We've seen young people from Oxfordshire receiving their Duke of Edinburgh awards.

But it wasn’t only the presentation ceremonies Oxford Mail photographers covered - often we published pictures of youngsters working to earn the honour.

Picture 1 shows girls demonstrating the care of electrical equipment, watched by Mr and Mrs G Vale, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, in 1962.

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Pat Eaton, 17, Judith Husk, 17, and Helen Vale, 16, were hoping to convince other young people to take part in the awards scheme, at an open evening at Wesley Memorial Hall in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford.

Demonstrations included adventure, dressmaking, mothercraft and child care, while a one-act play, Win or Lose, illustrating the work of a drama class, was produced by Roy Copeman.

There was a judo demonstration, five girls showed their growing skills at public speaking and a skeleton of a canoe being built by six other girls was also on display.

Picture 2 shows Oxford girls learning braille as part of their training for the award in 1962.

(Image: Oxford Mail) Miss F M Delves, county secretary for the blind, is seen teaching, left to right, Susan Smith, Gillian Douglas, Penny Thomson and Christine Hall how to write in braille.

Picture 3 was taken on the same occasion. It may seem like a time for relaxation, but the four girls were learning how to play with a pack of braille cards as part of their training for the award.

Mrs E Townsend, who was blind, is seen passing on her skills to, left to right, Susan Allan, Sandra Norton and Gillian Harris.

The five girls in Picture 4 worked at Pressed Steel Fisher at Cowley and are seen in their lunch hour in 1969 practising map reading for an expedition.

They were Thea Roe, 17, Deane Dexter, 17, Shirley Greenaway, 16, Diana Waugh, 17, and Lorraine Gogarty, 17.

They were the first girls at the factory to take part in the award scheme. They had also attended courses covering electricity in the home, fire prevention, horse riding and dress making.

The eight boys in Picture 5, all members of the Oxford and Worcester Boys’ Club, had an unexpected introduction to the award scheme - dinner at the Roebuck Restaurant in Oxford.

They were invited by Mr W H Strange, a hairdresser and member of Oxford Rotary Club.

He had taken them under his wing because he said: “I am sick and tired of hearing Oxford businessmen damning the younger generation and not doing anything about it. I am getting to know them and will do what I can to get them their awards.”

The boys were Godfrey Finch, John Gilmore, Michael Odell, Jeffrey Webb, Brian Hamilton, Gerald Finch, Raymond Collins and Peter Walton.

Pictured at the back are, left to right, club leader Mr L Laishley, map reading tutor Mr A Lewis and Mr Strange.

Finally, a reminder of what they could all expect when their tests and training were complete - we see in Picture 6 Stephanie Capel, of Claymond Road, Barton, Oxford, and Sheila Massey, of Henley Street, Oxford, with their gold awards at Buckingham Palace in 1970.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.