Calling all adults and young people! Booking is now open for Hampshire Scouts Speak Up 2025 and our annual adult media workshop.
Build your confidence, learn top tips to spread your stories and get more young people and adult volunteers joining you.
February 2025 sees the return of Hampshire Scouts' training events for adults and young people. Refreshed for this year, we cover how you can get stories of the amazing work Scouts do in every corner of the county in the media and on social media.
Location: Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre, New Forest
Hampshire Scouts Speak Up: Friday 7th to Saturday 8th February, free, food and accommodation indoors included plus an adventurous activity. Scouts, Explorers and Scout Network aged 13-25.
Adult Media Workshop: Sunday 9th February, free, food included. Open to any adult volunteer in any role.
Aim: build your confidence, and learn the top tips to share your good news stories online and in the media
These courses are free-of-charge and funded by Hampshire Scouts, so sign up while spaces are available. Timings will be confirmed once registration closes. Places are open to those outside of Hampshire Scouts for a nominal fee of £5.
Bookings close mid-January 2025. Event is subject to cancellation if interest is insufficient so book early to avoid disappointment.
As part of the event we cover:
These give you skills not only to help grow your own skillset but also helps spread the word about what we do so more people can get involved locally. Knowing how to answer difficult questions helps in your career just as much as on camera too.
For our young people taking part in Scouts Speak Up, you'll be in small groups supported by a mentor who has done this before and can offer some tips if it feels a little daunting. For our adults attending the Adult Media Workshop there are plenty of volunteers able to answer your questions too.
We always aim to provide an adventurous activity for our young people on Scouts Speak Up and we decide this based on the requirements of our young people attending. We'll provide dormitory accommodation at Ferny Crofts overnight and keep you well fed through the weekend too.
Young people can also earn or work towards the Media and PR activity badges by attending.
All this is free of charge to Hampshire Scouts.
The team at Hinton Ampner have filled the available spaces at the moment and will let us know if any more become available. Thank you to everyone that has expressed an interest so far.
Looking to get out into nature this winter and complete a Community Impact project at the same time? We may have a project for you!
The National Trust at Hinton Ampner, near Alresford, are looking for help from community groups to plant trees.
They are currently part way through a massive ‘Reimagining a Hampshire Estate’ project where they are creating new habitat for wildlife, capturing carbon and providing some natural flood measures and creating 60-hectare of woodland.
As part of that they need help to plant 60,000 trees in just over 3 years!
The tree planting period is winter, so between December 2024 and March 2025, they are looking to invite community groups to get involved in helping plant trees.
To get in touch with the Ranger team and volunteer as a section, Scout Group, Explorer Unit, Scout Network or adult volunteer group, contact them through their form. Plus find out about the Community Impact staged activity badge on scouts.org.uk.
The team at Hinton Ampner have filled the available spaces at the moment and will let us know if any more become available. Thank you to everyone that has expressed an interest so far.
Rifle Shooting opportunities are coming in for the early months of 2025, with details of a Hampshire Scouts competition and training for leaders' permits joining the calendar.
The 21st Romsey Rifle Club are the hosts for this year's Hampshire Scouts Confined Sporter Air Rifle Competition. Involving 6 yard standing air rifle shooting, the event includes competition classes for Scouts, Explorers and Network/volunteers.
Postal qualification entry is during January and March, with the finals for the top eight of each class competing on the 14th June 2025.
Enter on the 21st Romsey Rifle Club website.
There has been a correction issued by the instructors, it is highlighted below in bold.
For adult members interested in becoming an Air Rifle Instructor with the National Small-Bore Rifle Association Youth Proficiency Scheme Tutor, you're in luck! There is course taking place in Romsey on 15th and 16th February.
Full details and booking on the Instructor's website. Cost £95 for Scouting members, including NSRA registration.
The NSRA Youth Proficiency Scheme Tutor's Diploma is the standard course to equip adult instructors to run both "taster" sessions in air rifle shooting and also YPS courses which young people can use as part of their DofE or Top Awards. It covers the law, safety considerations, equipment, how to construct a range, Group control, basic shooting skills, sighting, scoring, targets and competitions and shooting games.
It’s six years since the team at Bramshill Scouts made an autumn half-term trip to Belgium and France so the time has come for another visit with a new group of Scouts and Explorers.
This time, there are still some spaces on the coach. Join them between the 30th October and 3rd November on this remembrance trip to Ypres.
Those interested should drop the Bramshill District Lead Volunteer an email for further information – [email protected]
On the journey from Calais, the expedition hope to have time to stop at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, where a hospital had been located and pay our respects to the 33 former Scouts who lie there.
On our first evening in Ypres, we will parade our flags at the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate and lay a wreath. More than 140 former Scouts are commemorated on the memorial.
Our trip will include visits to Essex Farm Cemetery, the Passchendaele Museum and trench system, and then a cross-country walk to Tyne Cot Military Cemetery. This is the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery, where we will have a battlefield guide help our young people learn as much as possible about the history and relevance of the site’s location. More than 115 former Scouts are buried or commemorated here. We’ll also visit the German Military Cemetery of Langemark.
Friday 1st November is a public holiday in Belgium, and the Ypres Scout Group is visiting us and we’ll entertain them with some ‘English’ games like ‘Shove-halfpenny’, dominoes and tiddly winks! Afterwards we’ll take a meal together and have a badge swap.
On Saturday we are heading down into France to visit Vimy Ridge, where there are memorials to the Canadian troops who fought alongside us in WWI and a visitor centre.
