What Scouts do

Scouts is where young people make new friends, have amazing adventures, and learn new skills.

Gain #SkillsForLife

The Scouts is the UK’s largest youth organisation, we believe in preparing young people with skills for life. We encourage our young people to do more, learn more and be more.

Scouts are do-ers and give-it-a-go-ers. Yes, we go camping, hiking, swimming, abseiling, cycling and canoeing. But we also get to hang out with our friends every week –  having fun, playing games, working in a team and taking on new challenges.

Every week we give over two thousand 4-25 year olds across Chelmsford the skills they need for school, college, university, the job interview, the important speech, the tricky challenge and the big dreams: the skills they need for life.

We’re talking about teamwork, leadership and resilience – skills that have helped Scouts become everything from teachers and social workers to astronauts and Olympians. We believe in bringing people together. We celebrate diversity and stand against intolerance, always. We’re part of a worldwide movement, creating stronger communities and inspiring positive futures.

Everyone’s welcome here. All genders, races and backgrounds. Regardless of your child’s physical ability – there’s a Scout adventure out there waiting for them. And we’ll help them find it.

Sign up to help your child discover their ‘thing’: from abseiling to coding to performance art and everything in between. Find your local group in the Group Finder, fill out the form and someone will be in touch soon.

Have adventures

Adventure means different things to different people. History would have you believe it lies only in epic journeys and mighty sacrifices, but we disagree.  For Scouts, real adventure doesn’t have to be showy. It doesn’t have to gloat. It doesn’t have to boast.  Instead, more often than not, real adventure starts small and thinks big. It happens slowly but surely. Step by step and brick by brick.

Regardless of who you are – whatever your physical ability – there’s an adventure out there waiting for you. And we’ll help you find it.  Discover your ‘thing’: from abseiling to coding to performance art.

See the world

South Korea, North America, Jersey, Ghana, Zanzibar, Australia, Iceland, Norway – just some of the places our Scouts travel to.

Scouting is an international movement and a visit abroad is a fantastic opportunity to learn about another culture, meet other Scouts, understand how they live, experience unique adventures and extend the horizons of our members beyond the village, town or city in which they live. All of the top Awards in Scouting require participants to experience or incorporate  some understanding of global issues and a visit abroad is a great way of enabling that.

Help your community

As Scouts, we’re always striving to leave the world a little better than we found it.

Over the last one hundred years, the issues we’ve tackled have evolved and changed, but our young people’s drive to make a positive impact remains constant.

From picking litter at your local park to handing out supplies in an emergency – Scouting can be at the centre of your community, helping the people closest to us.

A Squirrel eating an edible fireworik

Squirrels

Squirrels is a completely new provision for 4 to 6 year olds.

Three Beavers doing an activity

Beavers

Beavers is for 6 to 8 years and is the exciting next step of your Scouting journey.

Two Cubs taking part in a crate stacking activity

Cubs

Develop new skills and soar to great heights with Cubs, for 8 to 10 1/2 years.

Scouts on kayaks

Scouts

Scouts is for 10 1/2 to 14 years, with new challenges and new adventures.

Explorers sat on a rock

Explorers

At Explorers, for 14 to 18 years, you’ll stand on your own two feet, and make memories.

Network Scout climbing

Network

Create, organise and take part in events and projects with other 18-25 year olds in Network.

Two Beavers with a leader

Volunteer

Share your skills and gain new ones as a volunteer – you don’t need to be Bear Grylls!