CUBS
Welcome to 8th Basildon Cub Scouts
When and Where
Our Cubs meet in Lee Chapel School, The Knares, every Wednesday from 6.30pm – 8.00pm during school terms. We break up for school holidays. If in doubt – no school then no Cubs! Sometimes we start earlier or finish later if we have a special event or a guest. Sometimes we go out for evenings, days, weekends or even weeks. We will tell you about these in advance.
The First Few Weeks
Prospective Cubs come along for two or three weeks to see if they enjoy it – old clothes are fine and there is nothing to pay for the first session. We will play lots of games, generally with a theme … Cubs might not notice but they will learn one or two things each time we play ….. how to track in the woods, crack a code or find out something about another country. After a few weeks or so Cubs are invested. This will be just before the end of the meeting and Parent / Carers are welcome to come along to watch – it’s a good photo op! Cubs repeat the Cub law after Akela and make a very important promise. Parents get lots of badges to sew onto the new uniform as a special treat!
What Are Cubs?
Cubs, more properly known as Cub Scouts, are young people aged between 8 and 10 1/2 years old. They meet in “Packs” up to 36 strong. There are, at the last count over 230,000 Cubs in Britain. Cub Packs are split up into small “teams” called sixes – containing around 6 cubs. An older Cub leads the team called the “Sixer”. They are helped by a “Seconder”. Scouting logic strikes again! Sixes are named after colours, Yellow, Green, Blue and Red. Cubs fasten their neckers with a woggle in their six colour.
Have Fun And Learn!
Cubs follow a “training programme”. This is actually a major confidence trick. It’s cunningly put together so that the eight to nearly eleven-year-olds can be challenged and stimulated to the best of their ability. The trick is that the young people think it’s simply to give them a good time! As well as the main programme, there are some exciting “bolt-on” goodies, such as the Challenges and dozens and dozens of Activity Badges, ranging from Athlete to World Conservation. David Bellamy reckons that he became interested in nature through Cubs and the current Astronomer Royal claims that he owes his career to learning about stars as a Cub Scout.
Cub Scout Badges
There are lots of badges you can earn while you are a Cub Scout. This page lists all of the badges and tells you how to earn them. If you want more detail on a badge, click on its’ picture and you will be taken to the correct page on the Scout Association website with full details on the badge.
Membership Award
This is the badge you receive when you are invested into the Cub Pack and make your promise. It shows everybody that you are a member of the Scout Association. If you received this badge when you were a Beaver, then you can continue to wear it on your Cub uniform, even before you are invested.
Joining In Awards
You will receive a Joining In Award each year you are in the Beavers, Cubs or Scouts, so that everyone knows how long you have been a member of the Scout Group. When you receive a joning in award, don’t forget to remove the previous one.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Joining In Awards |
Moving On Awards
If you came up from the Beaver Colony, then you will have received the Beaver to Cubs Moving On award. You can continue to wear this badge throughout your time at Cubs until you gain the next Moving On award.
![]() Beavers to Cubs Moving On Award |
The next award is presented to a Cub just as they are moving on to the Scout Troop to show they have learned what Scouts is all about. This will be the first badge you wear on your Scout uniform.
![]() Cubs to Scouts Moving On Award |
Challenge Awards
There are seven Challenge Awards for you to try. You will usually earn these by attending every week at Cubs and taking part in the extra activities. You will need to earn all seven of these before you can receive the top award called the Chief Scout’s Silver Award.
![]() Our Adventure Challenge Award |
![]() Our Outdoors Challenge Award |
![]() Our Skills Challenge Award |
![]() Our World Challenge Award |
![]() Personal Challenge Award |
![]() Team Leader Challenge Award |
![]() Teamwork Challenge Award |
Chief Scout’s Silver Award
The Chief Scout’s Silver Award is the highest award available in the Cub Scout Section. It is gained by completing all seven of the Challenge Awards plus another six Activity Badges.
![]() Chief Scout’s Silver Award |
Activity Badges
But that’s not all! There are 50 Activity Badges that you can complete at any time while you are a Cub Scout. It is up to you to decide which Activity Badges you want to try so if you want to earn these badges, you should speak to your leader about what you have to do.
