Cubs · ages 8 to 10½

Bigger adventures, and the first taste of being in charge.

Camping, cooking on a fire you built yourself, and two and a half years of getting properly stuck in.

Ages
8 to 10½
Meets
Weekly in term time
What's new
Leading a small team

What changes at this age

  • Adventures that go further

    Camp under canvas, cook on a fire you built, wash up in a bowl, sleep badly, do it again next term. Most Cubs get away two or three times a year.

  • Skills they will actually use

    Cooking a real meal, giving first aid, reading a map, tying the knot that holds — alongside whatever a Cub happens to love, because there is a badge for most of it.

  • Taking the lead

    Cubs run a small team: welcoming new starters, taking charge of a game, being the reliable one on camp. For most of them it is the first time they are properly in charge of anything.

This is what it looks like

Cubs learn by doing, and most of the doing happens outdoors. Some of it is genuinely hard, which is why finishing it feels like something.

  • Camping under canvas
  • Cooking on a fire
  • Hikes and navigation
  • Climbing
  • First aid
  • Nights away
  • Community projects
  • Two Cubs in helmets and harnesses balancing on a tower of crates they have stacked

A small team to belong to

Cubs spend a lot of their time in small groups, tackling challenges together and looking out for each other. Scouts calls the whole section a Pack, and the small groups Sixes.

  • Your team for the term

    A Six is a handful of Cubs who camp together, compete together and get the blame together. It is where most of the friendships come from.

  • Somebody's turn to lead it

    One Cub looks after each Six for a spell — settling in new starters, taking charge of a game, being depended on. It is held for a while rather than handed over for good, so it comes round to most of them.

  • Akela, and the rest

    The Cub leader is traditionally nicknamed Akela, after the wolf pack's leader in The Jungle Book, and plenty of Packs still use it. Alongside them are other trained adults and Explorers helping out.

“Sometimes I'm the one in charge.”
Cubs help choose what the Pack does as well as helping run it. By the time they leave, most of them have planned an activity, led a team through it, and dealt with it not going to plan.

Things to work towards

As young people try new things, build skills and take on challenges, they earn badges and awards along the way. The highest award in Cubs is the Chief Scout's Silver Award.

It is a genuine two-year piece of work and the last award before the Troop. Cubs collect badges by the sleeveful on the way to it, on anything from astronomy to backwoods cooking.

Before you start

The practical things worth knowing. If something here is not answered, ask the Group — they would far rather you did.

A green sweatshirt with their badges sewn on, and their Group's own neckerchief. If kitting a child out is a problem, say so to a leader — Groups keep spares, and nobody is turned away over it.

Most young people go away two or three times a year, from a sleepover in the hut to a week under canvas. Every residential is run under a Nights Away Permit by a leader trained and assessed for it, and a kit list should come home at least two weeks before.

Groups charge subs to cover the hall, equipment and insurance, and every Group sets its own — so ask the one you are interested in. Camps and trips are costed separately, and a kit list and a price should reach you at least two weeks beforehand.

Wear something comfortable that can get messy — uniform can wait until they have settled in and have badges to sew on. Arrive a few minutes early so there is time to say hello, and expect them to be doing something within about five minutes of walking in.

If your young person needs additional support or adjustments, talk to the local Group. They can discuss what they need and what can be put in place. Tell us when you register an interest as well, and we will pass it on.

Often, yes. Waiting lists are normal across the district and a section can be full for a term or more. Register your interest and the district team will match you to the nearest Group with space, rather than leaving you to ring round.

Find Cubs in Newcastle

21 Groups in the district run Cubs. Availability changes constantly — the badge is what that Group last told us.

or search every Group on the district map

Browse all 21 Groups

Then: Scouts

Between 10 and 11 they move up to the Troop, where the expeditions get serious and young people start planning the programme rather than being handed it.