The Scouting movement nationally has seen a surge in female interest following the Duchess of Cambridge signing up as a high profile volunteer but in Norfolk girls have been enjoying life as a Scout for many years, as TARA GREAVES reports.

It has been described as 'the Duchess effect' and has been applied to everything from the dresses the Duchess of Cambridge wears, which instantly sell out, to the type of Moses basket she bought for the future heir to the throne, which also saw a surge in sales.

Now it seems the phrase can also be related to the Scouting movement which has seen a 3.2pc rise in female volunteers nationally since the Duchess became the organisation's most high profile helper.

Figures show that since she joined, 1,350 women have signed up as volunteers across the UK compared to only 125 new female leaders who joined the organisation in 2011.

In Norfolk, the number of female Scouts has also increased – up from 760 ten years ago to 1,400 currently – although the growth has been gradual rather than a recent surge.

Jane Warden, a leader with the 17th Norwich Scout Group, based at St George's Church on Sprowston Road, joined the movement 12 years ago having formerly been involved in the Girl Guides.

'My husband Paul is a Scout leader so I started volunteering so I could join him on things and then I took out a warrant, which is where you start your training to become a Scout leader,' she said.

Three years ago, Jane was asked to help promote Scouting to the 18-25 age group in the Norfolk Scout Network.

'It is about looking for young people either already involved with Scouting and volunteering or people outside to try to bring them together to give them something for themselves within that age group.'

When she started the role, there were seven members in the Norfolk Network and at present there are 84.

'Scouting does not have to finish when you're 18. An awful lot of people think the programme is six [Beavers] up to 18 [Explorer Scouts] but the network goes up to 25-year-olds,' she said.

The six networks in Norfolk normally meet fortnightly and they run the groups themselves, appointing a chairman to run it.

'They can do what they want for a programme, as long as it falls within the Scout Association guidelines. If it is exam season they might not meet for a month and we also have a lot of people who join us from UEA who go back to their own Scouting in the holidays. Also, a lot of our members also join networks in other areas while they are at university and come back and join us when they are at home,' added Jane.

Young women were able to join the Venture Scouts from 1976 and women have been welcomed as adult volunteers for many years – and many Scout groups were run by females during the war.

Between 1990 and 2007 groups could decide whether to become co-educational or not but the association decided that by 2007, its centenary year, that all groups should be mixed.

'Many groups only had male leaders and some Scout huts were only suitable for males so to become co-educational they had to adapt everything,' said Jane.

'When we do normal Scouting activities they are in patrols, which are teams of people. They are all mixed although sometimes it is fun to have an activity where it is girls versus boys. When we camp there are separate tents and separate arrangements but the activities are for girls and boys.'

These could include kayaking, gyhll scrambling, which is walking up or down a mountain stream wearing waterproofs, caving and archery, assault causes and caching, using GPS for games of hide and seek or treasure hunts.

'It gives the young people a much more rounded approach to life when you have the girls and the boys there. However, Girl Guiding is obviously still female and I feel there is a place for that as well, it just depends on what the young person wants,' said Jane. She added that she felt that the Duchess of Cambridge, whom she recently met at the opening of Harry Potter World, volunteering was very positive for the Scouting movement.

It is hoped the Duchess, who is a flexible volunteer and helped out with Scouts in north Wales, will inspire even more female volunteers – with national waiting lists at an all-time high there is an urgent need for more help to meet this growing demand.

Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, said: 'It's great that so many women and girls are joining the Scouts, more than ever before, and I am sure this increase has had much to do with the Duchess of Cambridge becoming a Scout volunteer last year.

'The Duchess is an incredible role model for young women and she helps us show that Scouting's not just for boys. She's also such a generous volunteer and everyone is so excited to have her in the Scouting family. Many people have followed her lead and are getting involved and enjoying the adventure.'

For more information about Norfolk Scouts, both for volunteers and becoming a member, visit www.norfolkscouts.org.uk