Chief Scout Gold Award achieved

A Chief Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Scout can earn. To achieve it a Scout must complete 9 Challenge Awards and earn 6 Activity or Staged Activity badges of their choice. N was awarded it on his last night of Scouts. He has since moved onto the next level of Scouting, which is called the Explorer Scouts. The Challenges he chose were:-

Adventure, Creative, Expedition, Outdoor, Personal, Skills, Teamwork, Team Leader and World.

He learned how to pitch a tent and look after a campsite and how to look after the countryside and environment. N took part in various outdoor pursuits, like hill climbing and canoeing and learned how to cook using gadgets such as a knife and an axe properly. He enjoyed learning all about the different gadgets he could make to use at a campsite. He enjoyed the various games nights, where they played the hippo game or learned archery safely. He enjoyed the navigation evenings, especially when it was the leader who got them lost. He found out about aspects of the local community life, for example, local government, history, faiths, farming etc.

He learned a lot of practical skills, like washing and ironing his uniform. Fixing a puncture and how to look after his bike, were among the life skills he liked doing.

The activities and staged badges he completed consisted of Emergency Aid, Nautical, Astronomer, Hobbies, Local Knowledge, Mechanic, Scientist. Although there were a lot more badges that he completed over the four years he was in Scouting,

He took part in paddle sports, such as rafting, sailing, windsurfing and went out in the water on kayaks, Canadian canoes, and bell-boats. He learned all about water safety and how to tie proper knots. N loved those nights in particular as being in water is his favourite thing to do other than computer games. He also achieved his swimming level 2 award and attended various nights away. He participated in overnight and weekend camps and was due to attend an international camp to Holland, unfortunately, due to Covid this was cancelled.

Scouts is very much a teamwork setting, and N has loved every minute of it, and is now looking forward to Explorers Scouts, where the Explorers are very much in control of what they will do each evening.