Nine young Scouts had good reason to feel proud of themselves at the Stuart Rae Challenge presentation this evening. The main meeting hall at King Alfred District Scout Headquarters in Wantage was full of supportive parents and Scout leaders, gathered to celebrate their achievements. I joined them as a Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, to congratulate them on a year spent developing their skills and putting them into practice on expedition.
The headquarters on Springfield Road is also known as Alma Drill Hall, built in 1914. Its military origins made it a particularly appropriate setting for an evening remembering Captain Stuart Rae, who died while serving in Oman. His sister, Liz Keevill, was with us for the presentation; with Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, it was fitting to remember the person whose name the challenge carries while recognising the achievements of another generation of young people.
The building is receiving some welcome investment. Just this week, Vale of White Horse District Council announced further funding, bringing its support for improvements to more than £123,000, through developer contributions from the Crab Hill development. The main Troop Room has already been refurbished, with better heating, insulation and windows; the next phase will expand and improve the kitchen so that young people can learn cooking and food preparation skills. It is good to see investment in the places where local youth work happens, alongside the new homes being built in the area.
Backpacking, navigation, first aid, teamwork and problem solving all feature in the Stuart Rae Challenge. They sound straightforward enough when listed on a page. Combining them while carrying your belongings over the hills, keeping yourself fed and looking after one another is a more substantial undertaking, particularly when you are thirteen.
Their final expedition brought glorious weather, followed by a very cold night. This struck me as a familiar Scouting arrangement: sunshine to encourage you during the day, followed by several hours in which to reflect on your choice of sleeping bag. I can still remember the damp discomfort of my own first Scout camp at Cranham; it evidently failed to put me off.
There was an unusual addition to this year’s expedition. Soldiers were exercising in the same area, and the Scouts walked past a simulated helicopter crash, complete with soldiers playing casualties. Even with first aid training behind you, that must be quite a sight to encounter on a walk. The hills were providing a training ground for the Army as well as a challenge for these young people.
I have spent much of my working life involved in education and youth work, and I have been in Scouting since I was a boy. Expeditions remain one of the best ways I know of helping young people discover what they can do. You can prepare carefully, practise putting up a tent and learn to read a map, but eventually you have to shoulder the rucksack and set off.
You also discover things about living with other people. A decision about when to stop, which route to take or how to divide the jobs has consequences for everyone. Someone who is confident at the start may need encouragement later; someone who has been quiet may turn out to have spotted the answer. Learning to notice one another is a useful part of the experience.
Behind those achievements are the volunteers who have given their time throughout the year. Expeditions require preparation, training and a great deal of patient support. Families play their part too, through encouragement, lifts and the less celebrated task of dealing with whatever comes home in the rucksack. It was lovely to see so many of them in the hall, sharing the Scouts’ pride in what they had accomplished.
Congratulations to Eve, Harriet, both Ollies, both Tobys, Raphael, Esme and William. I hope they keep the friendships and memories they have made, and that the next unfamiliar challenge feels a little more manageable because they have completed this one. They have worked hard for their celebration.
