Cub Scouts - 8 to 10½ years
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Develop new skills. Soar to great heights.
Being a Cub opens up a whole other world.
Cubs get a chance to try lots of different fun and exciting activities like swimming, music, exploring, computing, experimenting and collecting. If they do them properly they will get a badge which they can wear on their uniform. Cubs also get to go on trips and days out, to places like the zoo, theme parks or a farm. Sometimes they will be able to go camping with the rest of their cub scout pack. This means they sleep in a tent and do loads of outdoor activities.
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Cub packs form the middle section of a scout group, with the beaver colony below and the scout troop above.
Going on adventures
Race down a river. Tell stories by torchlight. Fall asleep beneath the stars. Alongside your friends, you’ll spend plenty of time in the great outdoors. Together, you might build a den in your local park, or create an edible raft out of sweets, or go on a moonlit hike through your hometown. And even though you might not be ready to climb Mount Everest just yet, you’re guaranteed to have plenty of adventures on your own doorstop, because being a cub is all about making the most of what you have, wherever and whoever you are.
Learning new skills
Cubs learn by doing, and so will you. Some of the skills you develop will be practical, like knowing how to cook a delicious meal or give someone first aid. Others will allow you to become a master at your chosen hobby, or help you to succeed in whichever job you decide to do when you grow up. But the most important skills you’ll learn at Cubs are the ones that will make you feel confident and happy in your own skin. We call these character skills, and they include things like integrity – which means being honest and doing what you think is right – and initiative – which means knowing how to take the lead on something without being asked. Whatever skills you’d like to learn, it’s all about having the courage to try new things and learn from them.
Helping others
Cubs work as a team to help other people. Together, you’ll learn about global issues and what we can all do to help solve them. You’ll also make an impact in your own community, through activities such as campaigning to save your local library, collecting donations for a foodbank, or planting trees in a neighbouring park.
What does a cub pack look like?
All cubs are members of the global scout family. Closer to home, they’re also part of a wider local scout group, alongside beavers (aged 6 to 8) and scouts (aged 10 ½ to 14). When they're older, they can join explorers (for 14 to 18 year olds) and - eventually - scout network (for our young adult members aged 18 to 25).
Each pack is made up of young people aged 8 to 10 and is run by the pack leaders and helpers. The cub leader is traditionally called Akela after the wise leader of the wolf pack in Rudyard Kipling’s novel, The Jungle Book.
As well as the cub leader, other adults are on hand to supervise activities, share their skills and keep everyone safe. Other young people aged 14 to 18 might help out, too. These are explorer scouts taking part in the explorer scout young leader programme.
The cubs in the pack are separated into sixes, sixes are teams of ideally five to seven members and are lead by a sixer and a seconder. Sixers and Seconders are Cub Scouts who are chosen to take on leadership responsibilities, such as welcoming new people to the Pack, being extra helpful on camp, or taking charge of a particular game or activity.
Awards and badges
Cubs can gain a number of awards and badges during their time in the section…
Joining In Awards
The Joining In Award recognises a young person's commitment to Scouting and are usually given on each anniversary of Members joining the Movement. Two Joining In Awards can be received by Beaver Scouts and when they move up to Cub Scouts they wear the highest one they attained in Beavers. The badges take the form of a small coloured star with a number showing the amount of years they have been in Scouting.
Scout Membership Award
The membership award is only received by young people new to Scouting, whereas members who have joined from a Beaver Colony will undertake the Moving-On Award. However, the awards cover the same basic principles and many packs will have all new Cubs participate in the membership award regardless of how they came to join the section.
Challenge awards
There are seven Challenge awards, covering the six Programme Zones or key areas of Cub Scouting. Each Challenge involves undertaking several tasks or taking part in activities related to a particular Programme Zone.
Activity badges
Activity badges are awarded for demonstrating skill or achievement in a particular subject which may be an existing hobby or a new area of knowledge. There are currently 34 different badges available.
Staged Activity Badges
Staged Activity Badges can be completed by any member of the Movement between the age of 6 and 18. They are completed in different stages, so after completing each stage Members are awarded the relevant badge. As they can be completed in Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts and Explorers it is possible for a Beaver Scout to attain a higher level of a Staged Activity Badge than a member from a higher section.
Chief Scout's Silver Award
The Chief Scout’s Silver Award is the highest award which can be gained by Cub Scouts. In order to attain it, Cubs must have completed six of the Challenge awards.
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