Young people (both boys and girls), can join Scouting from the age of six as part of the Beavers section. Our Beaver ‘colony’ currently meets on a Monday evening. Beavers enjoy plenty of fun and games, as well as starting to take part in outdoor activities, and developing the beginnings of the skills that they will carry on working at throughout their time in Scouting. There is also a huge emphasis on teamwork.
At the age of eight, young people move up to the Cub section, which meets in Bathampton on a Tuesday evening. At Cubs, our members continue to develop their Scouting skills, as well as starting to pick up independence and leadership skills, whilst continuing to work on their teamwork.
From 10½, young people move into the third section, the Scout Troop, which meeting on a Friday evening in Bathampton. This is the oldest section in the group, running until 14½, and is where Scouts can use the skills that they have learned in the lower sections, and enjoy a much lower level of supervision than in these previous sections, functioning as groups of peers under a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader.
After a young person has left the Scout Troop, they can continue to be a part of the group as a ‘Young Leader’ in one of the three sections. They can also move on to the Explorer Scout (14½-18yrs) and Scout Network (18-25yrs) sections, which are both run at the ‘District’ rather than group level.