Scout national numbers see biggest rise in 20 years - 21-04-2008
It boasts the film director Steven Spielberg, newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, footballer David Beckham and rock star Keith Richards as former members and has left behind its reputation for camp fires and knot-tying with a new focus on snowboarding and whitewater rafting.
And the Scout movement's change of image seems to be paying off: 2007 saw the biggest increase in its membership for 22 years. Some 15,000 extra people joined the 100-year-old organisation last year. Today the Scout Association is launching an appeal for volunteer leaders after the growth in membership left it short of adults to run local groups. Waiting lists have surged by 3,000 over the past year because of a shortage of older people willing to help.
The latest membership figures revealed a 3.7 per cent increase in youth membership and a 1.7 per cent rise in adult membership. Some 13,500 young people and 1,500 adults joined the Scout Association in the past 12 months. This means that the total UK youth membership is now more than 465,000, with 100,000 adult volunteers.
A massive overhaul of activities for teenagers, with the introduction of badges to recognise skills in snowboarding and street sports, has been hailed as reviving the Scout brand. Membership has been steadily increasing since 2005, and the biggest growth has been among 14- to 18-year-olds, the target age group, which has seen a 6.5 per cent increase in members.
Despite its roots in Lord Baden Powell's "muscular Christianity", scouting has also increased its popularity among young people of other faiths. Two of the largest growing groups are sponsored by their local Islamic communities – the 8th Blackford group in Edinburgh experienced the largest growth in Scotland, with 72 additional members, while the 304th Birmingham group attracted an additional 88 members. They are just two of the 25 groups sponsored by the Muslim community.
Emma Moverley, a 19-year-old assistant Cub Scout leader from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, said there were many benefits of becoming a volunteer scout leader. "I joined the Scouts when I was younger and know how much I got out of it. I think it's a shame that there are so many young people who are missing out," she said.
"I get a lot out of volunteering too. I've made loads of new friends and through scouting I've had the opportunity to try out loads of new activities and get new skills for myself, such taking part in some great summer camps and having the opportunity to travel abroad to places like Austria."
By Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent, The Independent
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