Update Your Image of Scouting
Scouting is not short trousers and Bob-a-Job week and hasn't been like that for decades! It is also fully "co-ed", young women having been admitted to the Venture Scout section in 1976 and all sections being opened to both genders in 1991.
Scouting involves a progressive training scheme which spans the 6 to 25 age range and is currently made up of 5 sections, each with its own identity, ethos and style. They all have adult support which varies in the different age groups, the older age groups becoming increasingly responsible for their own programmes. At whatever age, a young person in the Movement is a "Scout".
The Aim of The Scout Association is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.
From its inception Scouting has had a simple and positive Promise that is required to be made by all its members. Together with the Scout Law, this gives a distinctive ethos to the practices of the movement and acts as a bond with Scouts in other countries.
And tying knots? Well we still do that, but it is much more often to ensure safety when rock climbing than for building bridges (though if you're stuck with a river to cross, a Scout could be invaluable!). The Scout programme involves a wide range of outdoor and indoor activities, ranging from mountaineering to IT skills, canoeing to short wave radio, and caving to community work. All the pictures on this site show scouting activities - and that includes the gliding. Camping remains a core activity, but in the older age groups this is as likely to be 'in the wild' on expeditions over several days (in the UK or abroad) as at fixed sites.