Scouts, 12th Didcot

12th Didcot Scout Group

We're the Scout Group for Great Western Park and Ladygrove, for young people aged 4 to 14. Come and join us for a new adventure every week, learning skills and earning badges along the way. Everything is run by trained volunteers who live locally.

Join us

Our sections

We run Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, at Great Western Park and at Ladygrove. Meetings are weekly in term time. Find your young person's age below.

Squirrels

Ages 4 to 6

The youngest Scouts. Short sessions built around play, stories and being outdoors.

Ladygrove

Fridays 3.45 to 4.30pm
Ladygrove Community Centre, Tamar Way Map

Beavers

Ages 6 to 8

Games, crafts, visits, and a first night away. The first badges go on the uniform here.

Great Western Park

Thursdays 6.00 to 7.00pm
Southern Community Centre, 2 Sorrel Crescent, OX11 6HQ Map

Ladygrove

Tuesdays 6.00 to 7.00pm
All Saints School, Tamar Way, OX11 7QH Map

Cubs

Ages 8 to 10½

Camps, cooking, first aid and a lot of running about. Cubs work through activity badges towards the Chief Scout's Silver Award.

Great Western Park

Thursdays 6.00 to 7.30pm
District Community Centre, 1 Gentian Mews, OX11 6GR Map

Ladygrove

Tuesdays 6.30 to 8.00pm
All Saints School, Tamar Way, OX11 7QH Map

Scouts

Ages 10½ to 14

Bigger trips and more responsibility. Expeditions, camps, water activities, leading a Patrol, and the Chief Scout's Gold Award.

Great Western Park

Thursdays 7.15 to 9.00pm
Southern Community Centre, 2 Sorrel Crescent, OX11 6HQ Map

Explorers

Ages 14 to 18

We don't have an Explorer Unit of our own. Explorers in Didcot are run by 15th Didcot, and our Scouts move up to them at 14.

15th Didcot on scouts.org.uk

Joining

We take new members from the Thames Ridge District waiting list.

Put your young person's name on the list. The form doesn't ask which Group you'd like, so write "12th Didcot" in the special requirements box and we'll see it. When a space comes up in the right section we'll get in touch and invite them along. You won't hear from us before that, so if you have a question in the meantime, email us.

A young person can go on the list before they reach the joining age. Families who volunteer with us tend to see their young person placed sooner, because every extra adult means we can take more young people.

Join the waiting list

Questions? Email [email protected].

What it costs

The first half term is free. That's about six meetings to settle in and decide.

If your young person stays, subs start after that. They're paid monthly and spread over all 12 months, so the amount is the same in the holidays. Subs cover the weekly programme, badges and the Group's running costs. Camps and trips are extra.

Squirrels and Beavers£15.35 a month
Cubs£17.40 a month
Scouts£18.35 a month

Cost should never stop a young person joining. We have a fund for exactly this. Email [email protected] to talk about it in confidence.

Volunteer with us

Every section is run by volunteers. Most of them are parents who came along to help one evening and stayed.

You don't need any Scouting background. We provide the training, the uniform and a team around you. You choose how much time you give: a few hours a month as a helper, a regular evening in a section team, or a trustee role behind the scenes.

Every adult volunteer completes an enhanced DBS check and safeguarding training before they start. The skills you pick up, from first aid to running a team, are useful well beyond Scouting.

Ask about volunteering

Volunteer vacancies in Didcot

We need help in every section, at Great Western Park and at Ladygrove, and on the Trustee Board behind them.

Section leaders

Lead a Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts section with a team around you. One evening a week in term time, plus some planning. Full training provided.

Assistant leaders and helpers

Support the leader on the night: run a game, help with a badge, keep an eye on the door. As regular or occasional as you like.

Secretary (vacant now)

Minutes for the Trustee Board, notices to parents, the paperwork behind the AGM. A few hours a month, no uniform, no evenings with young people.

Trustees and admin helpers

Sit on the Group's Trustee Board, or help with the admin that keeps six sections running: bookings, kit, records, fundraising.

Waiting for a place for your young person? Volunteering is the surest way to move up the list. Email [email protected] and tell us what you'd like to do.

Contact

You can reach us on the address below. One of the leadership team will answer.

[email protected]

We're part of Thames Ridge District Scouts and Oxfordshire Scouts. We follow The Scout Association's safeguarding policy, and every adult here carries the Yellow Card.

Facebook

News and photos from across the Group are on our public Facebook page.

Families of current members can ask to join our private Facebook group. We check every request against the membership register before admitting anyone.