Scouting On Your Doorstep
"Are you the Scout Leader?"
"Yes, yes I am."
"Can I join?"
"Er, well, um... why do you want to be in Scouts?"
"My friends at School have told me it’s wicked, and I want to go on all the camps and stuff - so can I come on Thursday?"
"I can’t say yes just like that - you’re the fifth guy to ask this term and we’ve already got far more members than we’ve planned for."
"When can I know, because I really want to go on the survival weekend?"
"Ok, OK! If you remove your bike from my foot and help me carry this shopping to my car, I’ll make a note of your name and we’ll do our best to find some more leaders so that we can do things with even more of you."
The Scout movement plays a very active part in the Hillfield/Monkspath community, but do you know what we’re all about? 2nd Monkspath Scout Group started life 16 years ago with a group of 8-10 year-olds meeting in a small community hut long since demolished. We now have 70 youngsters aged 6 to 14 and are supporting the development of an 'Explorer Scout Unit' which currently has 22 members aged 14 to 18. We were also the first Group in the area to take girls, and have successfully run a mixed Troop for 12 years.
We organize a huge range of activities. For the youngest the emphasis is on ‘Fun and Friends’, with lots of games and learning activities. More and more challenge and adventure is thrown in as the members grow older, with opportunities for such things as canoeing, climbing, mountaineering, back-packing expeditions, caving...
By their mid-teens Scouts are already taking responsibility for organizing their own activities, and leading groups of younger members.
17 of our scouts have been presented their Chief Scout’s Award by the Mayor of Solihull, which testifies to great achievement and quality of character, and a further 14 are currently undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
The fun is not just for the kids!! Parents are encouraged to participate in the life of the Group, and enjoy the opportunity to socialise. Family events range from walking weekends to huge camps based on themes such as mediaeval knights and indian tribes.
The adults who get the most out of it are the teams who run the activities. Not only do the leaders and helpers get the fun of joining in everything, but also the reward of seeing how much their contributions benefit the youngsters. If you’d like to join us and help provide Scouting to even more of our young people, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
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