From the age of 7, I have been heavily involved in Scouting. Progressing through from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorer Scouts and now to Scout Network, I regulally take part in both weekly regular meetings and weekend camps. I have also been involved with helping at one of the local Cub packs at home in Poynton, taking on a leadership role on a weekly basis.

Jamboree

The World Scout Jamboree is a huge event held every 4 years in a different country where Scouting is present, with the aim of bringing tens of thousands of Scouts together at once. During 2006, I was selected to represent both Cheshire and the UK at the 21st WSJ held in Hylands Park, Essex.

In order to be selected, I had to attend a number of large teambuilding exercises, to see how well I could cope with living in a close group of people for 10 days. These were extremely competative, with hundreds of people fighting for only a few places. Post-selection, I took part in numerous weekend camps and activites with the rest of my unit, designed to bring us together as a team.

In the summer of 2007, we travelled down to Essex by coach for what was possibly the greatest 10 days of my life!

More recently, I’ve was selected to attend the 2011 WSJ in Sweden as a member of the International Service Team, spending 12 days on-site with adults from all corners of the world to help make the Jamboree as amazing an experience as I had back in 2007. While this was an extremely exhausting way to spend a couple of weeks, it was an amazing experience to come together with like-minded volunteers from around the globe, to deliver a truly spectacular event for the worldwide Scouting movement.

Other

I have partipated in numerous ‘Summer Camps’, both helping run such camps for younger Scouts, and trips abroad with Network members my age to such places as Hungary. During the summer of 2009, I spent 10 days in Italy, completeing challenges towards my Explorer Belt. Following on from this in 2010, I achieved the Queens Scout award (the highest accolade available in Scouting), earning myself a place on the St Georges day parade in Windsor Castle in 2011.