Hook Scouts is part of the Bramshill District and are known as the 7th Bramshill. We are located in the Sue Hedges Memorial Hall, Raven Road, Hook, RG27 9HH.
We provide a fun and varied programme of activity every week. This page pulls together all the relevant information that you need if your child is about to join one of the sections at Hook Scouts. All our volunteers are here to help, so please feel free to ask if there is anything you are unsure about.
What is Scouting?
Scouting is not simply a social club or youth club. We are a uniformed organisation, for both boys and girls, with a fantastic history and reputation for providing fun, challenge and adventure to young people across all backgrounds over the last century and a bit. We teach each young person valuable life skills, using methods that relate to the very roots of Scouting. Many of the activities that we do involve the outdoors, because we find that our young people enjoy being outdoors more than anything else. To show skills that have been learned we award various badges that are worn on the uniform with pride.
We split our young people in different age groups, in order to provide age-appropriate challenge and adventure. We have the following Sections:
- Squirrel Scouts – age 4 and 5
- Beaver Scouts – age 6 and 7
- Cub Scouts – age 8 to 10 1/2
- Scouts – age 10 1/2 to 13
- Explorer Scouts – age 14 to 17
What is Involved in Joining?
Your child will be able to try out Scouting for a few weeks before deciding if they want to make their Promise and be invested into the Section. Before they do this their leaders will provide them a small amount of initial training on what it means to become a Beaver, Cub or Scout, and they will understand what they are promising.
The leaders will let you know when they are going to be invested, and you should be able to watch this ceremony if you like. To be invested they will need to have their uniform. Details of this are described later, but essentially they will need a sweatshirt or shirt of the correct colour, and navy blue trousers.
The ceremony varies depending of the age group, but in all cases the ceremony will take place together with the whole Section. Often there are a number of young people making their promise, and they will all be brought out to the front to make their promise while making the Scout Sign. Their leader will place their necker around their neck to signify that they are now part of the Group. They will be welcomed to the Section, and will also be presented with the badges that identify them as belonging to their Section, Hook Scouts, Bramshill District and Hampshire County.
What Uniform do I Need?
The Scout Association is a uniformed organisation, and every young person and volunteer is expected to wear their uniform with pride. There are a small number of compulsory items of uniform:
| Squirrel Scouts | Beaver Scouts | Cub Scouts | Scouts | Explorer Scouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red crew neck sweatshirt | Turquise crew neck sweatshirt | Dark Green crew neck sweatshirt | Teal Green long-sleeved shirt or blouse | Beige long-sleeved shirt or blouse |
| Group necker and woggle | Group necker and woggle | Group necker and woggle | Navy Blue trousers or skirt | Navy Blue trousers or skirt |
| Group necker and woggle | Group or District necker and woggle |
The Group necker and woggle will be provided when your child is invested. The sweatshirts and shirts may be purchased from shop.scouts.org.uk, or from anywhere else so long as the colour matches.
What Details do I Need to Provide?
You will need to provide personal details of your child and their parents / guardians. We collect details about how to contact parents or guardians, doctor’s name, special needs, and dietary requirements. This information is important when planning or attending an adventurous activity or camp away from home.
Also included is a Gift Aid Declaration. This is very important to the Scout Group as it allows us to claim a further 25% of all subscriptions, fees or other donations from the Government. The way it does this is by claiming a tax rebate on all of this money. For this reason, one or more parents must be paying taxes for this form to be signed. If you are, then please provide permission for us to claim Gift Aid, by completing the Gift Aid declaration on the form. In any event, it won’t cost you anything extra.