In the 20th year of Explorer Scouts, Ripley and Heanor District Scouts have opened Octavius Explorer Scout Unit at 1st Ripley Scouts.
The first meeting was held last week with an enthusiastic and excited group of young people aged 14-18. The Explorers selected the name of their unit, Octavius, after a notable Ripley resident, and designed their new necker and took part in a series of team building activities to get to know each other. This came after their inaugural camp at Kibblestone last weekend where they joined Ripley Scouts in tree climbing, shelter building and fire lighting.
It’s the next step in the development of 1st Ripley Scouts, in our aim to prepare more young people with Skills for Life as we can now offer a continuous progression of Scouting from the age of 6 through to 18 and plans are afoot to open a Squirrels Drey for 4-6 year old’s soon as well.
Scouting in Ripley is growing and growing fast. The number of young people has increased by 50% compared to the start of 2021 with the addition of our new Explorer unit. Showing what a great programme of activities our volunteers are running week in week out and that young people want to get outside and learn new skills.
Explorer Scouting is the next adventure once a Scout turns 14 and leaves the Scout troop. The Explorer programme is focused on developing more skills for life and working towards the top awards including the Chief Scout Platinum, Chief Scout Diamond and newly renamed King’s Scout Award which align nicely with the three levels of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
If you’ve got a child aged between 14-18 and they’d like to get involved why not get in touch today?!
We couldn’t do this without a team of brilliant volunteers. But we’re no different to you! Why not come and join us, I promise that you’ll have just as much fun as the young people and you’ll get to learn new skills for your CV, make new friends and support your local community at the same time. It’s good for you!
