinburgh have been honoured by international adventurer Chief Scout Bear Grylls for gaining their Queen’s Scouts Awards.

Bear Grylls will greet nearly 300 new Queen’s Scouts at Windsor Castle on Sunday 1^st May.  He will be joined by The Hon. Mary Bayliss, Lord Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire.  The event comes at a boom time for Scouting following last week’s announcement of the Movement’s continued membership.  Total numbers now exceed half a million.  Furthermore, more girls than boys became Scouts in the past year - the first time this has happened in the Movement's history.

The Queen’s Scout Award is the highest honour in Scouting and is awarded for outstanding personal achievement.  This honour is achieved by young people aged between 16 and 25 who have completed a range of challenges, which includes service to their community, completed an expedition in wild country, undertook a five-day residential project in an unfamiliar environment and learnt a new skill or developing an existing talent.

Vikki McIntyre, aged 23, from Blackford, Edinburgh said “Gaining my Queen’s Scout Award has been awesome.  One of the best things I have ever done in Scouting was having a real adventure completing my expedition. I hiked 50 miles across the Knoydart peninsula and beyond and it was brilliant.  I have also been a member of the international service team at the 21st World Scout Jamboree, helping to demonstrate and teach Scottish culture to Scouts from all over the world, and that has really helped me build self-confidence and develop skills in both leadership and teamwork."

Chief Scout Bear Grylls said "All these young people have lived the adventure of a lifetime to achieve their Queen’s Scout Awards, and I admire that spirit so much.  They are huge inspirations to the other 500,000 scouts in the UK and I am so pleased that both Scouting has honoured them today. They are amazing.”

The Windsor Castle event has been held regularly since 1934 on the Sunday nearest to St. George's Day (23^rd April).  St. George is the Patron Saint of Scouting.  Since the Queen’s Scout Award was instigated, over 100,000 of these awards have been presented to young men and women for outstanding personal achievements and service to their local communities.  They have learnt new skills and taken part in many of the 200 different activities on offer by Scouting across the UK.