Congratulations Isaac 6th July 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments A massive congratulations to Isaac for completing his Chief Scout Bronze Award which was presented by our Deputy GSL Phoebe (Mysa) last night! Well done from all of us at 1st Southgate!
2023 AGM 1st June 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments A massive thank you to everyone that attended the groups 2023 AGM. Your continued support is very much appreciated. Please find the minutes and AGM reports on the group documents page here. If you would like to get involved then please speak to any one of us who will be able to help. 1st Southgate Leadership Team
1st Southgate AGM 8th May 2023 (updated 9th May 2023) | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments We would love for you to join us at this years AGM. If you are interested in any of the roles listed, or would like to get involved in a different way then please get in touch with anyone at the group or fill in the contact us form!
Well Done Eloise! 10th April 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments 1st Southgate Scout Group would like to say a massive well done to Eloise for achieving her volunteering badge! See below a letter from the charity of some of the amazing work she did: Dear Scout Leaders About us We are the Labour Women’s Group, and we have been trying to help our community by collecting food on behalf of food banks in Crawley. Whilst not being a charity ourselves, we support three local charities. We support the Free Shop which is a Crawley charity based in Bewbush but serving struggling families across Crawley. We support Open House a charity that supports mainly the homeless in Crawley but also people in homes that are still struggling with the cost of living crisis. We also support the Easter Team a Church based charity helping individuals and families that are struggling and also providing meals and social time particularly for the elderly. What we do is set up a table in different parades around the town and the wonderful people of Crawley either search their cupboards or pop into the local shops and provide tins, packets and jars etc that we share out and donate to the three charities. While we are there we collect other things like bedding, clothes coats, and small gift like items that the different charities also make use of. We have permission through the County Council to collect food and goods, but do not have permission to collect money so as such, people wishing to give us money we explain that we will pop into the local shops and buy food to share across the charities. We are not licensed to give food out, so it all goes to the charities concerned. We do however signpost people who feel they need help, to the relevant charities. About Eloise A lovely young lady called Eloise, popped along to where we were working on Saturday, at Three Bridges Parade, accompanied by her Mum Helen, and asked if she could help. She was so positive about helping and helped with a whole range of activities. I am sure you will be pleased to know she used her knot tying skills to ensure our sign didn’t blow over, and she helped laying out the table. She quickly learnt what foods and donations were more suitable for the different charities and asked intelligent questions whilst interacting beautifully with the public. She stayed the whole 2 hours, right through to the end both helping us pack everything away for each charity and load the cars. She even took mum to Open House to hand in one of the sets of donations. Eloise said she is working towards her volunteering badge and she showed all the enthusiasm and energy to support that aim. We feel she has made an excellent start on a really valuable badge, which we hope encourages young people to work for others in the community. We gave Eloise some ideas of other places she could volunteer.
Beavers Easter Event 31st March 2023 (updated 31st March 2023) | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments This Sunday the District held their Beaver Easter Trail at Stanford Scout Camp Site. The Beavers followed a trailed around the campsite doing activities as they went. When completed they were allow to hunt for an Easter Egg. There also a number of craft events to try out and some of the Beavers planted more trees in the orchard. We were also joined by Badges the Beaver and the Easter Bunny.
Some dates for your diary… 8th February 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments Group-Events-2023Download
We hope you had a great night! 29th January 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments Choosing when to have the Winter Event is not as easy as you may think! 2023 was perfectly timed though, a clear, crisp, DRY, winter evening to come together and celebrate all that’s great at this time of year. Stanford is a wonderful venue, we know walking the lane is a challenge for many but if you make it, it is always worth the effort. Wide games safely played in the dark are exciting, exploring is great fun and excellent hot bbq food and drink. Followed by a walk through the dark to the campfire circle for the warmth and welcome of a fantastic fire with such amazing singing! Then plenty of room to stand back and watch brilliant fireworks. This evening was well received and great fun. An awful lot of work went in all afternoon to set up and a couple of hours to clean and pack away but well worth the effort. Many, many thanks to all the adults and young people who helped make this a special evening to lift the spirits and get us through the cold winter. If you would like to be part of this fantastic team please speak to any of us – as little or as much time as you want to give. Scouts is a very special thing in which to take part.
Winter Event 2023 19th January 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments We are pleased to invite you to our annual Winter Event. This year, the event will again be held at Stanford Campsite. There will be fireworks, a campfire and a BBQ. We all really hope you will be able to join us!
