Scouts Scotland’s MSYPs Molly and Sorcha have been campaigning for formal recognition of voluntary awards earned through youth organisations. Molly explains how achieving awards through Scouting has helped her develop as a person, and why colleges and universities should take note.
At the last Scottish Youth Parliament sitting we submitted a Member's motion, calling for Scouting and other voluntary organisation awards to be formally recognised by further and higher education institutions. The motion passed with 93%, so we now have the full backing of the Scottish Youth Parliament to take this forward. This support is fantastic as we have gained so much from Scouting and want to ensure other young people not only see the value in working towards awards but can also use their achievements to count towards their future goals.
For both of us, completing our Chief Scout Diamond and Platinum awards gave us an incredible sense of accomplishment. By far the best moment of the whole experience for us was finishing our expeditions and knowing that all our work had paid off and that we had worked so hard to achieve it.
Confidence and resilience
There’s no better feeling than accomplishing something you put your mind to and any young person in Scouting can do it. There is no greater educator than life experience and that’s exactly what these awards offer. We benefit by showing adaptability on expeditions, demonstrating sound time management throughout the completion of the award, as well as developing planning and interpersonal skills, and a sense of responsibility.
I’ve gained so much confidence and resilience by challenging myself to reach out of my comfort zone. When I first started my award I doubted that I would be able to finish it, especially the expedition, but the whole experience helped me to do just that and if I can do it, anyone can.
But Scouting awards go beyond teaching us valuable life skills like communication and cooking and working with others. They enable us to take part in international activities, prompt us to do something for the environment and encourage us to learn about other values and religions. We are also expected to volunteer. Volunteering within the community gives you experience in dealing and working with other people, something that can be used when applying for jobs, university and college, and also when becoming independent and venturing out into the world for yourself. These opportunities really help young people like us grow and mature and become responsible citizens.
Access to educational opportunities
These awards take up a huge amount of time. For some you have to dedicate as long as two years. We’d like our achievements recognised formally by further and higher education institutes through channels like UCAS and college application systems. Many young people from across Scotland give as much time to achieving these awards as they do for exams qualifications so why shouldn’t this commitment be recognised formally?
This is why we have been campaigning on this issue. We recently met with a UCAS representative and members of the Awards Network, a body of Scottish youth organisations, to discuss the ways that we can use our awards positively to help us get into university and other forms of education.
It was a fantastic meeting and it was encouraging to see that UCAS recognises how important and meaningful these awards are for young people. UCAS is currently looking at ways to improve the rating of awards within the application process. Our efforts were met with a positive attitude, and we can't wait to continue our campaign to help young people get the recognition they deserve.