Scouts
5th Cambridge Scouts Troop Structure
The troop, currently consisting of 84 boys, is divided into 9 patrols of 7 boys as well as 4 senior patrols. These patrols are grouped in sections as shown by the diagram below.
Each of these patrols has a Patrol leader and these boys meet every week at a Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) to organise the programme and camps. The troop has a number of leaders and helpers, some of whom are school staff. To support the group, a Group Executive Committee meets several times a year. This group is formed by parents and scouters and as well as organising various fundraising events also ensures that the group is run in accordance with the Scout Association's 'Policy Organisation and Rules' (POR) as well as the School's adventurous activities policies.
Troop Activities
The activities of the troop can be divided into two parts; weekly meetings and yearly trips.
Weekly meetings:
Scouts are expected to attend two weekly meetings. Firstly the main troop night is at 5.30pm - 7.30pm every Friday evening. Secondly we have Troop notices during Thursday morning break in the lecture theatre. This gives us the opportunity to ensure all the Scouts know what they are doing the next day as well as to answer questions and give information about forthcoming events.
Yearly trips:
We run trips throughout the year. The most important one is summer camp which occurs in the first 11 days of the summer holiday and is the culmination of the year's training. Summer Camps in the recent past have taken place in the Wye Valley, the Isle of Wight, the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. We also camp for 4 days of Michaelmas half term and have overnight camps in the lent and summer terms. During the Easter holidays we run a sailing trip to the Norfolk Broads where the boys spend a week on either cruising boats or yachts learning to sail.
Troop Ethos
Boy Scouts first started when groups of boys banded together in the 1900s to practice techniques they read about in Scouting for Boys by Robert Baden-Powell, who at the time was a hero for his involvement in the siege of Mafeking. As 'Scouting' became more popular, Baden-Powell organised a camp for several patrols on Brownsea Island. The Scout Association is now the biggest youth movement in the world with members in all but 7 countries in the world.
The reason we have such a large and active troop is due largely to our practice of giving responsibility and leadership opportunities to the boys at a young age. Because of this they feel quite rightly that the 5th Cambridge is their Scout group and not just another activity laid on for them. They are responsible for organising and running the programme and for the atmosphere they create. The job of the leaders is to encourage and support these activities and to make sure they are run safely. The whole system relies on the principle of trust and when the boys are invested into the troop they promise, in front of the whole troop, to be trustworthy.