Happy New Year 4th January 2023 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments All of us here at 1st Southgate and SRF would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! Leaders have been busy planning this terms programmes and we are looking forward to welcoming all our members back. Explorers starts back on the 9th, Beavers and Cubs on the 11th and finally Scouts on the 13th. We will see you all there!
Congratulations on your Queen Scout Awards! 13th December 2022 | By Oliver Gidman | 0 Comments As a Group we can be so proud of these two shining examples of how Scouts can help young people achieve their dreams and aspirations – and long may they both continue to do so. On Monday 5th of December, Phoebe Woolard and Zoë Grimshaw completed the final requirement for their Queen Scout Award: the presentation aspect. Attended by SRF Explorers, 1st Southgate Leaders, friends from the district, and family, the two presented their efforts. The Queen Scout Award (now changing to the King Scout Award) is the highest award that young people aged 16-25 can earn in Scouts. · To achieve the award there are a number of requirements that must be completed: · You must be an Explorer or Network member aged 16-25 · You must have been in Scouting at least 18 months · You must complete 18 nights away with Scouts (12 must be under canvas) · You must complete the 6 objectives for the International, Community, and Values list · You must hold the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, or complete the Queen Scout Challenges · You must make a presentation on your award. Phoebe and Zoë both completed their Queen’s Scout Award through 1st Southgate Scout Group, and SRF Explorers, but managed to do completely different things! Below, they both recount some highlights and experiences of their journey: Phoebe: One of the parts of completing my QSA that I am most proud of is the completion of my Gold D of E. I never completed my Bronze or Silver D of E, and thought that the Gold might be too hard. The expedition was my biggest challenge, as I am not a natural hiker. I was added to a group from across the county, and we worked together and encouraged each other. I didn’t start working on my Gold D of E properly until after I finished university, so even if you haven’t completed other awards such as your D of E or your Diamond and Platinum Chief scout awards, it is still very possible to complete your (now) King’s Scout Award! As I didn’t achieve my Diamond or Platinum Chief Scout award, I had to complete six objectives off of the International, Community and Values list (2 of each): I visited Cambodia with Camps International as part of a development project (International); I visited France with SRF explorers and helped to run the camp (International); I helped grow scouting in our local community through Crawley Network and 1st Southgate (Community); I have started, and will be continuing work on a nature trail up at Stanford Campsite (Community); I arranged 6 different nights with Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers to explore the scout values (Values); I organised the district wide St George’s Day parade in 2019 and am currently doing the same again with a team for 2023 (Values). I learnt so much from finishing my ICV list, and I really hope that some parts, like the nature trail, positively affect the district for time to come. I would really encourage anyone who wants to, to try to get their King’s Scout Award. It’s an inspiring award which makes you think about so many things that you otherwise wouldn’t and has a positive effect on the community around you. Zoë: When completing my QSA my favourite part was always the volunteering for DofE Gold and ICV List activities. I completed this through 1stSouthgate Cubs, and 5th Fairfield (St Sebastian’s) in Liverpool, which is where I studied for university. I found 5th Fairfield through my university’s SSAGO club. SSAGO is the Student Scout and Guide Organisation. They have clubs at over 30 universities, as well as independent members who attend the national events run 4 times a year.. Because of joining SSAGO, I was able to continuously volunteer whether I was at home or university for the years I studied. This enabled me to progress my Queen’s Scout Award and Gold DofE as I could run activities for the ICV list with both groups, allowing more Scouts to learn important skills and take part in fun activities, while also helping me! To anyone who is, or will be, going to university and is in Scouting, find your local SSAGO! It isn’t just about volunteering, but about continuing Scouting at university and having fun. I am incredibly proud to be receiving my Queen’s Scout Award, and have had some amazing experiences along the way. I ran a 200 person event for my Residential Experience of my DofE, which was so much fun that I will be doing it again through SSAGO in March! I also taught Scouts and Explorers about Holocaust Memorial Day. During sessions I taught Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts about international cultures through art, sport, and food, as well as Scouting Values and History. As part of my Community aspect, I created and distributed advertisements for 1st Southgate, and also arranged a talk and donations for Crawley Open House for our Group. I’ve had such an amazing time and urge everyone to try for their top awards, whether that be a Bronze Chief Scout Award, or a King’s Scout Award! These awards are an amazing test of resilience, determination, imagination, and most of all, are some of the best fun you can have! Thank you to everyone who helped us both along the way! If you would like to get involved with your King’s Scout Award or DofE, please speak to your Explorer leader or Network Commissioner for more information.
