The group received the Community Commitment Award, which is for groups of young people under the age of 18 who see a need in their community and work together to create a solution.

Spectacular Screenings is run by a group of students under the age of 18 who provide regular indoor and outdoor movie nights in Forbes and have partnered with other community groups to offer movies such as during Children’s Week, International Women’s Week and Screen on the Green.

The state-wide NSW Children’s Week Awards recognise the outstanding contributions to the needs, interests and welfare of children.

The original five members of Spectacular Screenings – Daniel and Mitchell Ashcroft, Liam Bosma, Rebecca Roach and Zoe Cook – attended the NSW Children’s Week Awards ceremony yesterday, held at the State Library of NSW in Sydney.

Forbes Shire Council’s youth liaison officer Natalie Walker nominated Spectacular Screenings for the award and said the win was a pleasant surprise and a significant achievement.

“They are definitely deserving winners,” she said. “I just thought it was a good opportunity to nominate them due to their age being so young and what they’ve done as a group for the community.”

Members of the group were thrilled with their award.

“It’s very exciting,” Liam Bosma said.

“It means that we’ve been recognised for the effort that we’ve put into the community by helping out with providing events for young people.

“Spectacular Screenings is a good initiative by Forbes Shire Council.”

Zoe Cook said it’s great to be recognised, not just locally but state-wide.

“It felt good to be recognised for helping with events and giving young people something to do when they don’t necessarily have much to do in a small town,” she said.

Chair of the NSW Children’s Week Council, Jennifer Evans said Spectacular Screenings were deserving winners of the Community Commitment Award.

“They’re a wonderful group…it’s inspiring to see young people take such a leadership role in a small community,” she said.

“We were very impressed for a number of reasons: the group has been going for over three years which shows its sustainability; they have solid support from council; the extent of the work they've done over the three years; their willingness to share their experiences with other children in NSW; they've been working very broadly and extensively and are innovative in what they do; and they stood out because the core members have been there since the start and have grown and developed and are seeking new ways to share the message.