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Dorset Scout Fellowships working together with Brownsea Island Scout Fellowship invite you to attend their Service of Dedication at St. Peter's Church, Church Road, Parkstone, Poole on Wednesday 17th December at 7pm.
Plans to bring this year's Peace Light from Bethlehem to the UK are now underway.
Following the service of Distribution in Vienna on Saturday 13th December, the light will travel to Paris, where it will be received by two members of the British Rail Fellowship. They will then travel on to Calais where they will catch a ferry to Dover. From here members of the Scout and Guide Associations will form a chain of distribution across the UK, as they take the Peace Light back to their own regions. Our link with that chain will be at a service of dedication to be held in Marlborough on Monday 15th December.
From there, the light will be carried to Dorset, where our own service of dedication will be held at St. Peter's Church, Parkstone at 7pm on Wednesday 17th December. Our reason for the choice of St Peter's is that it is the church in which our Founder Baden-Powell married Olave in 1912.
You are invited to join us at that service of dedication, and to light a prayer candle from the Peace Light. You may also wish to light your own lamp and take it away to share with others. More information on the peace light can be found at http://www.batesgd.supanet.com.
Further information on the service can be obtained from Kevin Phillips, Island Scout Commissioner, Brownsea Island. Tel 01202 891828 or e-mail kphillips@brownsea.fsnet.co.uk.
Please see below the diary events for the Christchurch cell of the County Scout Network. For more info please e-mail Charlie_stribers@hotmail.com
Mon 1st Dec Video Quiz (Jumpers 8pm )
Mon 8th Dec Rifle Shooting (Stuart)
Mon 15th Dec Bowling (More details to come)
Sat 20th Dec – County Network Xmas Party – Butchers Coppice
Mon 22nd Dec No Meeting
Mon 29th Dec No Meeting
Mon 5th Jan Photo Evening (Jumpers 8pm )
Mon 12th Jan Video Quiz (Jumpers 8pm )
Mon 19th Jan Communication Evening (Jumpers 8pm )
Mon 26th Jan Dungeons and Dragons – (Rob)
Mon 2nd Feb Pedelo evening (TBC)
Mon 9th Feb Badminton
Mon 16th Feb Video Quiz (Jumpers 8pm )
Mon 23rd Feb Climbing @ Q.E Leisure Centre (meet Stourvale car park 7pm or meet us there)
Also to come soon – County Day Trip to France, Brewery Trip and ‘Ball on the Boat’
Jumpers Cubs won this years District 5-a-side competition held at the 2 Riversmeet Leisure Centre in Christchurch yesterday after blazing through the league games and beating a team fromHighcliffe 2 - 1 in a thrilling final. Congratulations to all involved for another successful event.
A patrol from Mudeford Troop beat off stiff opposition from Scouts from across the District to come first in this year's Scout Night Hike. The 6 mile hike took teams of Scouts across the New Forest in an area between Burley and Thorney Hill. The Scouts not only have to make their way round the course but also have to complete a number of tasks as they do it! Town Scouts came a close second.
At a ceremony held yesterday evening at the Mayor's Parlour, the 56th Mayor's Scout was presented with the sash of office by the Mayor of Christchurch, Honorary Freeman Councillor Eric Spredbury MBE. James Tallant, an Explorer Scout takes over from fellow Explorer Scout Anne-Marie Davies. James enjoys sailing, body boarding, music and computers and is a keen member of the District Scout and Guide Band. James plans to go to University and study health sciences when he leaves school. In May, James will handover the sash to the next Mayors Scout who will be selected in March.
Congratulations to Town CSL Nicola Haskell and her husband (Town GSL) Steve on the birth of their second child Joseph James, a brother to Sophie. Joseph was born on Saturday 18th October at 9.37pm weighing in at 5lb 4oz. According to Steve, Jospeh took them by complete surprise by coming three weeks early but mother and baby are doing well (as are Dad and big sister).
Congratulations to Scoutlink GSL Anita Penny and her husband Ian on the birth of their second child Helen Jane, a sister to Nicola. Helen was born on Tuesday 14th October at 9.24pm weighing in at 6lb 1oz. Accoridng to Ian they decided to go into Bournemouth Hospital at 7.30pm but only after he had finished his pork chop! They arrived at the Hospital at 8.20pm and Helen decided not to hang around and was born within the hour.
