Youngsters on waiting list as Brighton and Hove Scouts seek more helpers

Dozens of youngsters are on a waiting list to join their local Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in Brighton, Hove and Portslade because of a shortage of leaders.

District Commissioner David Simon and three youngsters spoke about the Scout movement at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting this afternoon (Monday 13 October).

Mr Simon said that Brighton and Hove District Scouting was formed from a merger of three local districts in 2011 and now has 19 Scout groups.

The movement celebrated its centenary in 2007 and, with Bear Grylls as Chief Scout, has enjoyed a resurgence.

One of the youngsters told the council’s Children and Young People Committee at Hove Town Hall: “There’s something in scouting for everyone. You don’t have to be a born survivor with Bear Grylls’ skills.”

Mr Simon said: “Nationally there are currently 30,000 young people waiting to join the Scouts.

“We suffer from this problem within Brighton and Hove so adult recruitment is always high on the agenda.

“We’ve had strong growth for the past five years but many sections are limited by the number of adult volunteers.”

He said that a new group had opened at the Coptic Church in Hove this year and a local mosque was interested in setting up a group.

Mr Simon added: “Unfortunately many of the attempts to publicise this issue and raise the profile of Scouting has encouraged more young people to want to join and exacerbated the problem.

“One of the downsides of more 18-year-olds going to university is that we’ve seen fewer young people staying on as leaders although some are coming back after university.

“I came down here to go to university.”

Many adult volunteers did though report benefits in the professional lives from working with the Scout movement.

The Cubs will celebrate their centenary in 2016 and plan a year of adventure next year in the lead up.

Anyone wishing to volunteer is asked to contact Mr Simon by emailing david.simon@ntlworld.com.