Explorer Scouts (The Scout Association)

Badges from the Young Leader scheme – a design used from 2002 until 2015

Young Leaders are Explorer Scouts who choose to provide leadership in Beaver Scout Colonies, Cub Scout Packs or Scout Troops alongside adult volunteers as a part of the leadership team. Training of Young Leaders is achieved through eleven lettered modules covering the necessary skills to play an active part of the leadership team, with members challenged to apply what they have learned through four 'missions' in their sections.[24][25]

Recognition of the scheme is achieved through a series of badges and culminates in the Young Leader belt buckle award which is worn with their uniform. The Young Leaders Badge is awarded upon the completion of the compulsory training module and is surrounded by one of four mission badges as each 'mission' is completed; the buckle is awarded only through the completion of every module and mission.[26] The design of the awards was initially the letters 'YL' on blue and purple but was updated in 2015 to an acorn and oak leaves to reflect the Gilwell Oak and the role of Young Leaders as future leaders of the movement.[27]

The scheme has been popular with young people looking to volunteer in their community. Since its launch in 2002, the scheme has grown from 1,245 young leaders to 10,394 a decade later with transferable skills being highlighted as a benefit.[28] It is also used by young people taking part in extra-curricular award schemes such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, with volunteering with the Scouts including as a Young Leader the fourth most popular way for young people to achieve this part of the award in 2019.[29]

Explorer Scouts, in common with other Scouts, make a promise soon after joining the section. This promise is the same as that used for any member of The Scout Association from age ten and a half and includes a promise to do their best, help other people and a duty to a higher purpose. There are different variations of the promise to accommodate members of different faiths (and none) and whether they are a resident of the United Kingdom.[45]

The promise also requires the member to follow the Scout law. These seven statements are also common to all members of the Scout Association from age ten and half upwards and, with the promise, reinforces the values of the movement.[45][46]

Explorer Scouts continue the programme of progressive top awards which members are encouraged to achieve in the section. Three which are available to the Explorer Scout section, in order of difficulty, are the Chief Scout's Platinum Award, the Chief Scout's Diamond Award and the King's Scout Award (Queen's Scout Award for the first two decades of the section's existence). All three are linked to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (Bronze, Silver and Gold respectively) with completion of certain sections of either award contributing to the other.[54]

The awards all require Explorer Scouts to, over a length of time, volunteer with a community organisation, learn or develop a skill and undertake physical activity. In addition, they must train, plan and complete a self-sustained expedition, have spent a number of nights away from home and completed activities linked to international scouting, the environment and exploring their beliefs and values. The Queen's Scout award also requires the member to spend time away from home on a residential experience with strangers.[55][56][57]

The Explorer Belt Award

The Explorer Belt is a long-standing award for Scouts that is achieved in various countries around the world. It was formerly earned by members of the Venture Scout section before becoming an award available to Explorer Scouts over 16 years of age and Scout Network members since 2002.[58]

The Explorer Belt requires participants to undertake a 10-day expedition in a foreign country, devoting some time to travelling around and exploring. Participants also have to undertake a major project of their own choosing, along with a number of smaller projects or challenges some of which are not revealed to them until the start of the expedition. It is designed to develop an understanding of other peoples and cultures as well as develop resourcefulness and interdependence.[58][59]

Explorer Scouts from Northern Ireland at the 21st World Scout Jamboree in 2007, wearing either activity shorts or the Irish saffron kilt.

Explorer Scouts, in common with the other Scout sections, is a uniformed movement. The Explorer Scout uniform consists of a beige shirt or blouse, a neckerchief for the Unit, navy blue trousers or skirt and scout belt.[60] It was designed by fashion designer Meg Andrew in 2000 as being a stylish and affordable uniform that was suited to outdoor wear and activity use.[61][62] The uniform is largely similar to that of the Venture Scout section that Explorer Scouts replaced, with a similar beige coloured shirt or blouse, although with navy blue trousers or skirt instead of the previous mushroom colour scheme.[63] During the designing and consultation on the uniform design in 2000, the Explorer Scout section was originally imagined as wearing a clarat coloured shirt, blouse or polo shirt.[64] However, only 14% of Venture Scouts approved of the colour when consulted on it, with one recorded comment describing it as "like something out of Star Trek" resulting in the change to the current colour.[65][66]

The uniform is different for members in Explorer Sea Scout and Explorer Air Scout units, instead consisting of a light blue shirt or blouse instead of the beige colour of 'land' members and the addition of a hat; a Seaman's cap or peaked cap for Sea Scouts and a beret for Air Scouts.[67]

In common with other sections of the movement, Explorer Scouts have a common flag design for use to identify the section, in parades or when a member is being invested into the unit. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the flag is olive green with white lettering, a white scout emblem on a purple circular background in the centre of the flag with the scout motto 'Be Prepared' underneath.[68] The flag in Scotland is different, due to the role of the Lord Lyon King of Arms in Scotland's ceremonies, and consists of an olive green background with the scout emblem and motto appearing in yellow and a St. Andrew's Cross next to the hoist.[68]

The Explorer Scout logo used between 2002 and 2015.

