The Whittlesey Scouts who are going to the World Jamboree

Selected from among 125 scouts, Peter, age 13, and Thomas, age 16, have made it through the tough selection process to represent Cambridgeshire at the jamboree. They will join 3,240 Scouts from the UK at an event attended by more than 50,000 Scouts from groups all over the world.

Serving in a mainly educational role, the World Scout Jamboree aims to promote peace and mutual understanding, while sharing much needed skills among the youth attending. The key theme for the 2023 event is how Scouts can help to create a more sustainable world. Peter, a Scout, and Thomas, an Explorer Scout, have both been involved in Scouting from a young age.

“We’re looking forward to being able to make friends and work with other young people from different countries with different languages and cultures,” said Peter. “We’re also really excited to put on some activities of our own, so that we can share information about our local area, culture and customs.”

“In order to attend the event, we need to raise a combined £7,790. This will help cover such things as travel, insurance, accommodation and training camps.”

Thomas added: “Forterra’s donation of £1,000 has been a huge help toward this and has really aided us on this journey. “It’s great to have such a boost to our campaign, and we look forward to continuing our fundraising activities in the lead up to the jamboree.”

Forterra has strong connections with Whittlesey with its iconic London Brick made at the brickworks in the town for the past 145 years. “This looks set to be a really educational and inclusive event,” says Stephen Harrison, chief executive at Forterra. “We’re proud to get involved in events like these as part of our community fund scheme and to help out the local community. “We wish the boys the best of luck with their continued fundraising efforts and look forward to following their trip.”

The ‘Forterra Community Fund’ gives clubs, groups and societies the opportunity to apply for up to £1,000 for educational, environmental and charitable projects that make a positive contribution to their local community. If it is a building project, it is also possible to apply for bricks, blocks or other building products instead.