Welcome

Scout Groups are divided into three sections, with young people moving between each section as they age. Our Group has 1 Beaver Colony, 2 Cub Packs and 1 Scout Troop. The purpose of Scouting is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. Activities we undertake are developed with this aim in mind, are appropriate for each age group and are aimed at the development of the young person, within the broader aims of Scouting.

Scout groups are autonomous units acquiring and managing their own property and equipment while developing its membership subject to the Scout Association policies and rules. Our group (registered charity No. 1045299) has an affiliation with St John’s Church, Outwood Common and is in the Billericay and Wickford Scout district.

It is good practice for any adult having contact with young people to have completed the relevant checks. It is therefore our policy for all parents to be CRB checked because some sections run a mandatory parents support rota to provide additional adult supervision.  Forms are available from section leaders or the Group Scout Leader.


 
Night Hike - up up and away PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ian Mitchell   

If you were caught out on the streets of Billericay on 22nd November you might have felt a strange sense of safety. A feeling that you wouldn't have been able to quite pin down. We are finally able to reveal why this was the case. It was because there were about 100 super heroes (scouts) hiking around the town on the District annual night hike. Some of them were dealing with defeating a group of super villians from the planet ScoutLeader, while the rest were tackling navigational challenges, tasks requiring super human abilities and generally having a good time.

This event is always a popular one with the Scouts and this year was no exception. The theme as you would have guessed was super heroes, with Scouts having to wear a cloak and underpants on top of their trousers. Teams of Scouts were sent out on a circuit of about 15Km, with four challenge bases to navigate to. Scouts earned points at each base for successfully completing the tasks. Points were deducted if teams were caught by Patrolling Scout leaders.

After a good walk they all settled down to videos and hotdogs at 6th Billericays hall (thank you to them for putting everyone up). In the morning after a hearty breakfast every one was once again back into normal clothing and take back to their home planets by their parents. After much tallying and cross checking, 5th Billericay were tied first with 3rd Billericay. It was agreed that we would share the trophy over the next year. The picture shows our winning team.

Well done everyone who took part.

Last Updated on Monday, 23 December 2013 16:00
 
Renewal of Promise - We won PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ian Mitchell   

Since the 21st April, we might have mention a few times to friends and families that 5th Billericay Scouts won the Sedan Chair race held at the Renewal of Promise event. Well done to all who took part or supported the team. The car also looked brilliant. A few pictures of the preparation for the event and the event itself can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5thbillericay/sets/72157633318219677/show/

For those that don't believe it snowed at the recent March camp at Gilwell, look again at these photos that have just been uploaded:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5thbillericay/sets/72157633160654718/show/

A stark contrast to the same weekend last year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5thbillericay/sets/72157630181309872/show/

Role on the next camp or district event!

Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 20:25
 
The Big Freeze - Winter camp 3013 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ian Mitchell   

For us this camp was a first. We had done indoor camping and we had done summer/spring/autumn camping, but never one in Winter. Would it work? If we built it would they come? just some of the questions on our minds as we set forth to organise this adventure. John and Claire took on the mantel of organising the event, which went towards them being assessed for their Nights Away Permits. Much thought went into the weekend and as the date drew closer and Christmas passed, more people signed up, nearly everyone in fact. The programme was set, with indoor accommodation at Skreens Park just outside Chelmsford. As Friday approach the weather got worse and the leaders got more excited. Could it possibly snow while we are on Winter camp. How brilliant that would be for the Scouts. Although it was touch and go (i.e. parents arrived, the kids feet touched the ground and the parents went; to get back to their warm houses), everyone arrived safely and got settled into their rooms.

After a quick briefing on camp rules, the fun started straight away, with wide games in the dark, in the field, in the snow. Hunt the leader; Find us and we signed their ticket, most signatures wins; Simples. The Scouts had a great time, but really need to learn about night vision, so many walked past me without seeing me, one saying 'they can't be near here, if someone was watching me, I would know'. Tee Hee. After the wide game it was a hot drink and off to bed.

The next day they woke up (at 6am) to more snow. Time for a hike. Only 6 miles, but that feels further when it is cold. Navigation was good, with one team carry a snow shovel for a third of the walk, in case they needed to clear a path. We met them for lunch, spirits were high and fingers were cold, so a quick munch on a sandwich to get some energy and of for the final third. Once back at the hut they warmed up, changed any clothes that had got wet, and were straight back out for an hours climbing. Boots and cold fingers don't cling to walls very well, but some of them got quite high up the wall. Next some well earned free time and after Paul's fabulous tea we were out again for some more, different, wide games. Off to bed with a bit of a lay in for Sunday (until 7am).

Even though this was the last day their was lots to do. Firstly get up, dress and packed. Then it was breakfast and clean the rooms. Once everything was tidy it was onto the main event of building bazookas out of catering size bean tins and elastic bands. Within a flash the morning has gone and it is 11am, time for the parents to pick them up. No drama there, although a one point, due to the snow, it looked like we might have to hike out. Fortunately we didn't tell the kids, hence them all looking happy when the parents arrived.

Once everyone was gone, it was for the leaders to pack up and go. As I drove home I had as big a grin on my face as the Scouts. We had done it. The weekend was a great success and the icing (pardon the pun) on the cake was that both John and Claire passed their assessment. This may not be the things that legends are made of, but certainly traditions. a 5th Billericay winter camp is here to stay. See you there next year.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 January 2013 21:21
 
Christmas Wishes do come true! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ian Mitchell   

It is that time of year again and time for me to say a big thank you to all of my assistant leaders, young leaders and parents helpers (especially the newly formed Parent Council) in making 2012 a fantastic year for the Scouts. Attendance has remained high with over 25 Scouts. We have undertaken many new and exciting events, from the traditional ice skating and night hike to the new ones, such as skiing, scuba divingand visiting the Essex Police Rapid Response firearm team. In August we attended the Essex international jamboree (along with over 12,000 other Scouts  and leaders) and invented a new craze called 'Panting'. We also had several leaders pass their wood badge (well done John & Claire) with other leaders well on their way to completing theirs shortly. We lost two great young leaders in Gareth and Matt to Uni, but gained three more in Matt M, James and Kiah. We started the Genesis council to help integrate the troop into the wider community and parent networks better, with their first great success in organising fund raising in the form of bag packing this Christmas (more on that in a minute). If you would like to get involved with the Genesis Council please feel free to get in touch with either myself or Jo. Finally in the summer we introduced the Genesis Style range of clothes, which has proved to be very popular.

2013 looks like an even better year with two exciting camps in the first term, trips to Wales for the older ones in June and a more relaxed Summer camp in July. All this intersperced with core activities to help the Scouts gain their challenge badges, whilst having a great time. Lots of fun to look forward to.

Back to the bag packing. Thank you to all those who attended, all three days were very busy. I would also like to thank and all of it's staff for allowing us to raise much needed funds. Hopefully we made the lives of the staff and customers just that little bit easier by helping out. Over the three days we managed to raise a whopping £1135 pounds towards new patrol tents, which along with a generous donation from John and Claires 2p piggy bank, broke the £1200 barrier. This means that we can now buy 3 of the new tents. Now for some interesting, related, bag packing facts:

  • Totals for each day are as follows: Sat 15th £318, Sat 22nd £369 and Sun 23rd £447.
  • We had five donations of £5 notes
  • Over 4500 individual coins
  • 100+ Hours of bag packing, undertaken by 14 out of 25 Scouts, with an average level of 3 leaders supporting throughout.

On that note I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy new year and see you all at Chelmsford ice rink the first week back (11th January - details to follow in the new year).

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 December 2012 10:46
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 4