Who can join Scouts and what ages does it cover?

Updated

Scouts (scouts.org.uk) is open to both girls and boys, and the organisation says it helps over 460,000 young people each year enjoy fun and adventure while building skills for life. The site is the starting point for checking the specific age sections and joining routes, because the right section depends on your child's age and where you live.

Who Scouts is for

The national picture is straightforward: membership is not limited to boys. The organisation describes its annual reach as more than 460,000 girls and boys, so both are part of the movement.

What the site does not do in the summary above is list the individual age sections or their exact age bands. Those details sit on the site itself, and they are what you need before you can pick a section for a child.

What to check on the site

Use scouts.org.uk to answer three practical questions:

  1. Which section fits my child's age? Sections are organised by age band, so confirm the current bands rather than relying on memory or second-hand descriptions.
  2. How do we join? Joining usually runs through a local group, so the site's joining route will point you toward groups near you.
  3. Is there availability? Local groups can have waiting lists, and the site is the place to check how that is handled in your area.

A concrete example

Suppose you have a 7-year-old and a 12-year-old. They will almost certainly land in different sections, with different meeting patterns and activities. Checking the age bands on the site first tells you which section each child would join, and the joining route then shows whether local groups have space for either of them.

What this means for parents

  • Girls and boys can both join — that is confirmed by the organisation's own description of who it serves.
  • Age determines the section — check the site for the current bands rather than assuming.
  • Joining is local — the site is the entry point for finding a group and understanding next steps.

If your question is simply "is this for my child?", the answer is yes for both girls and boys, and the site will tell you which section matches their age and how to take the next step.