Dulwich scouts join top author Frank Cottrell Boyce to hail the classics
By Regina Motalib, Local Democracy Reporter
A group of scouts have teamed up with top author Frank Cottrell Boyce to read from the classics of children’s literature.
The youngsters from Dulwich were chosen to take part in an exciting children’s literature project.
The scouts from the 7th Camberwell group based at The Fort, Dulwich, took part in Radio 4’s “Celebrating Children’s literature with Frank Cottrell-Boyce.”
The eager scouts read extracts from popular Children’s books including Matilda, Narnia, Northern Lights and The Borrowers.
Cottrell-Boyce is an English screenwriter, novelist and actor.
He is famed for his children’s fiction including Runaway Robot and Noah’s Gold – and his novel Millions was turned into a cult hit film.
He is also behind sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, a children’s classic by Ian Fleming.
Scout Leader Stephen Holt 44, said the children were very engaged and thought the session was informative and very rewarding.
He explained: “Many people think that Scouting is just about the outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, and of course that’s an important and rewarding part of the programme, but there is much more to it than that.
We offer a wide range of activities including both physical and intellectual, indoor and outdoor, and we seek to bring as many opportunities as we can to the young people, through a programme based on the values of integrity, respect, care, belief and co-operation.”
Steven who is also a Software Engineer has been a volunteer leader with the Scouts since 2017. He said he was a Scout himself and learned many useful skills which had a positive impact on his life.
He added: I wanted to use my experience to pass that unique Scouting adventure on to the next generation, for the benefit both of my own children, who are Scouts themselves, as well as other young people in the area.”
Scout Jessica Fenwick, 12, read an extract from Mary Poppins. She said: “I really love scouts.
It’s a great way to learn new things and make new friends. I enjoyed reading for the radio and it gave me a great opportunity that I wouldn’t always get.”
Alexander Scott, 11, also loved the experience. He said: “I love podcasts and enjoyed reading an extract from The Boy in the Back of the Class.
I would love to do similar podcasts and this was a great experience.”
“Celebrating Children’s literature with Frank Cottrell-Boyce” will be aired on Radio 4 on February 5.
She was looking for young voices as readers, for her latest project and was enthralled with the Scouts.
She said: “Although we can only feature 4/5 voices, as we don’t have room for them all, I was very impressed with the group of Scouts – all were excellent!”