On the return trip we will visit the town of Poperinge, an important staging post and rest area in WWI. We will explore the town and its association with the men who were ‘shot at dawn’.
The Hampshire Beavers team are excited to announce an addition to the calendar for 2023 as we plan a visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. With a wealth of history from the Mary Rose, including their new 4D experience, to The Victory. We have managed to secure all access passes for the day, this includes all attractions and the 90min harbour boat tour. The cost per Beaver, including all the attractions, boat tour, our exclusive badge, a picnic badge and a secret treat is just £29! I have worked closely with the events team and have secured a free leader place for every 3 beavers attending, We appreciate that some groups need a higher ratio of adults so all additional are just £5. Young Leaders will also benefit from this amazing discount. Adult tickets are normally £44 so this is very generous of the Dockyard. Those beavers with an annual Pass to the dockyard will need to pay £5 to cover the badges and little extras We will be there the weekend of 25-26 November and you can choose either day to visit. You don't want to miss out on our first Hampshire Beavers Portsmouth Historic Dockyard badge do you? Bookings are now open at https://forms.office.com/e/taADudBP1x but be quick! Booking Deadline is 5th November and the payment deadline will be the 8th November We can't wait to see you there Any questions please get in touch |
We are very excited to announce that the Young Leaders’ Rally will be back for a sixth time to provide fun and #SkillsForLife! This is a weekend event organised by the Top Awards Team for Young Leaders across the county to further their training, as well as sharing experiences and making friends.
The event is subsidised by Hampshire Scouts and we hope the cost will be around £35 for Indoor accommodation and £25 for camping for the weekend. Payment will be requested nearer the time along with full information. Payment will be required in full before the event in order to attend.
Activities will include:
Watch this video to see what we did at the last YL Rally! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfpWGN8cius&t=17s
We are limited to 120 spaces for this year's Young Leader Rally! If you wish to attend, book now to avoid disappointment! Please note that we have limited spaces for indoor accommodation, due to this we will be operating a first come first serve system. Once all the spaces indoors are gone the only available accommodation will be outside (camping)
Signup: https://forms.gle/ocsHucr5XwWeU66y5
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to email [email protected].
On Saturday 23rd September at Hawley Lake, Minley, Hampshire, we're running an assessment day so you can gain your Kayaking or Canoeing permit for B1 waters.
Attendees will need to work to the Kayak Assessment Checklist and be compliant with the POR rules for water activities, a recap on the POR rules will also be given on the assessment day. Applicants will need to be at the old BCU 3* level for flat water strokes or alternatively have passed the BC Explore Award.
The day will run from 0900 to 1700 and you will need to bring with you a kayak or canoe plus your paddling equipment, together with a packed lunch. Showers and changing facilities will be available on site. There may be a possibility to hire equipment on the day, please contact me if you require this.
If you are interested in attending the assessment please send me an email with your name, telephone number and scout membership number and I will be in touch with further details. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Email Paul Mant, County Assessor
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue service have issued some new advice for volunteers using Scout halls for sleepovers to ensure everyone remains safe.
These should help you when completing your risk assessment for the event. It remains important to contact the service if you are planning an event so they can prioritise any incident at a HQ when a sleepover is taking place. Tel: 023 8064 4000, email [email protected] or use the Contact Us page of their website.
Their advice is as follows:
HSX are hosting the AdEx Challenge, a series of challenges and bases to test your teamwork and leadership skills. Activities will be based around an expedition scenario.
The weekend will finish with a HSX social on Sunday lunchtime. So if you've caught the expedition bug you can find out more about HSX, our future expeditions and our regular UK training weekends.
When: Saturday 16th - Sunday 17th September
Where: Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre, New Forest
Who: Explorer and Network Scouts over the age of 14
Cost - £25pp
Sign-up closes on Sunday 18th August.
Hampshire Scout Expeditions (HSX) is a county-based organisation specialising in youth development through mountainous activities and international expeditions. Throughout the year we run numerous training weekends throughout the UK to adventurous locations such as the Brecon Beacons, Lake District, Snowdonia and the Cairngorms.
We also have a track record of leading international expeditions to all corners of the globe, running trips places such as Nepal, Peru, Patagonia, Belize and Cambodia, as well as placing members on the summit of Mount Everest and the South Pole!
Archery as well as being an Olympic target sport is also an inclusive and exciting adventurous activity for our young people. Thankfully for those looking to lead these activities, there are courses coming up:
Christchurch Scouts have Aim 4 Sport running an Archery GB Instructors Course at Braggers Wood on the 9th and 10th September.
They are offering a discount to Scout members so if you have anyone that might be interested.
Please book via https://www.aim4sport.com/courses/archery-gb-instructor-courses-now-available/
This is a two day course which is designed for people with little or no prior experience of Archery. Candidates must be at least 17 years old by the start of the course.
Topics that are covered within the course are; how to shoot arrows, preparing and delivering Archery sessions, how to select appropriate equipment, setting up a range and how to ensure safety on the range. Successful candidates will gain an Archery GB Instructor licence which will last for three years.
This course is not catered, so please bring lunches for the two days, although tea and coffee will be provided throughout. You will be working outdoors from time to time, so please wear appropriate clothing and bring waterproofs.
The days will run from approximately 9:00am to 5:00pm. Cost is £175. Camping can be booked separately.
Book at https://fernycrofts.cinolla.com/