SCOUT TROOP Promotion in School troops usually follows the academic pattern. In September of each year there is generally a wholesale transfer of Scouts into the Senior Troop and an equivalent intake from St. Olave's or outside. This is inevitable, but it may give rise to a certain rigidity unless the door to advancement is kept ajar. With this danger in mind, a series of promotions has taken place within the two Senior School Troops which should benefit all concerned. First we were pleased to welcome to the Troop this term R. Baldwin, G. Parkin, and Steel as Acting A.S.M.s : they will now have a chance to gain their Warrants before the end of the year. Secondly, three of our Patrol Leaders (Beckitt, Hardman, and R. A. B. Wood) move up into the Senior Troop next term, to be replaced by their Seconds (Anfield, Burton, and Williams). Perhaps it would be fitting, as we bid farewell to the former, to add that Wood's patrol (Seals) has headed the inter-Patrol Competition chart from its inception last September. The weather confined our activities to the Scout Hut for most of the term, though the snow did provide us with ample opportunities for elaborate tracking exercises. Nevertheless, this meant that training and testing have proceeded more quickly than we anticipated and a number of Scouts now only need to complete their Journey in the summer to become First Class. Also an encouraging number of Scouts has been gaining Proficiency Badges, the largest group preparing for the Weatherman Badge under Parkin. The opportunity was seized on one dry, frosty afternoon to stage an exacting obstacle race : swarming over a high wall by rope net did not appeal to the more elephantine Scouts, however. Another successful outdoor activity was a York Quest, each patrol being set a series of tasks requiring enterprise and initiative in a limited time. We now look forward to the Summer Camp in Strathtay, a site Gaelic enough even for Mr. Montgomery. Parents will be sent full details in good time.
SHOOTING The end of this term brings another season of .22 shooting to a close. In postal matches it has been quite a successful one, with only two defeats in the 10 matches shot. The "Country Life" results are not yet available, but our estimated score is some 12 points lower than last year's, as the Rapid was not as good as it should have been. Groups which alter position have cost us a good many points this season in both rapid and snap. Grouping, however, has been on the whole very good and it is rare for any 1st VIII member to be outside the inch. As this is in some ways the best test of good shooting, it provides an encouraging omen for next term. The 2nd VIII has
