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The Scout Association celebrates its centenary today. As a former scout, I am wishing that I was still involved at the moment, with the world Jamboree currently taking place in Chelmsford at the moment. The event looks huge, with scouts from all over the world attending. But how relevant is scouting in today’s society?

In a world where kids complain of having nothing to do, they turn their noses up at the Scouts. Founded by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the scouts were born out of the Mafeking Cadet Corps, a group of boys that assisted Baden-Powell during his time in the Boer War. The boys would be messengers, supporting the front-line troops. Following the war, Baden-Powell held the first scout camp on Brownsea Island. A camp of 21 boys from different backgrounds learning the survival and independance skills that Baden-Powell had developed through his army training.

Now the Scout Association is the biggest youth movement in the world.

I joined the scouts as a ‘Beaver’, the youngest division, for boys 6-8. I can remember that first night - I cried when I was left there, but when it had finished I didn’t want to leave. I then carried on through the Cub Scouts, into the Scouts and eventually became an Assistant Cub Scout leader. In that time, I learned to Abseil, Canoe, light a fire, cook backwoods-style and learned a lot about independance. I’m not going to pretend it was all good - I remember one scout camp where I was bullied, and gruelling cross-country walking in rainy conditions were not the most pleasant, but generally, it was a very happy time for me.

They say that these things are ‘character building’. Your first night camping away from home is probably the first time you’ve ever been away from your parents. It can be very daunting, and I can remember many times as a leader that we sat up comforting a child who wanted to go home - despite them boasting about having a ‘midnight feast’ of chocolate just hours before. By the end of camp though, they wouldn’t want to go back home, such was the fun of camp.

Normal scout nights were not as exciting, however. With all the best will in the world, it can be difficult to keep kids engaged. Having said that, there were always badges to work towards and although I wasn’t involved in it, we did actually have a curriculum.

So why is Scouts sneered at?

Perhaps it’s the naive liberal in me, but I cannot fathom why ‘kids of today’ turn their nose up at something that doesn’t cost that much, and gives them a sense of adventure, acheivement and a chance to socialise with more people.