The Singapore Scout Association (; ms, Persatuan Pengakap Singapura-PPS; "SSA") is one of the oldest

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

s in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

History

Scouting was first introduced in Singapore in 1908 but was officially founded on 2 July 1910. A young

Scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

named

Frank Cooper Sands Frank Cooper Sands was a Scoutmaster from Nottingham, England. He is recognized as a founder of Scouting in Singapore on 2 July 1910, when Sands established two Boy Scout troops for the children of the British colonists. From there, the movement ...

arrived from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in September 1910 and spent the next 40 years helping to create the Singapore Scout Association. He is often called the "Father of Malayan Scouting". Starting with a small troop of 30 boys, the movement has grown immensely over the last 90 years, surviving two world wars and producing countless leaders in every sphere of human endeavour. Scouting for local boys only started in 1919 by Captain N.M. Hashim and A.Z. Alsagoff. From 1922 schools in Singapore adopted the Scout Programme as an extra-curricular activity resulting in the formation of school-sponsored troops registered as 2nd

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

, 3rd Anglo-Chinese School and 4th St Joseph Institution. Although the 04 St Joseph's Pelandok Scout Group was formed in the 1911, 2nd Raffles Institution, subsequently renamed 02 Raffles Scout Group, is currently the oldest continuous-functioning scout troop after the 1st Sand's Troop disbanded. From 1963 to 1965 the SSA formed part of the Scout Association of Malaysia.

Present

Today, there are 10,722 Scouts in Singapore serving in four mainstream Scout sections. Each section caters to the needs of Scouts in a specific age range through its different program focus. The

Cub Scout Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

section comprises youths between ages 7 and 12 (

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

) while the scout section is made up of youths from 12 to 16 ( secondary school). In addition, there are the

Venture Scout Venturer or Venture Scouts are programs in some Scouting organisations for young people of various age ranges in the 14–20 age range. A participant in the program is called a Venturer. Australia The Venturer Scout program in Scouts Australia, ...

and

Rover Scout Rover Scouts, Rovers, Rover Scouting or Rovering is a program associated with some Scouting organizations for adult men and women. A group of Rovers is called a 'Rover Crew'. Rovers was originated by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Assoc ...

sections which accept youths between the ages of 15 and 18 and young adults from 17 to 25 respectively. Besides the mainstream Scout sections, there is also the

Sea Scout Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

section, which comprises Sea Scouts, Sea Venture Scouts and Sea Rover Scouts, and the Extension Scouts which is open to all physically or mentally disadvantaged youths who enjoy Scouting. Previously, there was also the Air Scout section which was abolished. However, in 2011, the Air Scout programme has been restarted and the section has been renamed as Black Knights Air Scouts. On 24 March 2012, an investiture ceremony was held to officially welcome the latest batch of Air Scout Rovers. Some 20 students and two lecturers from ITE College Central's Black Knights Air Scouts, completed the airborne training conducted by the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) from 5 to 8 July 2012, during their Overseas Training Program 2012, in Bangkok, Thailand. Scouting in Singapore is not only available to schools but also to the general community. The Scout units based in community are usually open units. They often work hand in hand with their respective RCs with community projects while using these RCs as their Scout's "base". There are also several foreign Scout groups, mainly the international schools, in Singapore that actively participate in the Singapore National & Area Scouting events. The emblem uses the red and white from the Flag of Singapore, plus the 5 stars and crescent symbolizing unity of Scouts regardless of ethnic origin, religion or mother language.

Singapore Scout Association

The

President of the Republic of Singapore The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the reserves and the integrity of the public service. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with the Cabinet led by the pri ...

is the Chief Scout. The Chief Scout holds the highest authority in the SSA and grants warrants and awards to uniformed adult leaders and commissioners who are recommended by the Association Headquarters. The Chief Scout also awards deserving and outstanding youth members who have attained the Standards of the Highest Award — the President's Scout Award. The Association Headquarters is led by the Scout Council, which comprises both the uniformed and lay officials who assist the Chief Scout in his functions. The Scout Council is responsible for finding funds to support the Association's activities and provides strategic direction and financial oversight on the Association while the Commissioners' Council formulates operational policies and directives in the respective fields and departments. The Area Council and the Districts implement the various National policies and directives to the grassroot units. Full-time professional staff provide day-to-day management of the Association Headquarters and provide support services to Commissioners' Council and Scout Council. The Scout Council is headed by an elected President of the Association, together with his Vice Presidents and Council members. There are several committees formed up to look into the various aspects of the Association including the Finance Committee, Uniform Committee, and Scout Shop Committee. The Commissioner's Council is the highest operational policy and directive body headed by Chief Commissioner. The Commissioner's Council structure as follows: *Chief Commissioner *Deputy Chief Commissioners *Assistant Chief Commissioners **National Training Commissioner **National Programme Commissioner **Area Commissioners **Membership Growth Commissioner **Partnership Commissioner **Adult Resource Commissioner **Programme Resource Commissioner *International/Relations Commissioner *District Commissioner The National Training Commissioner is the head of National Training Team whose role is to provide adult leader training towards

Woodbadge Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skil ...

. The National Program Commissioner is the head of National Program Council whose role is to provide Scouting Programs and updates for all youth members. The International/Relations Commissioner is the head of International/Relations Department that handles both relations within Singapore and internationally.

Bid for 23rd World Scout Jamboree

The SSA made a bid to host the 23rd

World Scout Jamboree The World Scout Jamboree is a Scouting jamboree of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, typically attended by several tens of thousands of Scouts from around the world, aged 14 to 17. The first World Scout Jamboree was organized by Th ...

, to be sited at its campsite on Coney Island in 2015. In a decision made at the

World Scout Conference The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOS ...

in 2008, the Jamboree was awarded to the

Scout Association of Japan , headquarters = Hongō, Bunkyō, Tokyo , country = Japan , f-date = 1922 , members = 109,528 (2017) , website = http://www.scout.or.jp , affiliation = World Organization of the Scout Movement , pattern_head1 = baseball cap , color_hea ...

References

External links