08 January 07 - 11:59Teens: Clubs give us a Better Quality of Life

Bristol Evening Post 08.01.07

Scouts in Bristol have spoken out in a nationwide survey that aimed to dispel teen stereotypes.

The Scout Association carried out a study of the thoughts of young people and said it found that UK teenagers are more confident, respectful and caring than many of the stereotypes commonly applied to them.

Results of the study - released to coincide with the association's centenary - revealed that 40 per cent of young people are members of youth or sports clubs such as the Scouts.

Findings also demonstrated a strong social conscience in the nation's youth - with 84 per cent saying that looking after the environment is important, and almost 79 per cent feeling it is important to be well-informed on current affairs.

The Scout Association said young people are keen for adults to give more credence to what young people have to say.

Neil Salter, county commissioner for the scouting movement in Avon, said: "The survey shows that members of youth or sports clubs are more likely to think highly of their family, more likely to have a good relationship with other adults in their community.

"It also shows that those involved with clubs - including Scouting - are more inclined to believe that making a difference to this world is important and they are less likely to feel bored."

The report highlights how boredom remains an issue with 68 per cent commonly feeling this way.

But the association said there was evidence of a link between being a member of a youth or community group and the leading of better lives - with members of groups being significantly healthier, far less likely to participate in underage drinking and smoking or be bullied or bored.

Lucy Challis, 14, from Stoke Gifford, who is an Explorer Scout in the Endeavour Explorer Scout Unit in Alveston, said: "The survey shows that boredom plays a huge part in every day life for young people. It is vital that we have the opportunity to participate in activities outside of school. For me, Scouting provides a safe environment packed with fun, challenge and adventure as well as the opportunity to do something constructive in my spare time."

Cathy Scothern, 15, an Explorer Scout with Sharman Explorer Scout Unit who meet at Woodend, South Gloucestershire, added: "This report proves what I see with my Scouting colleagues each week. We know that we both enjoy our time in Scouting, and at the same time it is teaching us skills that help us develop.

"For further information on Scouting, the largest youth movement in the world, call 0845 3001818, email jointheadventure@avonscouts . org.uk or visit www.avonscouts.org.uk

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08 January 07 - 11:51Scout Association Report on the Youth of Today

As reported in many Sunday Newspapers on 7th January 2007

The Scout Association unveils groundbreaking report on how young people feel about life in the modern world

For the first time, research released today (8 January 2007) by The Scout Association has revealed a truthful and modern representation of what motivates young people in the UK today. The findings, commissioned to coincide with the launch of Scouting�s Centenary year, indicate that UK teenagers are more confident, respectful and caring about the world they live in than many of the stereotypes commonly applied to them.

Young people express highly positive attitudes to the family unit, with mum and dad emerging as the top two people admired by young people, followed by teachers and youth club leaders. In contrast, celebrities have apparently little influence on the UK's teenagers, with over half saying they have either a negative or zero impact on their lives. Pete Doherty topped the list of bad role models spontaneously cited by the young people whilst Kylie and Beckham were the most admired.

The report also highlights how boredom remains an issue with 68% commonly feeling this way. However, there is clear evidence of a link between participation of a youth or community group and the leading of better lives � with members of groups being significantly healthier, far less likely to participate in underage drinking and smoking or be bullied or bored.

Findings also demonstrated a strong social conscience in the nation's youth with 84% stating that looking after the environment is important, and almost 79% feeling it is important to be well informed on current affairs.

Katie Carter, 15, an Explorer Scout from Essex: "This report shows that we are not all lazy layabouts who see ASBOs as 'badges of honour' and have no respect for adults. Young people still get bored and it is vital that we have the opportunity to participate in activities outside of school and home. For me, Scouting is packed full of adventure, fun and friends, from local fund raising to worldwide travel. I have recently got back from travelling around 14 different countries in eight days � how many 15 year olds get opportunities like that?"

Other key results from the report include:

Community Spirit:

* 70% feel adults are overtly critical of them
* Community spirit does not seem to be too high
* Members of youth clubs are twice as likely to be community minded

School and Education:

* 90% feel pressure from parents to achieve in school
* 81% respect their teachers
* 87% are eager to achieve good grades
* 81% want to go to University

Family Unit:

* 95% feel their parents want the best for them
* 25% feel their parents don�t really listen to them

General aspirations:

* 85% rate their top aspiration as living somewhere respectable, followed by having a good job (76%), earning a good education (74%)

The report involved quantitative and qualitative research of 1,004 13 � 18 year olds.

