The Chief Scouts' Advance Party Report was a publication produced in 1966 by The Boy Scout Association in the United Kingdom, intended to modernise the Scout Movement. The report was attempting to address falling numbers within the Movement.^[1]

Contents 1 The Advance Party 1.1 Members of the Chief Scout's Advance Party 2 The Report 3 Key recommendations 4 Outcomes 5 References 6 Bibliography

[edit] The Advance Party

The Chief Scout's Advance Party was formed in January 1964, when 24 Scout Leaders under the age of 45 were invited to "study all apects of the future of Scouting and to make recommendations, after consultation with the Movement, to the Chief Scout as to the development of the Movement, both in the immediate future and for the 1970s."

The Advance Party met as a body for six weekends, with various sub-committees holding an additional 166 meetings and the chairmen of these committees meeting on three occasions.

[edit] Members of the Chief Scout's Advance Party

Chairman: The Chief Scout, Sir Charles Maclean
Secretary: E.W. Hayden; Training Secretary, Headquarters

• J.W. Bereford; (Senior Scout Leader, and Assistant County Commissioner (Senior Scouts)
• P.R. Blanchflower; Scoutmaster and Assistant Deputy Camp Chief in Surrey
• Major R.H. Carr-Ellison; County Commissioner for Northumberland
• Hon. R.H.V. Cochrane; Scottish HQ Commissioner for Rover Scouts
• J.N. Coffey; Assistant County Commissioner in East Cheshire
• C.A. Cutress; Group Scoutmaster and District Commissioner in Sussex
• D.F. Dunford; District Commissioner in Monmouthshire
• J.M. Elliot; Assistant County Commissioner in Surrey
• D.W.R. Evans; Assistant County Commissioner in Essex
• C.R. Griffin; Cubmaster in Greater London Central
• Sqn. Ldr. D. Grisbrook; Senior Scout Leader in Leicestershire, HQ Commissioner Cyprus
• Sqn. Ldr. C.M. Henderson; Travelling Commissioner Scotland
• Dr. P. Johnson; District Commissioner and Deputy County Commissioner in Hampshire
• K.C. Lock; Formerly District Commissioner in North Staffordshire
• Lt. Col. H. Mainwaring; Group Scoutmaster and Assistant Commissioner in Cambridgeshire
• J.C. Moorman; assistant County Commissioner in Somerset
• W.B. Moule; Headquarters Commissioner for Wolf Cubs and Akela Leader in Sussex
• J.A.P. Norris; District Commissioner in Manchester
• D.I.N. Olliver; Assistant County Commissioner in Central Yorkshire
• G.S. Preshner; Group Scoutmaster and Assistant Deputy Camp Chief in London
• J.N. Price; District Commissioner in Lancashire, North West
• L.C. Reynolds; County Secretary and Assistant County Commissioner in Westmorland
• K.H. Stevens; Deputy Chief Executive Commissioner at Headquarters
• J.B. Young; Assistant County Commissioner in Glasgow

[edit] The Report

The final report to the Committee of the Council was 200,000 words long. This was reduced to 50,000 words in a published "Popular Edition" through summarising and omitting many of the arguments relating to the 409 recommendations.

[edit] Key recommendations

1 That the Boy Scouts Association be renamed as The Scout Association.
2 Wolf Cubs be renamed Cub Scouts.
3 That the Scout and Cub Scout Promise be the same, with the removal of the phrases "On my honour" and "at all times".
4 That the original Scout Law be re-written, becoming-

• A Scout does his best to honour his promise.
• A Scout is to be trusted.
• A Scout is loyal.
• A Scout is friendly and considerate.
• A Scout is a brother to all Scouts.
• A Scout has courage in all difficulties.
• A Scout makes good use of his time and is careful of possessions and property.
• A Scout has respect for himself and others.

5 That a new training and advancement scheme be introduced.
6 All Sections should use the same Scout salute.
7 That "Be Prepared" be the motto for the whole Scout Movement.
8 That the minimum age for entry into the Scout Movement be 8 years, with no pre-Cub training.
9 That the maximum age for membership of a Training Section of the Movement be 20 years.
10 That there be three Training Sections in the Movement;

• Cub Scouts (ages 8 to 11)
• Scouts (ages 11 to 16)
• Venture Scouts (ages 16 to 20)

11 That Scout Troops of approximately 36 members be formed by amalgamation or pooling of resources of smaller troops.
12 That the registration of Lone Scouts be discontinued.
13 That a set of minimum standards be introduced, with Groups failing to meet these standards being closed;

• Minimum number of young people (Cub Scouts: 12, Scout Troop: 12, Venture Scouts: 9)
• Minimum number of leaders (At least 2 adults for each section)
• Minimum level of progress made by members of each section
• Appropriate programme being operated by each section

14 That a maximum age-limit for Scouters and Commissioners be introduced.
15 That there be an increase in the number of paid Scouters.
16 That shorts will only be worn as part of the uniform by members of the Cub Scout section.

[edit] Outcomes

Although the Report was adopted by The Scout Association, it was not welcomed by all members and a rival report, "The Black Report", was produced in 1970 by "The Scout Action Group". This provided some alternative proposals for the development of the Movement and asked for Groups that wished to continue to follow Baden-Powell's original scheme to be allowed to do so. This content of this Report was not accepted by The Scout Association, resulting in a split developing in the Movement and the formation of the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.^[2]

The Advance Party Report failed to recover the losses of older boys, with 55,206 Senior Scouts and Rover Scouts recorded in 1966 having been replaced by 21,698 Venture Scouts in the 1969 figures. The highest recorded membership of the Venture Scout section was 39,307 in 1989 (after the 1976 admission of girls into the Venture Scout section). By 1998 the majority (68%) of members of The Scout Association were under 11 years old.^[3]

The idea of three training sections was dropped in 2001, when the original age range of The Scout Association was returned to 4 sections; Cub Scouts (8-10), Scouts (10-14), Explorer Scouts (14-18) and the Scout Network (18-24). The Association also introduced a pre-Cub training section for 6 to 8 year olds, Beaver Scouts.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• The Advance Party Report '66. The Boy Scouts Association. 1966. 

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