Moving Up What When your young person reaches the top of the age range for their current section, it’s time to Move Up. They will say goodbye to their current Section, and hopefully join the next one up. Beavers move up to Cubs, Cubs move up to Scouts, and Scouts leave the Group and move up to an Explorers Unit. When The age ranges of each Section are: Beavers: 6 – 8 Cubs: 8 – 10½ Scouts – 10½ – 14 We operate three moving up points throughout the year, aligned with the major school terms, and your young person will typically move up at the first point after reaching the top of the age range for their current Section: At the start of the school year in September After the Christmas holidays After the Easter holidays e.g. a Beaver with a birthday in December would usually move up to start Cubs in the January after turning 8. A Cub with the same birthday would turn 10½ in May, and so would move up to start Scouts in the following September. Explorers After the age of 14, the next step for a Scout is to join an Explorers Unit, which exist independently from Scout Groups. There are Explorer Unit across the District, based in Keynsham, Clutton, Saltford, Radstock and Midsomer Norton. We can help you get in touch when the time comes if you would like. What To Do Our Membership Secretary will be in touch with plenty of notice when your young person is due to move up, and you will be able to discuss what is best for your young person. There is a bit of flexibility with these ages, to try to ensure we do the best for the young people. For example we are permitted to let a young person remain in their existing Section for an additional 6 months if that is in their best interests, e.g. if it will allow them to move up with friends. Sometimes it is possible to move up slightly earlier. Managing our Section sizes is a tricky art though, so while we try to be flexible this is not always possible. And while we plan far in advance to try to make spaces available for everyone in the Section above, this is also not always possible, and your young person might have to join the waiting list. The only way to guarantee your young person will have a space in the Section above is to volunteer to help out in a Section Leadership team or in another volunteer role. Uniform Please try to obtain the relevant uniform for the next Section in time for your young person to start. The necker is the same for the whole group and so can be worn to your new Section. If you wish to keep your old uniform as a keepsake, your new Section can provide the core set of badges for the new uniform (purple membership badge, group tape and district/county badge, plus the most recent Chief Scout award earned.) Please ask your leaders if this is required. If you don’t wish to keep your old uniform, there is a second hand market on eBay/Vinted etc, or we will happily accept donations of old uniform which we can pass on to other members for a small contribution to the Group.