Our County name
Since we launched our new county, on 13th July, it’s been fantastic to see us build firm foundations together as we work as one team with one goal.
We've made excellent progress in bringing our teams together and continuing to grow. As we transition into our new team structures and ways of working, our goal is to enhance the scouting experience for you and even more young people. By maximising timely and relevant support, we aim to make it easier for you to deliver exciting and engaging programs to your members, ensuring every moment you spend with them is as impactful and enjoyable as possible.
Since Judy started in her new role as our County Lead, on 1st September, our county leadership team and county trustee board have both met (separately), on two occasions, with lots of positive and constructive conversations and unanimous decisions being made to take our county forward into the future.
One of these decisions has been our county name. Our working title of South & South East London Scouts has served us well whilst we transitioned from two counties to one. But, as many people have highlighted, it’s not a practical long-term solution, and we need a title that really helps our members and importantly the members of our local community instantly understand who we are and what we do.
After much discussion, led by our county lead, our board of trustees have decided that our county will be known publicly as ‘South London Scouts’, with our registered Scout Association and Charity Commission name being ‘Greater London South County Scout Council’ (303883). This will start rolling out from the 1st November.
The positive reasons for keeping South London Scouts and Greater London South Scout County charity status
Historically, people across our city, our country and globe distinguish between North and South London. This is mainly driven by the natural divide created by the river, but includes reasons rooted in historical, cultural, and practical differences. This understanding makes us instantly recognisable as who and what we are.
Continuing our charitable status, which reduces and removes the time, resources and costs required to administer and rebrand our physical and digital assets, and bank accounts etc provides us with high standing in the charity sector and with local government. Our 60 years of charity status, sound governance, and annual accounting means we continue to hold a legacy in our local communities which can be a great leverage to secure community funding, grants, and partnerships.
As we move forward as ‘South London Scouts,’ we honour our rich history while embracing an exciting future. Our strong foundation and continuous charitable status position us uniquely to serve even more young people and communities across our Scout Districts. Together, we’re poised to create lasting impacts, build lifelong connections, and foster a vibrant scouting experience for all.
Here’s to our next chapter of growth, unity, and success – where we proudly provide memory making programmes that help young people build skills that will help them succeed in life, whilst carrying forward our scouting legacy and welcoming the new opportunities and adventures ahead.