7thA Rochdale Scout Group Web Site

7thA Rochdale Scout Group

Scout Page

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Hi, welcome to the Scout Troop page of 7thA Rochdale Scout Group.

Here you will find information about the Scout section of our group.

What is a Scout Troop?

A Scout troop is a group of young people aged between 10 1/2 and 15 1/2 years guided and assisted by adult leaders. The troop is organised into patrols consisting of six members, each patrol has a Patrol Leader and an Assistant Patrol Leader who as senior members look after the rest of the patrol and assist the adult leaders in training. Each patrol is identified by their patrol badge which is worn on the right sleeve and operates as a team within the troop. The adult leaders are generally called by name although some stick to the tradition of 'Skip'. The programme of activities is planned by the Scout Leader (SL) in consultation with the PL's Council. Now I hear 'What's the PL's Council?' Well it's the Patrol Leader's getting together with the Scout Leader to discuss the activity programme, the running of the troop and to ratify awards.

Our Scout Troop

Our Scout Troop is a co-educational troop and meets on a Thursday evening from 7:15 to 9:15 at the Spotland Bridge headquarters. The patrols in our Troop are named after birds currently there are the the Swifts, the Owls and the Kestrels. There are a wide variety of activities for the scouts to enjoy, and don't imagine it's all hard work and serious training. There are outdoor training activities such as survival skills, camping, cooking and navigation exercises. There are indoor training evenings where the scouts learn basic Scouting skills, the theory of outdoor skills and practice handling equipment used for the outdoor and adventurous activities. There are adventurous activities including canoeing, clinbing, hiking and camping where the scouts can build on the skills learnt in previous training sessions. The rest of the programme is made up of interesting local visits where the Scouts will visit a local facility or landmark and learn about it's role or place in the community, we also have visitors to give give talks on various subjects. All the activities even the training are planned with enjoyment in mind, if you enjoy something you learn it! The emphasis is on outdoor activity let's put the out in scouting!.

Progressive Awards

The activities we provide are designed to develop the scouts practical and social skills and help them work towards their progressive awards. The Scouts start work on their progressive awards after completing their Membership Award, the award that they work on is dependant on their age. The awards are the Scout Award (10 1/2 to 11 1/2), Pathfinder Award (11 1/2 to 13), Explorer Award (13 to 14) and the Chief Scouts Award (14 to 15 1/2). Each award is designed to build on the skills learned for the previous award, although each award stands as a complete programme. The last award, the Chief Scouts Award is closely related to the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award and a Scout can work on both of these at the same time. To complete each of these awards the Scouts must also gain a Proficiency Badge, these are related to the individuals hobbies and interests.

The award scheme also recognises teamwork and leadership skills, to further this all Scouts are eligable for the Patrol Activity Award and the over 13's eligable for the Leadership Award. To gain the patrol Activity Award the patrol must plan and carry out an activity away from the Troop night. The Leadership Award programme is used to develop the older Scout's leadership potential by training and guiding in the skills required to lead a patrol.

The final badge that a Scout can gain is the Chief Scouts Challenge which is for the older Scouts only. It helps the Scouts to develop a sense of independence as they have to plan and carry out an expedition in rough unfamiliar territory. This is the culmination of the training for the other awards, all the camping, hiking, navigation and other outdoor skills are tested along with the Scouts own strength of character.

Other Bits

We are now back from our summer break and our programme is in full swing. So welcome back and Good Scouting.

We have a bi-annual troop camp for a week, where we use a different site every year, last year was Great Tower in the Lake District. In the year where there is no annual camp we organise at least two weekend camps during the season. We encourage all patrols to have weekend camps each year so in all there may be 3 or even 4 camps in a year!

If you would like to contact us by E-mail

E-mail the Scout Leaders

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