WIITH their stiff tunics and itchy hats, they were seen as bastions of tradition. Now the efforts of the Brownie Guides and their brothers the Scouts to overhaul their image have achieved the pinnacle of modernisation — approval from new Labour’s favourite think tank.

Research published by the Institute for Public Policy Research finds that young people who join up to clubs offering the sort of rigorous character-building activities promoted by the scouting movement do better in later life. They are calling on schools to adopt the principles of the scouting movement.

Researchers who examined what became of thousands of children born in 1958 and 1970 found they were more likely to be happy, in a good relationship, have good qualifications and be earning a decent income if they had joined such clubs, especially if it involved wearing a uniform, when they were young.

According to the study, former Scouts and Guides were 3% less likely to be depressed and 5% less likely to be single, separated or divorced by the age of 30. They were also more likely to own a home, achieve good qualifications and be earning a decent income, even after correcting for their class background.

The scouting movement, founded by Lord Baden-Powell in 1907, is said to promote self-discipline, teamwork and a spirit of adventure. Of the 12 men who have walked on the moon, for example, 11 were Scouts.

Other famous former Scouts include Tony Blair, Sir Richard Branson, Lord Attenborough, David Beckham and Jeremy Paxman, the Newsnight presenter. “I was in the Cubs and then the Scouts for about seven years and I loved every single minute of it,” said Paxman. “I became absolutely obsessed with making rope bridges, camping out and eating flapjacks over open fires. The whole experience taught me to be resourceful, self-reliant, and inventive.”

So convinced is the institute of the benefits of “structured and purposeful extracurricular activities” — including martial arts, drama classes and team sports — that it is calling on the government to extend the official school day to ensure all youngsters reap the rewards.

The report says parents should have a legal obligation to ensure their children participate in at least two hours of extracurricular activity a week. An institute spokesman said: “Scouts and Brownies may have gone out of fashion, but they are a good example of the type

of organised activity that benefits young people in later life. They are well supervised, with recognised structures and in-built goals.”

A million children in the UK are members of the Brownies, Cubs, Scouts or Guides. This year has seen the first increase in numbers for 13 years, after a major drive to modernise the movement.

Brownies and Guides used to be encouraged to develop skills such as flower arranging and keeping a tidy home. Now, instead of winning badges for cookery, girls are rewarded for skills such as circus-performing and “communicating”. For both boys and girls, uniforms have been modernised with the adoption of baseball cap-style headgear.

Neil Young, a spokesman for the Guides, said: “We are happy that people acknowledge the role the organisation plays in modern Britain. We take 500,000 girls away from their television and computer games every week to encourage them to take part in new activities. We see it as our job to equip girls and young women with the confidence, skills and real experiences necessary to manage the challenges and opportunities in modern life, broaden their horizons and reach for new goals.”

Brownies and Scouts can still take the old pledge to “do their duty to God and the Queen”, to “help other people and keep the Scout law”, but because they now define themselves as a “multi-faith, co-educational youth movement” there are variations for people of other faiths.

Andrew Thorp, a spokesman for the Scout Association, said: “We think that the key thing to life is adventure. Baden-Powell said, ‘If it wasn’t for adventure, life would be deadly dull’. These young people will be the world leaders of tomorrow.”

The institute report contrasted the benefits of “structured activities” with attending youth clubs, where young people are less likely to be mentored by adult activity leaders and more likely to mix with “deviant” peers.

It warns that Britain is in danger of becoming fearful of young people, with British adults less likely than other Europeans to intervene to stop teenagers indulging in anti-social behaviour.

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