These cover everything you could possibly be interested in, from Adventure to World Faiths, Computers to Science and Music to Horse Riding. If you have a hobby, interest or favourite sport there is an Activity Badge that you can work hard for, gain and wear on your uniform with pride.
Activity Badges can be worked on by any Cub. They offer the opportunity for a Cub or group of Cubs to take a particular interest or skill to a higher level. The detailed requirements of all the badges are on the Scout Association website; just click on the badge’s picture to be taken there.
Sometimes, badge courses are organised for the pack for a particular badge. The courses may be run over several evenings or at a special weekend event. And finally, badges just sometimes happen. Cubsgain bits and pieces towards a particular badge by camping and taking part in activities, so it doesn’t seem like work at all! Cubs may work on badges at home but please talk to the Cub Leader before they start.
In order to receive the top award, the Chief Scout’s Silver Award, you must earn at least six Activity Badges.
Many of the Activity Badges are individual badges just for the Cub section.
And some are staged so that you can earn higher levels as you improve. These badges are the same within Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.
![]() Air Activities |
![]() Community Impact |
![]() Digital Citizen |
![]() Digital Maker |
![]() Emergency Aid |
![]() Hikes Away |
![]() Musician |
![]() Nautical Skills |
![]() Navigator |
![]() Nights Away |
![]() Paddle Sports |
![]() Sailing |
![]() Swimmer |
![]() Time on the Water |
In addition, if you develop your skills even further after you have gained an Activity Badge then you can also gain an additional award, the Activity Plus, for any Activity Badge.
![]() Activity Plus |
The Jungle Book
Cub scouting, by tradition, has adapted some of the ideas from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” and the subsequent Disney film. You will find that the Leaders are known to the youngsters by the names of the animals in the book. Do not be surprised when your youngster runs in and says, “Shere Khan says, “Akela says…” or “King Louie says…” When they reach around 10 1/2, Cubs are usually ready to “move up” to the next Section – Scouts. But we can be flexible and try to move Cubs up in groups so no one has to move up on their own.
Investiture
Think of it as being ‘sworn in’. We like our little ceremonies – and it means a lot to the Cubs too! After 3 or 4 weeks Cubs will be invested and Akela will liaise with parents about acquiring a uniform and a suitable date. The investiture will usually be just before the end of a Cub meeting and family members can come along to watch. Cubs repeat the Cub law after Akela and make a very important promise. Parents get lots of badges to sew onto the new uniform as a special treat! There will be lots of other badges to sew on in future!
Uniform
The Cub uniform consists of:
A dark green sweat shirt and group scarf (black and gold)
Woggle to secure the necker and all badges – we provide at investiture
Group activity T shirt – The group T shirt can be worn for camps and activities or outings when uniform is not required. It is a green T shirt, screen printed with the international Scout emblem in yellow and endorsed with 8th Basildon Scout Group. The cost is £8 for Cubs.
Trousers – We are fairly easy on leg wear. Pack nights – dark blue jog bottoms or leggings (dark blue shorts in hot weather) but be prepared to have them come home dirty, so school trousers are not a good idea! Smart trousers, black or grey for certain activities such as Remembrance and St. Georges Day Parades – school trousers and shoes will do fine for these occasions. You can purchase blue Cub activity trousers, Cub fleeces and blue baseball caps from Scout Shops as (very nice) optional extras, but these are not a requirement.
Who will be looking after my child? – The leaders
The Pack and its activities are supervised and organised by a team of “Cub Scout Leaders”. These are all trained unpaid volunteers who have lives and commitments outside Scouting.
Pack Sleepovers, Holidays and Camps
Once or twice a year there is an optional weekend camp. We always have a theme and Cubs may find themselves as a pirate looking for treasure on Captain Blood’s Island, or as a knight battling to defend a castle with a sword and shield they have just made – with a medieval feast to follow!
We have all our own camping equipment. Camps often run from Friday evening through to Sunday afternoon and are usually quite local. There will always be a parents briefing before hand to tell everyone exactly what we will be doing and answer any questions or concerns.
Cost
Subscriptions are paid weekly at £3.50 . This covers our running costs and central HQ costs as well as insurance when on activities or visits. It also covers most of our equipment costs – although we have to do some additional fundraising for these too.
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