Introducing our Poland 2027 Jamboree Unit Team
We are excited to announce the leadership team of our Poland 2027 Jamboree unit! The team is really looking forward to start planning and putting preparations in place for the exciting journey that the unit will go on between now and attending the Jamboree in 2027. We’ll be bringing you along on their journey showing the various camps, training weekends and other activities they go on including the Jamboree itself!
The team:
- Stuart Sexton – Unit Team Lead
- Lily Graham – Unit Team Member
- Chris Styles – Unit Team Member
- Lily Wingrove – Unit Team Member
Left to right: Lily Graham, Chris Styles, Stuart Sexton, Lily Wingrove
Whilst we wait to see which our young people are selected to join them on this amazing journey lets get to know the team. Over the next few articles you’ll get to meet each of the team and find out more about them and what they are most looking forward! So let’s hand it over to Stuart for this intro…
Stuart Sexton – Unit Leader
Hi, I’m Stuart Sexton, and I am a Scout Team Leader, Explorer Team Member and Deputy Group Lead Volunteer with 1st Billingshurst Scout Group in the Petworth and Pulborough district. I have been Scouting in Billingshurst for 7 years.
Growing up, I was a Scout in Leatherhead District in Surrey, and attended the World Scout Jamboree as a participant back in 1995. I also worked my way through the movement up to and including my Queens Scout Award.
I am very excited to lead the Unit 66 Sussex contingent to the World Scout Jamboree in Gdansk, Poland, as I know how much the Jamboree experience meant to me when I was a Scout, and I am looking forward to passing that opportunity on, and indeed sharing the opportunity, with a group of young people from all over Sussex.
The Jamboree experience is not just about the time in Poland itself – the opportunity to work with 36 young people across Sussex to form a team who can share the Jamboree journey, from selection, through planning, preparatory events, and the experience from when we leave Sussex to travel across Europe to get there and back, will bring many new and exciting opportunities for all those who participate.
As a Scout who has attended a Jamboree as a participant, this felt like a great opportunity to be involved with the leadership team, and to be the Team Leader brings with it a level of responsibility which I’m honoured to be asked to hold, and I am really looking forward to working with my team to make the Jamboree journey a memorable, successful one for the young people.
The selection process involved interviews with the county team, and a selection weekend which involved a number of scouting-based challenges. We had our tents hoisted up into trees, first aid situations to deal with, shelters to make, some backwoods cooking to do, and plenty of team activities in between. These were all designed to see how well we worked with others, but were also a great reminder of all the skills we have learnt as Scouts, and how we can pass these on to others.
Having been on a World Scout Jamboree myself, I know what an amazing experience it is, and would really encourage Scouts to think about applying for this opportunity. The district selection weekends will all be held during the first half of the Autumn Term, so look out for these and ask your leaders when you return after the summer break.
Hopefully this will help to inspire you to sign up to your local selection weekend, and for some of you, I’m looking forward to you joining the team and me on the Jamboree journey.