Scouts (The Scout Association)
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| Owner | The Scout Association | ||
| Age range | 10½-14 | ||
| Headquarters | Gilwell Park, London | ||
| Country | United Kingdom | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Membership | 124,714 young people (2014) | ||
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The Scout section is the direct descendant of the original Scout Patrols which formed The Scout Association of the United Kingdom in 1908. The section is open to both boys and girls between the ages of 10½-14 years, and are now formed into local Scout Troops which in turn form part of a Scout Group. The Scout section follows on from the Cub Pack (8-10½ year olds) and Scouts will move onto the Explorer Scout section at the age of 14.
A general Scouting programme is adopted by Scout Troops, but it is possible for specialist troops to be formed. Sea Scouts and Air Scouts are examples of specialist programme troops.
The Boy Scout section was the first element of Scouting devised by Robert Baden-Powell, which he tested at an experimental camp on Brownsea Island in Dorset in 1907 and which was launched with the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908. Initially, boys formed themselves into Boy Scout Patrols and then sought adult leadership, resulting in the formation of local Boy Scout Troops, each of several Patrols. Contained in the pages of Scouting for Boys was Baden-Powell's Scout training scheme, a series of tests intended to build character and good citizenship in boys aged 11 to 18 years. These tests were revised several times and underwent thorough reviews in 1944, 1946 and again in 1958 without altering the basic structure of the scheme.
In 1942, a "Post-War Commission" established by Lord Somers, the Chief Scout, recommended separate provision for over 15 year-old Scouts, as it had been found to be difficult to keep older boys in the Scout Troop. The details of the new Senior Scout scheme were published in May 1943 and it officially commenced in October 1946; Scouts over the age of 15 could stay in the Troop, join a Senior Scout Patrol within the Troop, or join a separate Senior Scout Troop which was to consist of at least two Senior Patrols.
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