Scouts (Australia)
| Scouts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Australia | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Founder | Lord Baden Powell | ||
| Membership | 84 000 | ||
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Scouts is the section of Scouts Australia for boys and girls aged 10.5 - 15, although they can move up to the Venturer Scouts section from the age of 14.5. It follows the Cub Scout section. Scouts belong to patrols, headed by a youth leader as Patrol Leader, with an Assistant Patrol Leader. Patrols are grouped into a Scout Troop. The adult leaders or Scouters are a Scout Leader (SL) and one or more Assistant Scout Leaders (ASL). The troop is managed by the Troop Council, which consists of the Patrol Leaders advised by the Scout Leader. Scouts was the first section of the Scout Movement to be founded.
Scouts make the Scout Promise which can be either of two forms:-
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God and
To the Queen of Australia,
To help other people, and
To live by the Scout Law
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God, and
To Australia
To help other people, and
To live by the Scout Law
The difference reflects the difference in Australian society between those who support the Monarchy and those who would prefer that the country became a Republic. Also note that the promise is made "To my god", highlighting the fact that Australian scouting is multi-national, and also "multi-religious".
The Scout Law is:-
A Scout is trustworthy
A Scout is loyal
A Scout is helpful
A Scout is friendly
A Scout is cheerful
A Scout is considerate
A Scout is thrifty
A Scout is courageous
A Scout is respectful
A Scout cares for the environment
The scout award scheme is set to provide character development and leadership, while at the same time providing an opportunity for fun activities such as hiking, abseiling and camping. It provides activities ranging from land and sea to air. A Scout works to gain a number of proficiency badges (which involve the Scout gaining skills in a specified area ranging from Information Technology to Navigation, caving and rock climbing to arts and communication) and target badges/cords. These are ranked in order of difficulty - Pioneer (Red) which provides learning opportunities, Explorer (Blue) provides showing skills and leadership and finally Adventurer (Green) which is teaching others. The Pioneer Badge, often the first badge undertaken towards the Australian Scout Medallion, is achieved by completing the Campcraft and Citizenship badges and one more elective target (which can be either Air Activities, Construction, Emergencies, Environment, Water Activities or Water Safety). When they complete this badge, the Scout can then participate in the Scout Leadership Course and Leadership Activity. When a Scout has achieved the Red cord, they may attend a special scouting leadership course. This, along with the Green cord and a major leadership project, allows a scout to attain the Australian Scout Medallion, the highest award in the scout section. This can be compared to the Queen's Scout badge for Venturers, and the Baden-Powell Award badge for Rovers.
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