Figure 1.--English Scout bands are made up of Scouts, Girl Guides, Cubs, but rarely Brownies. Because of the age rules, there are rarely any Brownies in the band. Here some Scouts and Cubs are discussing the upcoming competition.

English Scout Bands tend to have a wide age range. Some members are Cubs as young as 8 years old. There are also many older scouts and leaders. Many bands are mixed groups including girl guides. Other bands are all boy or all girl bands. The age ranges for membership (and other constitutional issues) can vary from band to band, dependant on local committee decision. The UK Scout Association publishs their preferred version of the Band Constitution in a factsheet. As this is what the National Association publish, it must be taken as the national standard, any variations being locally agreed easements. While many Scout bands have Cubs, few have Brownies participating. For those outside Scouting, lower age limits can be a little difficult to grasp. It is true that Cubs and Brownies can join a band. However, as the Scout and Guide Associations have developed separately in the UK, they do not have common age ranges for each section.

Age Range

English Scout Bands tend to have a wide age range. Some members are Cubs as young as 8 years old. There are also many older scouts and leaders. Many bands are mixed groups including girl guides. Other bands are all boy or all girl bands. A typical English Scout band, like the Lincoln District Scout Band, is made up of Venture Scouts, Scouts, Cubs and Guides (between the ages of 9 to 21) together with their adult leaders and instructors, all are members of the Scout or Guide Associations. Potential members at many English bands do not require any prior musical knowledge, Instruments are provided at no charge, full musical and drill instruction is given. In some cases a special Scout/Guide Band uniform is provided. A full repertoire of music is taught which includes traditional marches and melodies, pop classics, show music, film themes etc.

National Standards

The age ranges for membership (and other constitutional issues) can vary from band to band, dependant on local committee decision. The UK Scout Association publishs their preferred version of the Band Constitution in a factsheet. As this is what the National Association publish, it must be taken as the national standard, any variations being locally agreed easements. On the subject of lower age limits, this document states, "A Brownie Guide who has passed her 9th birthday may be permitted to join if she is able to cope with the playing and marching involved. A Cub Scout who is working towards transfer to the Scout Troop may be permitted to join the band if capable of the playing and marching involved." On the subject of upper age limits, it says, "The maximum age limit for the band is the twenty-sixth birthday." and "There should be no more than 25% of the total band membership aged 18 years and over." [BSA, FS120217]

Cubs and Brownies

While many Scout bands have Cubs, few have Brownies participating. For those outside Scouting, lower age limits can be a little difficult to grasp. It is true that Cubs and Brownies can join a band. However, as the Scout and Guide Associations have developed separately in the UK, they do not have common age ranges for each section. The age range for Brownies is 7 - 10, Guides is 10 - 14 and Senior Section is 14 - 26, whilst that of Cubs is 8 - 11, Scouts is 11 - 14, Explorer Scouts is 14 - 18 and Network Scouts is 18 - 26. So this slight difference means that Brownies are less likely to be band members - the reason is because the oldest Brownies are still younger than the oldest Cubs. As most children are at least 9 and often 10 or 11 before they can cope with the drill, discipline and have the physical capability to carry their instruments on (sometimes lengthy) parades. That is why Brownies are less likely to be band members - simply because they are younger. [Garrod]

Sources

British Scout Association (BSA). Band Constitution Factsheet- FS120217, revised January 2000).

British Scout Association (BSA). Rules of the Association - Rule 10.17(b).

Garrod, Allister. Bandmaster, Lincoln District Scout Band, E-mail message, December 26, 2003.