STOKE Climsland Scouts will be heading to South Korea after they were selected to represent Cornwall in The World Scout Jamboree.

Five lucky scouts from Stoke Climsland, along with four other Scouts from the East Cornwall district have been selected for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The World Scout Jamboree which happens once every four years and is hosted by a different country each time is happening in Saemangeum in August this year on the west coast of South Korea.

The Jamboree will consist of 12 days where 50,000 Scouts from across the globe will be camping together and share the experience of a lifetime taking part in activities that will help develop the leaders of the future along with giving the opportunity for people to create a better world. The Jamboree site is 6.5km long and 1.5km wide, which is 30 times the size of the Royal Cornwall Showground.

Cornwall Scouts have been allocated a unit of 40, consisting of 36 explorer scouts aged between 14 and 17 and four leaders. The scouts were chosen during a selection day in January last year, where they were judged during a series of activities, the result being 72 Scouts whittled down to just 36.

Tristan Cocks, Unit Leader for the group expressed the importance of the trip for the young people.

‘For a participant it’s a once in a lifetime chance’, said Tristan.

‘It gives the young people the independence to travel and see the world without being led by their parents.

‘It is giving them the chance to set their own destiny and giving them leadership and communication skills.

‘The jamboree has lots of ambitions and aims, one of which is dream wild and draw your dream which is basically trying to develop the young people into being the future leaders of the world.’

The Scouts have had to raise money for the trip which is costing £4,000 per head. Their fundraising efforts have included offering a sherpa service at festivals, raffles, quiz nights and one of the Stoke Climsland Scouts managed to raise an astounding £3,000 selling jam.

During the jamboree, the group will be representing the Duchy and showcasing Cornwall to the world. To achieve this, the group have aptly named themselves the ‘Kernow Knockers’, with knockers being the mythical creatures that used to live in the tin mines, explained Tristan. The group have designed their own badges that can be sold and exchanged during the trip.

‘We try to take as much pride in going outside of the county as possible’, Tristan said.

‘We want to put Cornwall on the map.’