The first thing to remember is – if you’re running the camp with friends, make sure you are still friends when the camp is over! You and your fellow organisers might have differing opinions about how or what to do, so make sure that everyone’s voices are heard and no one feels left out. If you’ve got a number of people wanting to run the camp, rather than having everyone trying to be boss it would be better to divide up the roles so that, for e.g. two people organise the activities, two organise the menu, etc.

When you’ve agreed who is doing what, make sure you all keep in communication, perhaps via a WhatsApp group or similar. The last thing you want is to arrive on camp to be surprised by a decision someone has made on their own.

Fill in page 2 of ‘Programme.docx’ – the Patrol Members List – with the jobs you’ve decided everyone will be doing over the camp. You can also use this to note who will be doing which pre-camp jobs.

You’ll need to know a few things to answer this question :

As it’s your camp (and it might be the first camp you’ve organised), you’re free to invite whoever you want. You may even invite Scouts from another troop if you want. Remember though that some campsite activities may only be affordable if you’ve got a certain number of Scouts attending, and conversely, some activities may have a maximum number.

Also take into consideration the age of the Scouts you’re inviting. The activities should be suitable for everyone who attends – some activities (a long hike for example) may be difficult for younger Scouts for example.

Take note of any Scouts who might not get on with each other as well. This isn’t a reason not to invite particular Scouts, but with your knowledge of the troop, think about who you might need to keep apart if needs be.