Explorers · ages 14 to 18

It's yours to run.

Expeditions, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and ten days finding your way round an unfamiliar country — mostly organised by the people going.

Find Explorers near you

Ages: 14 to 18
Meets: Weekly, in a district unit
What's new: Running it themselves

What changes at this age

The programme is theirs
Explorers decide what the unit does, with the adults there to make it possible. What a term looks like is genuinely up to the people in it.
Leading other people
Explorers can run sessions for Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts through the Young Leaders' Scheme — real responsibility for younger young people, with training and an award for it.
Ambitious adventure
The Explorer Belt is ten days working out a place and a culture on your own two feet. It is about as far from a school trip as it is possible to get.

This is what it looks like

Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Awards all run through Scouting, and the expedition section is something a unit already knows how to do.

Expeditions here and abroad
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Explorer Belt
Climbing, water and hillwalking
Young Leaders' Scheme
International trips
Community projects

A unit of your own

Explorers do not belong to a Scout Group. They join a unit that belongs to the district — which usually means new people from across the city, not only the ones they grew up with.

Your own crowd, wider than before
A unit pulls together Explorers from several Groups and from none. Plenty of people join at 14 having never been in Scouts at all.
Small teams that organise things
Within the unit, Explorers work in small teams that stay together on expeditions and trips — and that increasingly plan and run those trips themselves.
Six units across Newcastle
Which one an Explorer joins is usually about where they live and which night suits, rather than which Group they came from. Some units meet in a Group's hut and keep close ties to it.

“We organise it.”

By this age young people are not only choosing activities but planning them, budgeting them, leading them and answering for them. A good number go on to volunteer as adults, and most of those started here.

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 Explorers is the King's Scout Award.

It takes years, and it is recognised well outside Scouting. Alongside it sit the Chief Scout's Platinum and Diamond Awards, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the Explorer Belt.

Before you start

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

A beige shirt or blouse with their badges sewn on, worn with the unit's own neckerchief — or their Group's, where a unit is linked to a Troop. Most Explorers keep the uniform trousers for awards evenings and parades.

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 Explorers in Newcastle

Explorers join a district unit rather than a Group, so which one is usually about where you live and which night suits — not which Group you came from. Tell us both and we will point you at the right one.