General information about Scouts and Scouting

What do Scouts do?

"The Purpose of Scouting is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.

Principles

The Principles of Scouting are Duty to Self, Duty to Others, and Duty to God. We believe that the world is a better place when people are trustworthy, self-controlled and self-confident; work together to serve other people and to improve society; show responsibility for the natural world and proper respect for possessions and property; have self respect and respect for others; and have an active religious faith."
                                                            Taken from the Scout Association (UK) website


We achieve this in a number of ways.  We aim to present Scouts with new and challenging experiences and encourage them to approach new things with enthusiasm and self confidence.  We play games, make things, go outdoors, work as teams, learn about the world around us and develop new skills. 

The Structure of Scouting

Many of the things we do will make more sense to parents if you know a little more about how Scouts and Scouting activities are organised.


Scouts are organised into Troops, we are the 1st Middleton Troop.  


Within the Troop Scouts are organised into Patrols, a Patrol is normally a "team" of 4 to 8 Scouts.  There will be a Patrol Leader (PL) who leads that Patrol, encourages them, supports them and makes sure they behave appropriately during meetings and events.  The PL is assisted by  an Assistant Patrol Leader (APL). 




Many of the activities we run such as camps and hikes are organised solely by our Troop and will only involve our Scouts.


Scout Troops are organised into Scout Districts.  The Middleton District currently has 3 Scout Troops, the 1st, 2nd and 7th Middleton.
Some events, such as the 5-a-aside football tournament and swimming galas are organised at District level so Scouts from all 3 Troops may take part.  There may also be District camps, hikes and other events.


The Districts are grouped into Counties.  Middleton District are members of the Greater Manchester North County, along with other Districts such as Oldham, Radcliffe, Bolton, Bury etc.


Many events are organised and run by County and will involve Scouts and Leaders from all over the Greater Manchester North Area.  Many County competitions are aimed at District (rather than individual Troop) teams.