A GUIDE and Brownie group in Bolton may have to close next month because it cannot find adult leaders to keep it running.

The club's membership has also dwindled in recent years as young people have found other ways to enjoy their leisure time.

The Guide Association has this week said it is essential that the life skills it has passed on for years continue to be taught.

But is anybody listening? Do youth groups such as the Guides, Brownies, Scouts and Boys Brigade have a future?

Mark Donaghy looks at the facts: ON March 21, it is likely that the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides at Christ Church, Little Lever, will have to close.

The four adult leaders at the group have struggled to run the units in recent years and have decided to call it a day.

Despite asking people in the village to step into their shoes, nobody has felt able to commit themselves to running the groups every week.

Margaret Mottram, aged 54, is one of the adult leaders who is retiring because of other commitments.

She said: "We have been asking for help for years, but we are struggling to find anyone.

"People haven't got the time to commit themselves."

Margaret, a Brownie guider in charge, knows how much hard work is needed to run the groups and understands why they are struggling to get new adult volunteers.

The mother-of-two said: "When I had my children I stayed at home until they were 14.

"Now people are more career orientated. Mothers return to full-time work shortly after their children are born and so they have a lot to do at home when they get back.

"There are also more single mothers these days, who don't have time on their hands."

Adults are not the only age group apparently losing enthusiasm for youth organisations.

Margaret said there has been a definite decline in membership at the Christ Church group.

She estimates that in 1985 the Brownies and Guides had 24 members each. At the moment there are 15 Brownies and just eight Guides.

Margaret said the image of the groups is partly to blame, together with the attraction of other leisure pursuits.

"They tend to leave at 12 or 13 because of peer pressure.

"Last year they modernised the guide programme and the uniforms are now made up of rugby shirts, fleeces and bodywarmers."

She added: "But these changes don't seem to be helping and I'm sure it must be the same situation nationwide."

Though some groups in Bolton are suffering, giving weight to the argument that clubs like the Scouts and Guides have a questionable future, it appears others are thriving.

The 20th Scout Group and the Chequerbent Girl Guides, who meet at St Thomas's School, at Chequerbent, were searching for adult volunteers before Christmas, and there were fears the Guides could close.

But Christine Andrews, assistant Scout group leader, said they had a good response and their well-attended clubs will continue to prosper.

There are currently more than 70 scouts, and 24 Brownies and Guides. They have also recently started a Rainbow group.

MRS Andrews said: "These groups definitely have a role to play in society today.

"Scouts and Guiding more than any other groups teach young people vital life skills."

She added: "Many people have been successful applying for jobs because it has said on their CVs that they are members."

The Guide Association's official statistics also show it is still going strong.

It claims to have nearly 700,000 members in the UK and is the country's largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women.

It says it has 103,000 adult Guiding volunteers giving £140 million worth of commitment time.

However, groups like the Guides and Scouts are probably not as popular as they were years ago and they will have to work hard to keep young people interested in them.

Children today prefer the colourful, exciting world of CD:UK rather than the educational Blue Peter.

And there is also a need to recruit adult volunteers. This week the Guiding Association said research showed girls were not learning necessary life skills.

The group's chief executive, Denise King, said it was changing its activities to help try and solve the problem.

She added: "What we need now is to encourage more women across the UK to become leaders and ensure these life skills are being carried to the younger generation."

The research carried out for the Guiding Association also discovered that four out of 10 schoolgirls do not know how to boil an egg.

This shows the groups do still have a role to play in society.

But to think that the likes of the Guides and Scouts provide just an educational role is wrong.

Many older people will look back on their time as a member of one of these groups with a smile on their face.

It was a good experience just to mix with different people and have an enjoyable time. For many, friendships would have been formed which have lasted to this day.

It may be difficult for the groups to stop young people walking away at the age of 13-14 to take up what they see as older and cooler hobbies, but younger children in the future will probably still want to join their clubs and benefit a great deal from the experience.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to help the Christ Church groups should contact Margaret on Bolton 400549.