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The Scout Association is the World Organization Of The Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom . Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell . Due to the rapid growth of Scouting and a desire to remove control from the publisher of the Scouting magazine, The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, '''The Boy Scout Association''', in 1910 by the grant of a charter by the Parliament Of The United Kingdom . The Boy Scout Association was re-named as The Scout Association in 1967. The stated aim of The Scout Association is to "promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential" and to create "responsible citizens".1 As of 2007, The Scout Association provides a Programme to help achieve this aim for young people from the age of 6 to 25.2 The latest census shows that almost 360,000 people aged 6–25 are members of The Scout Association.3 Girls were first admitted in 1976 to the Venture Scouts , and the rest of Sections on an optional basis in 1991. Since 2007 all Scout Groups in the UK must accept girls as well as boys, although religious preferences can be accommodated.4 HISTORY Birth of the Movement The roots of The Scout Association come from the fame of Robert Baden-Powell following his exploits during the Boer War . In 1907 , "B-P", as he is known to all members of the Movement, ran a Camp On Brownsea Island for teenage boys of varying backgrounds. This camp is now considered to be the start of the Movement.5 The following year, Baden-Powell wrote a series of magazines, '' Scouting For Boys '', setting out activities and programmes which existing youth organisations could make use of.6 The reaction was phenomenal, and quite unexpected. In very short time, Scout Patrols were created up and down the country, all following the principles of Baden-Powell's book. By the time of the first census in 1910, there were over 100,000 members of the Movement. The Boy Scout Association was created in 1910 in order to provide a national body which could organise and support the rapidly growing number of Scout Patrols. It was also the wish of Baden-Powell to wrest control of Scouting from his book's publishers as it was felt the Movement was not given the status it deserved as the publishers controlled membership of Scouting. 1910–1920: Growth Almost immediately, The Boy Scout Association was presented with a dilemma. Many of the boys in the Scout Patrols (at the start, Scouting was for boys between the ages of 10 and 19) had younger brothers who also wanted to participate. There were also many girls who wanted the same thing as well – Baden-Powell came across a group of Girl Scouts at the Crystal Palace Rally in 1910. The solution for the younger boys was simple – the Wolf Cubs Section was created in 1917 .7 However, Edwardian principles could not allow young girls to participate in the rough and tumble, and "wild" activities of the Scouts, and so the Girl Guides were created by Baden-Powell's sister, Agnes , to provide a more "proper" programme of activities. Many of those who had grown out of Scouts still wanted to be a part of Scouting, so another section was created in 1918 – the Rover Scouts .8 Scouting was now a global phenomenon, with a Royal Charter of January 4 , 1912 incorporating The Boy Scout Association throughout the British Empire , with "the purpose of instructing boys of all classes in the principles of discipline loyalty and good citizenship", being granted by George V .9 The first World Jamboree for Scouts was held in Olympia , London in 1920 , and was a celebration and conference of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. 1967–2003 Scouting in the UK went largely unchanged until it underwent a major review and change in 1967. The name of the organisation was changed to be The Scout Association. Major changes to the sections and their respective programmes were made – the youngest section were now named Cub Scouts , the Boy Scout section was re-named simply as the Scout section, Senior Scouts became Venture Scouts (for 16–20 year olds) and the Rover Scout section was disbanded. The Scout Uniform was also changed – most notably with the inclusion of long trousers for the Scouts (previously they had been wearing knee-length shorts). Several developments were made over the following years, including the introduction of Co-educational units of boys and girls, initially restricted to the Venture Scouts section in 1976 , but from 1991 junior sections were allowed to become mixed as well. Parents involved in Scouting in Northern Ireland also began to organise activities for their children who were too young for Cub Scouts. This eventually led to the creation of the Beaver Scout section, officially starting in 1986 . Despite these changes, and many other minor ones, Scouting started to fall into a decline through the 1990s with falling membership levels.10 This spurred a major review into the causes of the decline,11 followed by a programme change which took effect in 2003 .12 2003–present Scouting found itself competing for young people's time against longer school days and other extra-curricular activities. There are also concerns from the adult leadership with regards to the growing Litigation culture in the UK.13 Scouting has also been challenged by a negative Stereotype as being Old Fashioned .14 The programme change in 2003 sought to overcome the growing challenges facing the Movement and saw changes at all levels of UK Scouting – the most apparent being the suspension of Venture Scouts. To replace this senior section, The Scout Association created the Explorer Scouts for 14–18 year old members, and the Scout Network for 18–25 year olds. The Scout Association also introduced a number of new badges, such as computing skills and Skateboarding , to modernise the image of Scouting. These new badges drew mixed reactions from several public figures, with some praising The Scout Association for "moving with the times" and others feeling the changes went "against the Scouting ethos of Baden-Powell".15 climbing at Stanage Edge ]] Other changes in 2003 included changes to the leadership training so that it is more flexible, allowing for specific roles in the Movement, rather than the general leadership training which preceded it. New Scout uniforms for all sections and leaders were also introduced in 2003, with the aim of being more modern and appealing to young people.16 There have been many critics of these changes, mostly citing problems with the implementation, although recent census figures show a general upturn in membership.17 Scouting in the UK continues to promote the same ''Principles and Methods'' as written by Baden-Powell in ''Scouting for Boys'' almost 100 years ago. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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