A party of 29 Cubs and Beavers from Dorset were treated to a visit to Bournemouth Oceanarium before they were presented with their Chief Scout Awards. The presentations took place at the end of Bournemouth Pier and the young people received their certificates from County Commissioner James Morton. Thomas Shinton received the Chief Scouts Bronze Award (top Beaver award) and Alex Bell, Robert Brown, Sam Cox, Matthew Du Cros, Toby Hayter, Philippa Old, Kam Singh and Jourdain Warner all received the Chief Scouts Silver Award (top Cub Award). Well done and congratulations to you all. The picture below shows the Cubs who received their awards with the County Commissioner James Morton and Assistant County Commissioner (Programme Support Junior) Mrs Jean Joyce.
The annual district swimming gala took place on Saturday 4th October. Mudeford retained the Scout Cup by just two points and Bransgore stormed through and took first place for the Cub Section and in the Group relay event.
The full list of results can be seen below
| Cub Section | Scout Section | Group Relay | Group Fun Event | |||
| Pack | Troop | |||||
| 1st Place | Bransgore | Mudeford | Bransgore | Town | ||
| 2nd Place | Highcliffe | Bransgore | Mudeford | Mudeford | ||
| 3rd Place | Mudeford | Town | Town | Bransgore | ||
| 4th Place | Jumpers | Jumpers | Highcliffe | Highcliffe | ||
| 5th Place | Town | Somerford | Jumpers | Jumpers | ||
| 6th Place | Highcliffe | |||||
The leaders race was won by Terry Carter (Assistant Scout Leader with Highcliffe) with Shaun Flynn (Assistant Beaver Leader with Highcliffe) coming second.
The District Cub Quiz was held today at the Christchurch Scout Centre. Attended by teams from across the District, the team of four from Highcliffe managed to beat off stiff opposition to win this years competition by just one point! The team go through to represent Christchurch at the County quiz.
AWACS 2004 will take place at Braggers Wood from 14th to 16th May 2004. The cost of the event will be kept as low as possible. All you have to do is turn up and enjoy yourselves! If you want to stay overnight you should bring along your own camping equipment.
Watch this space for more details or e-mail us if you would like to receive further details as they become available by clicking on this link <<KEEP ME INFORMED>>.
The District Commissioner made a presentation on the new scheme at the All Scouters Meeting held at the CSC on 18th September. Further information can be found on the Headquarters web site by clicking on the following link http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/ps/nightsaway/index.htm
The District Commissioner went through the timescales as follows:-
September 2003 - Presentation to District
September to December 2003 - Appointment of Nights Away Advisers
February 2004 - Applications for Nights Away permits will be accepted
September 2004 - Full implementation of new scheme
The District Commissioner asked all leaders to continue to follow the existing Form PC scheme until they had been presented with an individual Nights Away Permit.
The County has launched a wide ranging review of it's structure and support systems. Throughout August individual interviews with each DC took place and in September and October the County Review Team shall be attending various open meetings throughout the County to receive the thoughts and ideas of all who attend. All leaders should have received a letter and anyone who has a view that they would like to be included should either write to the County secretary or attend the open meetings. Christchurch's will be held on 24th September at Ferndown Middle School, Peter Grant Way from 7.30pm.
A reminder that this conference will take place on Saturday 11th October from 10.30am at Hamworthy Social Club, Magna Road. All Group and District Officers (Chairmen, Secretaries and Treasurers) are invited to attend.
A formal inspection by the Royal Navy took place at Highcliffe Sailing Club on Thursday 24th July. The Troop passed with flying colours and continue to be one of only 101 Troops in the County to hold RN recognition.
The first Explorer Scout Conference (and BBQ) was held at Braggers Wood on Tuesday 22nd July. At this conference, the first Explorer Scout Committee were elected and ideas for future programmes were received. A good turn out and a very productive and successful evening
Attended by what appeared to be hundreds of Cubs at Twynham School on Thursday 19th June. The evening proved to be another great success with most gaining a badge for their efforts!
This took place on Wednesday 18th June and was attended by well over 100 people. I thought it went very well and was very pleased with the evening and felt that most left the meeting feeling very positive about Scouting in Christchurch.
