Hannah 4Hannah Hunt aged 14, and a Scout at Penistone Scout group, has become the first scout in the UK to complete every badge in the scout section. Hannah has completed 82 activity badges and 9 challenge badges as well as the top award in the scout section, the Chief Scouts Gold Award.

To complete all the badges has taken an enormous amount of dedication, but at the same time lots of fun and adventure. In her quest to achieve the hundreds of requirements, she has paddled kayaks, flown in a glider, taken part in horse-riding, dragon-boating, geocaching, parascending, learnt basic and advanced aviation and nautical skills, how to sail a dinghy and even memorised 30 types of aircraft.

Hannah said “I couldn’t have achieved this without the support and love of my Mum and my family and the dedication of my Scout Leader Alison. I have enjoyed every minute of completing each badge and my journey has taken me far and wide and I have met some incredible people.”

Lisa Hannah’s Mum said, “The last 12 months have been so busy: one weekend we could be in North Yorkshire gliding at Sutton Bank and the next Dragon-boating in Nottinghamshire. I feel like I have achieved each badge alongside Hannah and I can’t express how proud I am of her as her mum. I cried when all the scouts cheered as she achieved the last of the badges.”

Alison Lamb, Hannah’s scout leader said “Hannah is a fantastic scout. As a leader in scouting we meet fantastic Young People and Hannah typifies the calibre and enthusiasm of the children we see every day as volunteers for the scouting movement. I am really proud of Hannah, as are the rest of the group.”

Hannah is soon to join Explorers, the next section in the Scout Association, and although she is concentrating on her studies for the time being, no doubt she will be taking a look at the badges she can achieve as an Explorer Scout.

Penistone Scouts is a successful and thriving group and has recently expanded its offering to more young people in nearby Thurlstone & Millhouse Green villages by opening new Beaver & Cub Scout sections. Steve Roach, Group Scout leader said “The group now has over 250 young people enjoying what scouting has to offer. We still have a joining list and are always looking for opportunities to expand further.”