Girls in the senior section of Girlguiding Wharfedale have been presented with four silver and 15 bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

The badges and certificates were handed out by Ilkley Parish Council chairman, Councillor Mike Gibbons, at Outside the Box community cafe in Ilkley last week.

For the past year, girls from 1st Addingham Senior Section and 1st Rombalds Rangers have devoted many hours to improve their skills, by taking up activities such as astronomy, DIY, Chinese, musical instruments, dancing and sewing.

To maintain physical fitness, some tried football, others attended fitness classes, went sailing, climbing, horse riding or played tennis. They also undertook rigorous character-building overnight expeditions in all sorts of weather conditions.

But the main achievement was in their pursuit of voluntary activities which demonstrated a concern for others and the aim to make a difference within their community.

Some of the girls followed the Leadership scheme for Girlguiding in various sections.

Charity shops also benefited from their help, as did Outside the Box Community Cafe.

An interest in horse riding led one girl to help the charity Riding for the Disabled and two others showed great commitment by helping in residential homes in Ilkley. The girls and their Leaders, Kathy Hunt and Karen Palframan, are now planning expeditions to The Yorkshire Dales, South Pennines and The Lake District during 2014, towards their next awards.

To further demonstrate the adventurous nature and forward thinking of the girls in Ilkley and Addingham, one girl will join others from the whole of the North of England when they visit the Guide Centre in Sangam, India. A second girl has been selected to join a crew on a tall ship which will sail from Hartlepool to Holland at Easter.

Adult helpers are sought by Girlguiding Wharfedale. Visit the Girlguiding Wharfedale section of ilkley.org for more details.