This was held on 14th and 15th June and although fewer patrols took part (due in the main to the creation of the Explorer section) the competition was a success and was won for the first time in it's 82 year history by a patrol from Burton. The new Emlyn Trophy was presented for the first time this year. The old one will now be securely hung at the CSC.
The District Sports Day was held on 13th June and was attended by many Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from all over the District. Details of winners can be found the Sports Day pages by clicking on the following link - http://www.christchurchscouts.org.uk/archive/sports.htm
Mudeford Scouts officially launched their £8000 new safety boat - the Tom Farwell on Friday 6th June. Assisted by the District PR Adviser and ex Mudeford Scout and Group Scout Leader, David Stevens, the boat was given it's official name infront of invited guests and dignitaries.
The annual District Camp took place at Braggers Wood from 23rd to 26th May this year. Attended by well over 100 Cubs and Leaders, the camp proves to be as popular as ever.
At a ceremony held yesterday, the 55th Mayor's Scout was presented with the sash of office. Anne-Marie Davies, an Explorer Scout takes over from Jumpers Scout Michael Pursey. Anne-Marie enjoys the performing arts (dance, drama and singing) and plans to attend a performing arts school in London or America. In November, Anne-Marie will handover the sash to fellow Explorer Scout James Tallant.
On Wednesday 30th April, Scout Leaders and members of the District Team were lucky to welcome Chris Nagle into the District. Chris is a member of the Headquarters Team and agreed to come down to help clarify and explain the new Scout Section programme. Chris had been involved in the writing of the new material and his knowledge and experience were well received and helped greatly.
The annual St George's Day parade and service was held on Sunday 27th April 2003 and was attended by the Mayor of Christchurch Cllr Sally Derham-Wilkes and her Escort. The parade started at the Quomps in Christchurch after the Mayor completed a formal inspection of all those on parade including the Scout and Guide Band. After taking the salute in Church Street, the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Guides, Explorers, Ventures and leaders went into the Priory Church for a special service, this year organised by the 10th Christchurch (Mudeford) Scout Group. After witnessing the blessing of the new District Fellowship flag, the first ever 'sailing' down the Priory Aisle and the Vicar of Christchurch Rev Hugh Williams reminding the congregation of how wet water is!, the parade continued round through to the Priory House gardens for the handing over of the District Colours to the 20th Christchurch (Somerford) group and formal dismissal by the Mayor and the District Commissioner.
The District's Scout and Guide Gang Show took place from 24th to 26th April at the Regent Centre Theatre. Playing to almost full houses for each of the four performances, the show was enjoyed by all.
During one of the performances, the show was secretly assessed by representatives from Scout Headquarters. The assessment was passed with flying colours and the Gang were delighted to hear that they had retained the honour of wearing the special Gang Show Scarlet Scarf, originally presented to them by the founder of Gang Shows, Ralph Reader back in 1966.
Beavers from all over the District took part in a Challenge Day at Braggers Wood on Saturday 12th April. Taking part in a number of activities such as Archery, Climbing and Abseiling, the Beavers thoroughly enjoyed themselves and earnt a badge as well!
Around 50 leaders and supporters attended the annual service of re-dedication, this year held at All Saints Church, Mudeford.
The District Team gathered at the Christchurch Scout Centre on Saturday 5th April to look at ways of further developing the District. With help from Debbie Ladds, the Assistant Director of Programme and Development from Gilwell Park, the team spent the day looking at ways of improving Scouting for the Young people of Christchurch.
Looking specifically at three core development areas (Round Pegs in Round Holes, Shouting for Scouting and Scouting in Unexpected Places), the team came up with a number of action plans to develop throughout the next year.
Interviews for the next two Mayor’s Scouts took place at the Christchurch Scout Centre on Thursday 20th March. Anne-Marie Davies from the District Explorer Scout Unit was selected to be Mayor’s Scout from 7th May until 5th November. Jamie Tallant, also from the Explorer Unit will then take over until 5th May 2004. Congratulations to both of you.
2004 interviews will take place on Thursday 18th March 2004 starting at 7pm at the CSC.
Town Cubs beat stiff opposition from all eight Groups in Christchurch and won this years District handicraft competition which was held on 13th February. Well Done to all!
A team from Mudeford beat off still competition in this years 5 a side football held today at 2 Riversmeet Leisure Centre. After playing against teams other Troops in the District, Mudeford held their own in a thrilling final against a team from Bransgore. The final score - 3 nill. Congratulations to Mudeford and all who took part.
