10-year-old scout in England becomes one of the 1st to earn every possible badge


Willow Woolhouse has picked up dozens of new skills over the last few years, and she has the badges to prove it.
Woolhouse, 10, lives in England, and she's part of Britain's Scout Association. She is the lone girl in her Cub Scout pack, and one of the only in the organization to ever earn every possible activity badge; the last person to complete the challenge was 10-year-old Rebecca Cooper in 2009. Woolhouse began her quest at age 5 when she was a Beaver Scout, and it took her three years to complete all 20 tasks. She earned 37 more as a Cub Scout, and has all 57 badges sewn onto her uniform. She has already decided that once she becomes a Scout this year, she'll earn all 62 of those badges.
"I feel really happy about getting them all," Woolhouse told The Independent. "When I look back on my life I can't picture myself not being a Cub or a Beaver. It's just that friendship with everyone there that's really got me." She earned her last Cub badge in December for photography, and practiced taking pictures of her mom. Before that, Woolhouse learned — among other things — how to ride a horse, send messages in Morse code, defend herself with Tang Soo Do, and cook an omelet. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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