A change of image, but spirit of Scouting remains the same

I was always too busy playing football or cricket, besides which the idea of going camping and learning how to do reef knots didn’t really appeal and the uniforms looked like something the friends of Rupert Bear might wear.

For a long time Scouting was seen as old-fashioned and uncool, but in recent years it has enjoyed a resurgence of interest among young people. Gone were the forest green shirts and polyester trousers, and in came cargo pants and polo shirts. You might think that it shouldn’t be about the clothes, but young people, especially teenagers, are the most fashion-conscious demographic there is and even the most well-intentioned youngsters can take umbrage at being made to wear a uniform they don’t like.

But as well as a fashion makeover the Scout movement revamped its programme of activities back in 2002 following a major review. The upshot of this was as well as staying true to the traditional values established by Lord Baden-Powell, the Scouts’ founder, who set up the organisation in 1907, it also introduced more high-octane activities such as zorbing, snowboarding and even dragon-boat racing.

It appears to have done the trick, although getting TV adventurer Bear Grylls to become its new Chief Scout two years didn’t do any harm either. The Scout Association has grown during the past six years and now has more than 500,000 members, including 60,000 girls, and yesterday it announced that Scouts are to volunteer their services in a dedicated week of action across the UK almost 20 years after “bob-a-job week” ended.

It is estimated that up to 400,000 young people will be involved in the Scout Community Week, which will run from May 14- 20 next year, with members encouraged to look at ways they can help their local communities. The original series of Scout volunteer weeks was known as “bob-a-job week”, and saw members of the public asked to contribute a shilling – worth five pence in today’s money – in exchange for Scouts doing jobs.

Yesterday’s announcement comes at a time when almost half of all Scouts are now volunteering in their wider community as well as with the Scout movement. Bear Grylls believes volunteering is at the heart of Scouting. “All Scouts promise to help other people and there is no better way of showing this than getting involved in your community. I hope that as many Scout Groups as possible will get inspired in this celebration of their own community next May.

“This country is full of many people who give of their spare time to make a difference and I am proud to be amongst their numbers. Together we can influence positive change.”

Simon Carter, a spokesman for the Scout Association and a group scout leader himself, says the community week is linked to the ethos of selflessness and discipline. “It’s a modern version of the old ‘bob-a-job week.’ So Communities will be able to ask local scout groups to help out. It might be that a playground needs painting, or a canal path needs clearing, or they might get involved with an old people’s luncheon club,” he says.

“It’s clear to me that a lot of young people want to make a difference, it boosts their self-esteem and sense of value. Children go to school and get their GCSEs and their A-levels and it’s all me, me, me. But they also want to do something positive for their community and this allows them to do that.”

He agrees that the image of Scouting has changed. “It’s much less formal than it was, the uniform has changed and the whole thing is less geeky.” He points to the success of this year’s World Scout Jamboree in Sweden, which attracted more than 40,000 from over 146 countries, as proof of its continued popularity. “We have 30,000 people on a waiting list who would join tomorrow if we had another five, or six thousand adults.”

Carter believes that being a Scout can have benefits later in life. “It makes people more employable. You learn organisation skills, you work in a team and lead people and it’s been shown that employers think youngsters who were Scouts make better employees, and young people know that,” he says.

“There’s basically no difference between a 14 year-old today and a 14 year-old from 1907. They still want self-esteem and a sense of belonging. They still want to do exciting activities with other kids and they still want an adventure and if you can promise that then they will join without question.”