After winning the District Cooking competition a team from Mudeford took part in the County competition held at Broadstone and came a creditable second place. Although not the overal winners it does mean that they still get to attend the Regional finals. Congratulations and good luck in the next round!
The introduction of Explorer Scouts and the continued success of the District Fellowship has meant that the overall membership figures show an increase in membership this year of 19 overall (13 more young people).
The large change in District and Fellowship figures are due to a re-organisation of the way members are reported on the census. The fall in membership of most Groups is mainly due to the transfer of membership of the 14 - 18 year olds from Scouts and Ventures to the District Explorer Scout Unit.
The breakdown of membership figures for the various groups and totals for the District is shown below with comparisons against previous years.
| 2000 | 99/00 | 2001 | 00/01 | 2002 | 01/02 | 2003 | 02/03 | |
| Town | 84 | +19 | 87 | +3 | 72 | -15 | 70 | -2 |
| Scoutlink | 13 | -2 | 14 | +1 | 17 | +3 | 16 | -1 |
| Jumpers | 98 | -4 | 100 | +2 | 90 | -10 | 74 | -16 |
| Highcliffe | 63 | -13 | 65 | +2 | 68 | +3 | 74 | +6 |
| Bransgore | 99 | -1 | 94 | -5 | 92 | -2 | 89 | -3 |
| Burton | 66 | -16 | 74 | +8 | 78 | +4 | 75 | -3 |
| Mudeford | 107 | -3 | 115 | +8 | 114 | -1 | 100 | -14 |
| Somerford | 54 | +5 | 60 | +6 | 51 | -9 | 45 | -6 |
| District Fellowships | 13 | +1 | 31 | +18 | 47 | +16 | 34 | -13 |
| District Team | 23 | +3 | 14 | -9 | 15 | +1 | 36 | +21 |
| All Beavers | 145 | ----- | 145 | ----- | 149 | +4 | 156 | +7 |
| All Cubs | 161 | -18 | 169 | +8 | 148 | -21 | 150 | +2 |
| All Scouts | 136 | -10 | 158 | +22 | 167 | +9 | 145 | -22 |
| All Ventures | 46 | +1 | 39 | -7 | 28 | -11 | 4 | -24 |
| All Explorers | 0 | ----- | 0 | ----- | 0 | ----- | 50 | +50 |
| All Adults | 132 | +14 | 142 | +10 | 152 | +10 | 158 | +6 |
| All Youth | 488 | -27 | 511 | +23 | 492 | -19 | 505 | +13 |
| Total | 620 | -13 | 653 | +33 | 644 | -9 | 663 | +19 |
The annual party for Sixers and Seconders from every Pack in the District was held today at the Millsteam Raceway in Ringwood. Over 30 Cubs attended and spent a couple of hours racing model cars round the purpose built track. Even the District Commissioner was seen having a go but failed to help his team make any progress! After racing everyone was treated to a party meal.
The Scout Cooking Competition was held at the CSC. The event was well supported by six teams from across the District. The competition was judged by three members of Fellowship and was won by Mudeford. They now go forward to the County competition.
Explorers were officially launched in Christchurch at a ceremony held at the Priory Church on Sunday. The event, hosted by the District Chaplain, Rev Hugh Williams was attended by the District President, The Worshipful, the Mayor of Christchurch Cllr Sally Derham-Wilkes and her Escort; Mr Christopher Chope MP; Chief Executive of Christchurch Borough Council Mr Michael Turvey; the County Commissioner Dr James Morton; the District Commissioner Mark Flexman; the District Chairman Mr Dennis Hughes; the District Secretary Mrs Ann Morton; Honorary Commissioners Mr Gerald Godwin and Mr Ken Old as well as other members of the District Team, Explorer Scouts, their parents and Leaders.
The afternoon began with the County Commissioner presenting the District Explorer Scout Commissioner, Mr Ian Penny with his warrant of appointment. The District Commissioner then invested the 9 Explorer Scout Leaders who in turn invested 42 young people into the District Explorer Scout Unit.
Resplendent in their new uniforms and proudly wearing the new District Scarf, the Explorers can be seen below.
