It was a day for both pride and excitement for the Cole District Scouts this weekend as they celebrated their annual St. George's Day Parade.

Knowle High Street was overrun on Sunday (26 April) by 12 of the district's Scouting groups, ranging from four to 25-years-old.

They were joined by members of the 1st Marston Green Scout Band, who celebrated their centenary last year.

The annual St. George's Day Parade is now approaching its 30th year in Knowle. At 2pm, nearby roads were temporarily closed off for the march, which ended with a service at Knowle Parish Church where the Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Marine Scouts learned the story of England's saint.

"St. George is the patron saint of Scouting," said youth leader volunteer Ben Jones.

"We do it in a basic format or the young people to understand.

"The morals of the story are bravery, doing the right thing, and stepping up, and that's what fits into our core values as Scouts.

"It's one of the days we renew the Promise and take a moment to reflect and think about why we're here and what we're doing."

During the Scouts-only service, one older face was present among the sea of young people. In a surprise departure from tradition, Richard Stubbs – who wore a medal from King George V – was presented with an award for 60 years of service to the Scouts.

Meanwhile, four other Solihull Scouts - Kate Buxton, Katie Jennings, Daniel Corbett, and Laura Hampson – were presented the King's Scout Award at an event at Windsor Castle.

The King's Scout Award is the highest recognition in Scouting, and can only be earned from an extensive dedication to volunteering and expeditions.

The church service drew to a close with half an hour of songs, prayers, and team chanting before the Scouts returned to the high street – this time to march before MP Saqib Bhatti and the Mayor of Solihull.

"I've found it really wonderful," Mayor Annette Mackenzie told Solihull Nub News.

"[The service] was really wonderful because of the children." She added that this was her first time attending the Knowle parade. "I always visit Shirley, and we always have a fantastic parade there. I'm so glad I came to Knowle. "It's so important, and they learn so much. It's so uplifting for the children, and they're all so proud – and they start off tiny now!"

MP Saqib Bhatti described the event as "Solihull through and through".

"We're really lucky because we've got a huge amount of community here," he said.

"This is a massive part of our identity, and it's the biggest event in my calendar, to be honest. I look forward to this every year.

"St. George's Day is a massive part of who we are. We should be proud of our identity, and it's amazing to help the young kids coming here. It's a huge level of commitment and it's a great privilege to be part of that.

"It's super important [to keep Scouting traditions alive], because if you look around, the whole community's out here. You've got young kids volunteering. It helps build their character.

"I want to see more of it."

The Cole District Scouts are now looking forward to their next big adventure – this time to Poland, where they will be joining Scouts from around the world for a jamboree in Gdańsk. The 26th World Scout Jamboree will be held in August 2027. The event will mark 120 years since the birth of Scouting, and will host a special 'Friendship Day' on 1 August.

"We've got 40 young people taking part, as SoliCov," Ben said.

"SoliCov will be going to Poland, where they'll be joined by 40,000 other young people from all over the world, from every single country other than five.

"It's going to be a fantastic two weeks, and there's lots of fundraising going ahead.

"Although this is a very small part of what Scouts is, it's the biggest youth movement in the world," he said.

"You get to feel like a bit of a bigger family when you all get together like this."