Scouts is (or always was!) an incredibly middle class activity

[Greatballzoffire]

Just that. Our local one is full of very wealthy families, waiting list are years long & the children that could probably do with & afford scouts can't get in the door.
I always associated scouts as an inexpensive activity that all children can access. Ours seem to be predominantly full of middle class families who travel from other areas to our scout unit.

We are in a very m/c area and therefore the Scout pack DD is in is very m/c too.

In other areas of the borough you have packs where they rely heavily on grants/donations to enable even the basic camps or paid-for activities as the parents can't afford more than the annual subscription.

I am definitely not outdoorsy apart from gentle walks but the Scouts give DD huge skills, experiences she would normally not get, learn to do things she is not that keen but does because the team has to do them and makes lots of friends.

Even if you did that you’d still get more registrations that you have spaces for so inevitably you end up with a waiting list? Numbers are capped by TSA so you can’t just keep taking YP in and not all groups can run at maximum numbers it does depend on the number of volunteers/how many children the volunteers feel comfortable with (and this can also vary depending on the needs of the current YP).

We deliberately only took kids names from 5 1/2 for beavers to avoid the folk trying to put babies on the list to try and ensure a place (we paid no heed to that anyway but it meant a less overwhelming list).

To answer the original post I think our group generally represents the make up of our local community so a real mixture of classes. TSA is keen on promoting scouting in deprived areas and has funding ring fenced for areas of deprivation but as PP’s have said thats reliant on adults volunteering in those areas. We find volunteers are either a) parents who want their children to be able to experience scouting or b) adults who really enjoyed their experiences during scouts and want to give something back. Unfortunately there’s rarely enough volunteers to meet the demand for spaces.

Also to add my GF was a scout in the 1930’s then a scout master as an adult and definitely was working class.

Not those pesky middle classes again! We managed to campaign to get Labour to add VAT to education to punish them for Tory poor management of state education. Now they are fucking up Scouts!

We have to find a way to stop them from putting their kids on the waiting lists of Scout groups. Should we campaign for a special fee so that anyone over a certain amount of income get charged? That way only the kids of low earners and the super rich can go Scouts. That’ll teach them!

It depends on the area the group serves as others have stated. Dh runs our local scout group. Very working class area and they need to be flexible on fees and activity costs to enable local children to attend. The next closest group to that one would be full of very wealthy families and fees are much higher etc. So it just depends.

I guess it's the same as anything though, if you don't have the means to pay fees of any sort then your children couldn't attend.

That isn't the case in our area.
It's for everyone, and of course middle class children are attracted, they enjoy the activities like anyone else.

In fairness, I don't see that trip as the best use of £4k. You could buy my car twice for £4k, and I can neither afford to spend that on a scout trip, nor do I want my son to be fundraising £4k to go on holiday to Korea.

Fundraising for charity is one thing, but this is very different to me.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads the one in South Korea? I remember giving a few quid to fundraisers but ds wasn't a member at the time, only got his place in September.. Why was it ill fated?
Amazing experience for the lucky kids but obviously ruled a lot of capable children out of the running

Weird assumption. Our DS is in Scouts and DD is in Cubs, they love it and it’s a huge range of people that go (I’m making assumptions based on cars, clothes etc!). The waiting list is long because it’s a really good group but others in the area don’t have such long lists.

I think it’s £15/month each, so inexpensive, and for any trip they provide financial support if needed.

To be honest, OP’s post is strange. Waiting list length and financial status have no correlation, unless in her area you can buy your way up the list.

60% of people in the UK are considered to be middle class - why on earth wouldn't scouts be an activity for the average British person?

I think in our relatively 'naice' village the leaders of Brownies and Scouts are churchy people who actively try and get as much of a diverse background as possible, especially 'economically'. They see the value in breaking down class barriers and the assumptions that -both ways- families might have.

It's a bit heavy on on the religious aspect sometimes but the groups probably wouldn't exist without them - quite difficult to find willing volunteers these days that aren't connected to the church .

@Greatballzoffire he WSJ basically had to be abandoned... mixture of corruption and extreme weather. Its cost British Scouting alone over a million pounds alone I believe.

No waiting lists for our village group and the group seems to reflect the village school.

