Interview with Jack – Year 13

World Scout Jamboree Yamaguchi – Japan Summer 2015

Q & A with Mr Hicks

How long have you been involved with the scouting moment?

Jack started when he was 6 as a beaver scout at the St Aidan’s troop in Walton he then progressed onto cubs and then onto scouts. Jack has now reached explorer level in the movement and is in fact a leader of the cub troop where he started many years ago.

What is a World Scout Jamboree?

It is a gathering of young people worldwide who are involved in the scouting movement. This very special event is held every four years. I joined 35,000 other young people for three weeks of a variety of events, workshops and cultural exchanges.

How were delegates selected?

I had to go through an intensive, in-depth and rigorous selection process. Which involved numerous interviews at various levels with the hierarchy of the scouting moment, formal letter of application and many team building exercises to ascertain my suitability for the Jamboree

What was the highlight for you?

There were so many but the underlying experience was my visit to Hiroshima which in fact coincided with the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on that city. This was truly an emotive visit that left us all with a deep sense of the loss of life that occurred on that day. We also visited Tokyo and Gifu.

Where did you stay while at the Jamboree?

Although the trip sounds very glamourous, we did in fact “camp out” but not at your ordinary camp site. We were privileged to stay at a specially built camping ground for our stay. This allowed us to inter change with Australians, Irish, Germans and Norwegians who were in our immediate vicinity, but also we meet with many others from around the world.

How did you organise the funds to go?

Many fund raising events helped me to meet the 3000 cost, in particular I was grateful to the support of the College in getting me to Japan.

What do you think has been the greatest benefit of being a scout?

Scouting requires you to develop a sense of self-worth, confidence and the drive to develop many skills. I feel confident in leading others, organising events and training within my troop. I am now at the stage where I feel committed to putting something back into this fantastic organisation.

So, Jack where to now?

For me scouting will always be part of my DNA, and I now am working hard to achieve my “Queens Scout Award” which is the highest award a scout can obtain and is normally present to you by Her Majesty the Queen.

So, finally Jack, what do you want to do as a career, other than scouting?

Well, I am determined to go to University where I would like to study Bio – Medical science.