The ScoutingPlus Team

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05 January 07 - 11:09Be prepared for Scouts' 100-year jamboree

Taken from the Scotsman 5th January 2007

Be prepared for Scouts' 100-year jamboree

CLAD in khaki brown, they first kindled fire and camped under canvas 100 years ago. The Scouts, inspired by the young messengers of the Siege of Mafeking, during the Boer War, have undergone a more recent battle of attrition against falling numbers and a public perception of irrelevancy.

What role can a youth movement, founded in the Edwardian era, possibly play in the 21st century? It is a question battalions of boys and girls aim to answer next year as the movement celebrates the centenary of its foundation by Robert Baden-Powell, author of the fourth best-selling title in history: the Boy Scout Handbook.

In Britain, numbers have dropped from 550,000 in the mid-1980s to 400,000 today, yet the organisation, which promotes the outdoor life and the communitarian values of camping, believe they have detected the first green shoots of recovery. Last year, attendance rose for the first time in 13 years, while the number of teenagers joining has risen by 10-15 per cent.

The Scouts, living up to their motto: "Be prepared", will also celebrate next year's 100th anniversary by hosting a gathering larger than the Olympic Games. Plans are now under way to host a "jamboree", as Scout gatherings are called, that will draw together 40,000 participants from 216 nations and regions. The Olympics will attract only 21,000 participants from 203 nations.

The international World Scout Jamboree, to be held in Essex, will turn Hylands Park into a small city of tents as young men and women drawn from across the globe gather to celebrate the memory of the Lieutenant-General in the British Army, who transformed a small gathering of boys, who first camped on Brownsea Island in Dorset in 1907, into a global organisation with 28 million members.

"The Scouts, I believe, are not irrelevant," said Simon Carter, a media officer for the Scout Association of Great Britain. "In fact, the Scouts have never been more relevant. The Scouts have always celebrated diversity, religious diversity and ethnic diversity, and next year we will be bringing together over 40,000 people from around the world, and they will live under canvas for two weeks and they will learn a lot more about each other."

A lot has changed since Baden-Powell suggested cold showers as an antidote to the average teenage boy's nocturnal activities. Since 1990, the Scouts have been mixed sex, and while boys in the past would spend time earning their Tenderfoot badge for catching a runaway horse, today's Scouts compete to earn badges in PR and IT. Yet at the heart of the Scout movement is an appreciation of nature and a love of the outdoors.

Baden-Powell was inspired to set up the Scouts after witnessing the bravery and skill of young volunteer boys who were formed into the Mafeking Cadet Corps who helped carry messages during the siege of Mafeking in South Africa during the Second Boer War. It was the successful defence of the town that made Baden-Powell a national hero, and in 1907 he adapted his own best-selling book, Aids to Scouting, to suit a younger readership.

He pioneered his teachings by drawing together 21 boys from mixed social backgrounds for a week-long camp on Brownsea Island. The Scouts were formed as boys, after reading his book, set up their own patrols and wrote to him for guidance.

For more information on joining visit www.bathscouts.org.net

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02 January 07 - 13:15Scouts Salute their First 100 years!

Taken from Bristol Evening Post 2nd January 2007

Scouts around the Avon area will join in the movement's centenary celebrations this year.Across the world, 2007 will see Scouts marking 100 years since Robert Baden-Powell started the movement with an experimental camp for 20 youngsters.

Scouting has now grown into the largest co-educational youth movement in the UK, with more than 400,000 young members and 100,000 adult volunteers.

Worldwide the movement has more than 28 million members and operates in 216 countries, with only a handful - including China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Andorra and Myanmar - not taking part.

Some of the volunteers and 10,000 Scouting youngsters from the Avon area will be among those taking part in the celebrations, which will reflect on the foundation of the movement, what it has achieved and how it can work in the future.

The highlight will be the World Scout Jamboree, which will see 40,000 Scouts from 150 countries setting up camp in Hylands Park, Essex, in late July.

They will also be there for the first week of August, including the anniversary itself on August 1.

Scouts from Avon are due to attend but there will also be several events closer to Bristol for the area's Scouts to enjoy.

They include: a celebration of St George's Day in the Royal Crescent, Bath, on Sunday, April 22; a centenary camp of 4,000 people in late May at the Avon Scouts activity centre in Woodhouse Park, Almondsbury; an exchange with Scouts from Columbia and Iceland after the World Scout Jamboree; and an afternoon event on the seafront at Weston-super-Mare to mark the 100th anniversary day.

A special 50p coin celebrating the Centenary of Scouting is due to go

into general circulation in January, while a series of postage stamps is set to be launched in July.

Peter Duncan, the UK Chief Scout, said: "Scouting helps young people fulfil their full physical, intellectual social and spiritual potentials by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves.

"The centenary year will provide even more opportunities for members to do this, and to continue to take risks in a safe environment, and have their first taste of responsibility."

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