Aylesbury Scouts sees 15% increase in membership over the last twelve months

However, more than ever we are seeing more and more young people get involved with the local scouts Explorer section, which is for children aged 14 to 17.

In the last 12 months there has been an increase of nearly 15% in Explorers across the Town.

Lead volunteer for Aylesbury Scouts, Mark Rutland said, “Over the last three years we’ve seen increases in the number of young people aged 14 to 16 getting involved in Explorers. In the last twelve months we’ve also seen a 50% increase in the number of girls joining the section. A high percentage of the Explorers are also young leaders with the younger sections and they are developing skills they can use on a CV or College/University application. These skills will include working with others, communication, planning and organisation.”

Explorer Scout, Ben Schofield (15) said, I’ve been to Gilwell 24 where we went on numerous rides and activities and stayed awake for 24 hours. I’ve also been to Laser Tag and Big Rock in Milton Keynes. We’ve also enjoyed film nights with our friends. We decide what we would like to do and then take the opportunity to organise the evenings. I also help with the Cub section where I organise and run games and help the children with activities ranging from cooking to craft.”

Scouting is very popular across the Town with over 700 children and young people aged 6 to 17 involved.

However, there are over 250 children on waiting lists to join Beavers (boys and girls aged 6 to 8), Cubs (boys and girls 8 to 10 ½) and Scouts (boys and girls aged 10 ½ to 14) in the Town.

Even during lockdown the volunteers are providing the children with activities. There are sections having meeting across Skype, Teams and Zoom with children participating in scavenger hunts, quizzes and talking about their hobbies.

Some of the badges children are doing include Book reader, Chef, Cook and Scientist. Many of the Beavers (boys and girls aged 6 to 8) worked towards their special badge for VE Day which included making a parachute, writing their name in Morse Code and making a flag.

Lead volunteer for Buckinghamshire Scouts, James Palin said, “Scouting across the County continues to grow and we have over 8560 children and young people aged 6 to 17 involved.

The majority of Districts across the County have grown in the last 12 months. We know that children want to join the sections but we need to find more adult volunteers. There are nearly 2700 children on our waiting lists. Volunteering with young people gives volunteers the opportunity to make new friends, develop skills and to encourage young people to do something for the first time. We provide training that ranges from programme planning to first aid, how to pitch a tent to administration. Completion of our award winning training programme can

lead to a formal qualification.”

For further information about Scouting please visit www.bucks-scouts.org.uk