THE ALLEYNIAN
Below are three articles drawn from the most recent edition of the Alleynian. They represent a snapshot of the wide range of activities and enthusiasms enjoyed by the boys at the College.
sustaining us. This fantastical illusion was quickly, cruelly shattered.
deep-end is that one soon learns to join in, to participate in activities in order to have as much fun as the people around you. As a member of the Dulwich Scouts for nearly six years, I have been able to see the group evolve into two separate Troops, each making use of a new Scout Hut in the Trevor Bailey Sports Centre. With these structural changes came alterations in atmosphere. But although the mood is calmer – dare I say more controlled – I still see the sense of the mischief that I experienced as a ten year-old. naughtiness. Last year, there were 1,273 combined nights away for those involved with the Dulwich Explorer group and both Troops: I challenge any reader to find another local club with such opportunities. During my time I have been up and down the country hill-walking, mountain-climbing, wood-chopping, and billhook-wielding; getting muddy, getting wet, getting food, pony-trekking, sailing – the possibilities are seemingly boundless. Indeed, it is through the Scouts that And there are just as many opportunities for structured
At 6.30pm on a cold Friday evening in October, I turned up, fresh-faced and flushed with enthusiasm, to the distinctly unromantic setting of the upstairs room of the PE Centre. Tea and quiet camaraderie? Hardly. Anarchy prevailed. Green-shirted boys ran wild in a frothing, Fanta-fuelled frenzy. I was shocked. This was no cosy woodland hut, built from scratch by a charming band of youths with wholesome 1930s smiles. I had entered a nightmare. disorientated, and alone in the middle of the room. Brusquely, I was shunted about and pushed to the edge of the room, joining a crushed semi-circle of scruffy boys. The events of the evening continued with similar disarray and I left disheartened. The true scout, though, is a stoic. Through sheer dogged determination, I persevered, attending every subsequent meeting that I could. By the end of my first term, I had been invested, and was awarded my first badge. So what had happened since that fateful first meeting? Why – how – had I persevered? This takes us to the very heart of what scouting teaches: to put it bluntly, how to fend for yourself. One advantage of being thrown summarily into the Suddenly, a loud cry: ‘Fall in!’ A rush of movement left me dazed,
Be prepared (to be laughed at) Dan Norton-Smith (Year 13)
Standfirst: Scouts may be derided by some, but the activities on offer should be taken seriously. I remember back in Year 6 being excited – exhilarated – to join the Scouts. Partly, it was the knowledge that most of my friends would be doing it. Perhaps even more important was the elaborate, subconscious image of scouting I had conjured in my mind. I saw a warm, wooden shack, devotees of duty huddled around tables completing badges, hot cups of tea
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