Join Us

Find out more about becoming a member

Young People are at the heart of Scouting. If your child is interested in joining Beavers, Cubs or Scouts please contact us at waiting-list@24thabingdonscoutgroup.com. For information about joining Explorers (age 14-18) please contact woottonwasps@gmail.com – please note that this is a District section and is not a part of the Group.

We are always looking for more team members to help with all Sections. If you would be willing to help out this may improve your child’s chances of getting a place, so please do let us know! There is more information about what this involves on our volunteering page.

Waiting list policy

We operate a waiting list to enable parents and carers to register young people who wish to join. This policy outlines how we offer places as they become available.

General notes

  • The age ranges for the Sections are Beavers: 6 to 8 years, Cubs: 8 to 10½ years, Scouts: 10½ to 14 years, Explorers: 14-18 years and Network: 18-25 years.
  • Scouting is open to all young people (irrespective of gender, faith, ability, sexuality or any other factors). If a young person needs additional support in order to participate in Scouting, this should be discussed with the leaders, who will work with parents/carers to establish a plan of action.
  • For a young person to be added to the waiting list, the following details MUST be supplied: full name, date of birth, address, and phone and email contact details of at least one parent/guardian.
  • If a young person waiting for a particular Section does not obtain a place in time to join that Section, then they will remain on the list for the next Section up.
  • All Scout Groups rely on the efforts of our adult volunteers (team leads, team members, trustees, parent helpers etc), without whom they simply could not continue to operate. We always need more adult volunteers; therefore, we give a high priority to those on the waiting list who have an adult family member who is willing and able to take on a role within the Group.

Priorities when allocating places

The following criteria are used by Groups when allocating places to young people in approximate order of priority (highest first). Nevertheless, please note that the allocation of all places is at the discretion of the Leaders within each Group:

  1. The young person is already a member of a Section in the Group and is moving up from the section below (i.e. Beavers to Cubs or Cubs to Scouts).
  2. A parent, carer or other adult family member commits to volunteering as a Group or section team member or as an active member of the board of trustees
  3. The young person is already a member of The Scout Association at a Group outside of Thames Ridge District and has recently moved into the District.
  4. If allocated a place, the young person will have at least one year within the Section being joined before reaching the age of moving up to the next Section.
  5. The young person has a sibling who is already a member of the Group.
  6. The young person lives within the catchment areas of Wootton, Dry Sandford, Bessels Leigh, Boars Hill, Bayworth, Sunningwell, Appleton, Cothill and Gozzard’s Ford.
  7. Lastly, the amount of time spent on the waiting list will be considered as a factor.

Enquiries

To add a young person to the waiting list please email waiting-list@24thabingdonscoutgroup.com with the following details:

  • full name of young person
  • date of birth of young person
  • address
  • full name of parent/guardian
  • phone number of parent/guardian
  • email address of parent/guardian

To discuss volunteering opportunities or our Admissions Policy, please contact the Group Lead Volunteer: