Page No: 13 Founder’s Day Issue 2015
Dulwich College Scouts - Troop II 25 th Camberwell Scouts (1 st Dulwich) is the official Dulwich College Scouting Group. There are currently two troops, Troop I and Troop II, but at times there have been up to four. Dulwich Scouting is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, co - curricular activities that is available for years 6 to 10. They meet either on Mondays after school (Troop I) or on Fridays from 6:30pm to 8:30pm (Troop II). Every week there is a new theme for the two hour meeting ranging from assault courses to badge work such as the Circus Skills badge, a favourite. It is not only in the Trevor Bailey Sports Centre that scouts can develop their skills and have a bit of fun. There are weekends away every month or so, which most boys are eligible to attend (though some are just for older scouts). However none of these weekends is as impressive as the big trip that happens every summer holiday, Summer Camp. It is 12 nights away from home either in England or Wales, where you sleep in huge tents and cook your own food, while every day you work towards various different badges and go on fun outings which vary according to what’s available near the campsite you are at that particular year. Everyone also participates in the Ashbrook trophy, a keenly - fought competition between the two Troops with points awarded for all aspects of camp life.
Last year’s Summer Camp was a site in Wales called Bryn Gwian, a hill with three flat parts in between ascents. This was convenient because it meant that the leaders and the scouts could sleep at different levels. An advance party of a few older boys and some leaders went ahead of the rest of the scouts. They unloaded the tents and set up the main white tent (HQ) and the leaders’ tents. When the rest of the scouts arrived two days later in the coach, each patrol set up its own tent. Bryn Gwian was an amazing and incredible experience for me because I met so many new people and learnt a lot about being a scout and a scout’s responsibilities. Another thing that I really enjoyed at Summer Camp was the variety of activities that you could do during the 12 days that we stayed there, including cycling, go - karting and volleyball. The highlight of Summer Camp for me was at the end of the Monster Scheme, a gruelling 21km walk that everyone had to do in a day. You get such a feeling of achievement when you finish and the reward for our efforts with some of
the best ice cream that I have ever tasted.
All in all, joining the Scouts is one of the best things that you can do when you are a kid as there is such a variety of activities that you can do. You can be sure that you will be greeted with a very warm welcome and will learn a lot as well as having fun.
Jake Connellan, 7L
Creative Writing: This is the Life
This is the life, It’s young and free, Nothing can go wrong, Except for it, the thing, far away,
Across the milky white bridge and the bacony sky drifting across the citrus, set sun, The palm trees flicker and bend in the rhythmic winds, whipping my bedraggled hair, And the flame of the fire dances to the thoughts of my mind, and of course, the drum, It’s flame so beautiful, as the waves play among cinnamon sands and coves, Nothing can go wrong. That was when it came, I let it absorb me, it would have done anyway, the waves and the beach stopped, Everything went into one hundred shades of drab grey, The waves awoke, They turned inky-black and wriggled and writhed in to a moaning monster, White horses washing over the coves, Everything suddenly melted like a million falling jigsaw pieces. My life was ruined, reaped of joy and innocence, But would I sow it back again, ready to grow and flourish to the rare occasions of life? I saw it call me, and like salted earth I knew it would not grow back, That was the day I lost my childhood.
James Walde, 8L
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