To view more images of the Explorer Launch please click <here>
After a speech by the MP for Christchurch, a celebration buffet lunch was held at the Kings Arms Hotel followed by a presentation on the Explorer Belt Award by Robert Mitchell from Doncaster who spent 10 days hiking through Uganda which was very well received. The Mayor of Christchurch then formally closed the official proceedings before a fun quiz took place organised by the Explorer Scout Leaders.
The annual District Beaver Party was held today at Bowlplex in Westbourne. After an hour or so of bowling the Beavers were all treated to a snack and drink and a good time was had by all..
Explorers are launched in Christchurch on 19th January and this newsletter is dedicated to this new section. Explorer Scouts are young people, usually aged between 14 and 18 years old. They make up the fourth Section of the Scouting family.
The three younger sections (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) remain part of the Scout Group and this is where the majority of young people who are members of the movement belong. The Scout Group will continue to provide the leadership and the activities for members of these sections. Explorer Scouts, however, will belong to the District Unit and the District will be responsible for providing the leadership and the activity programme. The Scout Network for 18 to 25 year olds will be the responsibility of County.
This change was made for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that the District will be able to provide more adventurous, challenging, exciting and fun activities as it has access to a wider range of resources. The young people will have more of a say in what they wish to do and will have the option to do the activities they wish. The section is very flexible so if a young person finds that they are under pressure, say during school exams, there will be no problem in missing any of the meetings or activities that the Explorer Scout Unit is running.
There is one Explorer Scout Unit in Christchurch, based centrally, which will provide the widest range of activities possible. Specialist sections have also been formed - a young leaders section, a water specialist section and a special needs section.
Every member of The Scout Association aged between 14 and 18 will belong to an Explorer Scout Unit. All Explorer Scouts are encouraged to attend the weekly Unit meeting, however they can attend just the activities they wish to do or the activities for the awards and skills they are working towards. Explorer Scouting is designed to be flexibile to meet the needs of the Young People.
The Christchurch District Explorer Scout Unit will usually meet on Tuesday nights and will be based at the Christchurch Scout Centre. The meeting place and time may vary, however, due to the nature of the activity being run.
The Young Leaders section is for those 14 to 18 year olds who wish to help at another younger section in the District. For example if they wish to help on a regular basis at a Beaver Colony, Cub Pack or Scout Troop. All the other activities that Explorer Scouts put on, including the award scheme, is still open to them. They can pick and choose what activities they wish to attend.
Young Leaders will be expected to attend a Young Leaders meeting, usually held once a month to share experiences and complete any special training as required. This meeting will also provide an ideal forum for sharing ideas and to receive any support and help needed.
The Water Specialist Section will be open to 14 to 18 year olds who wish to specialise in water activities. Members of this section will also have the opportunity to participate in the other activities the main Explorer Scout Unit will be running, including the award work. They can also pick and choose what activities they wish to do. The water specialist section will meet at the 10th Christchurch (Mudeford) Sea Scout Group’s Headquarters on Friday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
The Special Needs Section is open to those who are unable to participate in main-stream Scouting activities due to their special physical or mental needs. These young people will be given the opportunity to attend appropriate activities of the other specialist sections and of the main Unit. The Special Needs section will be run by 2nd Christchurch (Scoutlink) Group on Tuesday evenings from 6.45pm to 7.45pm at the Christchurch Scout Centre.
Explorer Scouts will have many new experiences, both inside and outside Scouting. They will have to take important examinations at school and be asked to make choices about which subjects to study next. As an Explorer Scout they will also be asked to make choices. The choices they will make will depend on what activity they wish to take part in. Whether it is canoeing, abseiling, or gliding. With a little organisation and some forward planning all these things are now possible.
They will have the opportunity to gain awards and certificates. A Certificate of achievement will be given to each Explorer Scout annually in recognition for what they have done and achieved during the year. This can be included in their record of achievement.
There are also awards that can be gained such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award. With a little extra effort they can also gain the various Scout Awards, including the Queen’s Scout Award, which is the highest award that a young person can gain.
There will also be opportunities to go abroad and gain the Explorer Belt.
This involves planning, organising and completing an expedition abroad and completing projects such as helping the local community. There are also many activity badges to choose from enabling Explorers to specialise in an activity of interest to them.
If you want to know more about Explorers in Christchurch then please contact :- The District Explorer Scout Commissioner by e-mail on explorers@christchurchscouts.org.uk