When the section was first launched in 2002, the Explorer Scout logo consisted of two scalene triangular shapes with curved corners overlapping each other with the word 'Explorers' inside the common area of both shapes. The colours used in logo, namely yellow and green, were the main colours for the section. A custom typeface called Explorer was used for the logo and for headings in Explorer Scout branded publications, with Frutiger used for body text in line with the rest of the association.[69] Explorer was created to portray a "adventurous personality",[70] fitting in well with the association brand focusing on everyday adventure introduced in 2008,[71] and building on the previous positioning of Explorer Scouts as being "Extreme, Challenging and Streetwise".[72]

In 2015, the Scout Association updated their visual identity style, including the section brands, to focus on the Scouting fleur-de-lis. As part of this, the new Explorer Scout logo was simplified to a navy blue wordmark with a small fleur-de-lis either located to the top right of the wordmark or a larger version located directly above the wordmark. The typeface for the wordmark was changed to Gill Sans, however this was not used in any other publication; instead TheSerif was used for headings in line with the rest of the association and Frutiger continued to be used for body text. Publications moved away from pictures and outlines and instead featured an artwork style that the association described as being "Editorial, sophisticated, expressive".[73]

When the Scout Association brand was updated in May 2018, with a new and stylised fleur-de-lis, the Explorer Scout logo was altered to remove the previous fleur-de-lis mark.[74] Publications either continued the use of the previous artwork or used the new image style of the association and the typeface for all documents was updated to use the Google Fonts typeface Nunito Sans.[75]

The campsite of the 21st World Scout Jamboree held in 2007 in the UK.

The World Scout Jamboree takes place every four years in countries across the world and is a wide-scale gathering of Scouts. The UK sends approximately 4,000 young people aged 14 to 17 from across the country, split into some 40 units with their own leaders and branding.[81] Preparation and fundraising for a World Scout Jamboree takes many years and so older Scouts who would be Explorers by the time of the Jamboree often work in their troops to help fundraise for the trip to the jamboree. The purpose of the event is to take part in activities with Scouts from across the world with some 45,000 scouts from 152 countries at the most recent 24th World Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, United States.[82]

The Scout Association, through their Scout Adventures subsidiary, run a number of national events for members of the Explorer Scout section. These are centred on the nationally owned scout centres such as Gilwell Park.

Gilwell 24 is an annual event that takes place at the home of UK Scouting, Gilwell Park, North London. It comprises a set of activities and challenges over a 24-hour period for some 5,000 Explorer Scouts and Rangers.[83][84] It is often used as an event to mark occasions within the Scouts with Bear Grylls being invested as Chief Scout at the 2009 event[85] and the centenary of Gilwell Park being marked by the media at the 2019 event.[86]

Winter Camp is held on a weekend in January at Gilwell Park, North London. The event, hosted for Scouts, Explorers, Guides and Rangers, includes over 70 activities over the course of the weekend that the individuals can take part in during the day.[87][88] The event has grown from 2,500 attendees in 2010[87] to 4,000 in 2019.[89]

A more recent event is Scarefest which is held on the weekend closest to Halloween at Gilwell Park, North London. Similar to Winter Camp, it is open to Scouts, Explorers, Guides and Rangers and features activities such as climbing, archery and laser games.[90][91]

All these events were affected by the Coronavirus pandemic with events these events cancelled in the 2021 and 2022 years[92] with Gilwell 24 replaced in 2023 with a new Explorers Takeover Gilwell Park event.[93]

In addition to the events run by the Scout Association directly, there are a number of other events run by Scout bodies across the UK which are open to Explorer Scouts across the UK.

The Apex Challenge events range in duration from a day to a weekend and consist of teams navigating between a variety of adventurous activity bases over a wide area, usually in Yorkshire, Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire. The 2018 event at Bramham Park in West Yorkshire attracted nearly 400 Explorer Scouts and involved kayaking, mountain biking and tomahawk throwing as signature activities.[94][95]

The Dragnet challenge is a 30 miles (48 km) navigation challenge over a weekend in July in the Lake District. Teams have to navigate from an unknown starting point to the known end point while avoiding capture.[96][97]

There are multiple Monopoly Runs each year that take place in London based on the board game of the same name. All focus on visiting various points around the city in a speedy time with some choosing their own points each year and others using the places on the standard board game.[98][99]