Age Range
The Scout section is for young people (boys and girls) usually between the ages of 10½ and 14 although these ages can be flexible (to within six months either side), which allows for young people to move with their friends or when they are best suited to move on to the next section. This makes sure that the young people enjoy their Scouting as much as possible.
About Scouts
The Scout Section is the fourth section of the Scouting Movement. Scouts usually wear a green shirt or blouse with navy blue activity trousers or a skirt. Meeting places vary between groups and may be schools, church halls or community buildings. Some Scout Groups have their own headquarters that they meet in.
Scouts are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities as part of their programme, with participation being the key approach. Scouts take part in a balanced programme that helps them to find out about the world in which they live; encourages them to know their own abilities, understand the importance of keeping fit and helps their creative talents. It also provides opportunities to explore their own values and personal attitudes.
Being outdoors is exciting and important too. Half the programme is given over to taking part in traditional Scouting skills such as camping, survival and cooking as well as a wider spectrum of adventurous activities from abseiling to zorbing.
For Scouts who want to be recognised for their achievements, there are a number of challenge awards, activity badges and staged activity badges with the highest possible challenge being the Chief Scout’s Gold Award.
Activities
Scouts can take part in a vast array of activities during their time in the section. These can include the basics such as camping and traditional scouting skills, to the more adventurous activities such as rock climbing, pot holing, gliding and caving. There is in fact very little that Scouts cannot do and our aim in Scouting is to provide the opportunity for Scouts to take part in many different activities that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to do.
International Scouting
The international aspect of Scouting comes with its own special appeal and many Scouts now travel abroad during their time in the section. In 2007, 40,000 Scouts from around the world attended the World Jamboree in the UK, and Scouts regularly participate in international camps and experiences both in the UK and abroad, each of them being a unique experience in its own right.