I find the opposite actually - over the years of my children attending it seems that the children who go to private school never come to beavers, cubs or scouts. They seem to start private school and then rarely mix with other children in the village.

Very mixed where I am, as is the general demographic of the area

of all the extra curricular my kids do it’s probably the cheapest and best value
the camps are FAR cheaper than school residentials.

This is a very good observation. I come from a strong Scouting and Guiding family - my Granny was an honorary Guiding leader into her 90s! and my Dad was a Scout leader.

I remember very strongly how all the cool girls dropped out at around age 13 and it was seen as so uncool and I was desperate to leave as being bullied for it at school, but could not let the family down. I’m glad they made me stick with it though.
our area was very socially diverse but by the end it was definitely the more academic girls who were still going. That did seem to correlate to us being the more middle class ones too.

It could also be that the "so affordable" fees are out of the reach for the poorest anyway, even subs of £3 is a lot when it's subs or bread & milk!

Clubs tend to reflect where we are - many of our choristers were on free school dinners, apparently this was possibly unique for a robed paid choir, and we got recognition for this, but it reflected the location and our attitude to recruiting, it's easy to approach private or c of e schools only, getting into state schools isn't easy but that gave opportunities to those who benefited more

It depends on the group.
My eldest used to go to one which was very cheap (£2 a week), it was very much a working class group but it wasn’t great, the leaders couldn’t control the kids and they didn’t really do anything at the sessions and it closed.

Now he (and younger siblings) are at another group and it’s like another world, they do so much, it’s brilliant for the kids but it would be inaccessible for some families as they often go to different areas for activities which isn’t doable if you don’t drive or work anything but 9-5 plus some of the activities are payable on top of the usual subs(£5 a week), some are £15/£20 which is a lot especially when you have more than one dc.

Not round here, possibly in some cases.
My relative runs a group in a deprived area and makes sure all the activities are inclusive.

Our local branch is run by a bunch of really arrogant men and most sensible parents pull their children out when they realise so there's never a waiting list

Because groups are volunteer led they are going to vary wildly

It can hardly be surprising, it's one thing "fundraising" when mum and dad could, at a pinch, top up the difference. Quite another when you struggle to believe you could raise the money. And it's easier to to fundraise in a wealthy area/with wealthy family.

It was probably a good thing given what happened. It must be far more devastating for things to go that badly wrong if you have had to scrimp and save to find the money.

Not in the city where I live now -- DH was a cub and scout as a child, and their troop (or whatever it's called) hall was firmly in the middle of the very working-class area he grew up in. When DS was a beaver, the cohort seemed to be mainly, like DS, children of working parents who needed their child to go on somewhere after after-school ended once a week.

Oh I wasn't aware, how disappointing for the kids & all involved

Depends where you live. If you live somewhere with lots of middle class/wealthy people it's going to have kids from those families.
The Brownies/Guides groups I went to as a kid in the 80s and 90s were really mixed, as were the Beavers/Cubs/Scouts. A mix of kids from different schools and backgrounds: some families lived in council housing; some in mansions. It reflected the area, which was also really mixed.
I also used to volunteer with a Brownie group in my area. I live in an urban area and we had kids who'd be dropped off in brand new Range Rovers and who lived in houses worth millions of pounds and other kids who lived in overcrowded, run down, flats. The kids just got on with it, mostly.
Sending your kids to these groups says more about the attitude of the family than their class or income. Families that value their kids taking part in ordinary, inexpensive, community-based, activities - many of which are outdoors - will favour it.
You might - in some groups - get leaders or cliques of kids/parents who inevitably lead to that particular group slanting towards one sort of demographic that's not very reflective of the area - but that's definitely not the norm IME.

@PuttingDownRoots just did a Google

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/09/worst-nightmare-south-korea-mulls-disastrous-scout-jamboree

In Northern Ireland - I sort of get what you mean. Boys and Girls Brigades were always more the working class option here.

Totally not here. We have millionaires to free school meals.

Really odd assumption OP. There is a huge shortage of volunteers so maybe you could volunteer and become a leader so that a 2nd group could open and the waiting list drop? My (middle class) DD is a young leader in Guides having been through Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. Perhaps she shouldn't bother based on your assumptions that this should be an activity for working class people? Without people like her (regardless of class) none of your DCs would be able to attend at all. So unless you volunteer quit your moaning.