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Activity Badges are another way of recognising the achievements of Scouts who have learnt a new skill, or who have taken part in an activity for a certain period of time.

Below are the requirements for each of the badges. As of October 2006 many of the badges have been updated or modified in some way. To view the previous requirements, please follow the relevant links. There are also four new badges, and the Activity PLUS option for Scouts who further their achievement in an activity.

Scouts should be encouraged, where possible, to achieve National Governing Body Awards. These can also be used to help achieve the relevant Scout Activity Badge. For example, in gaining a Snowlife award, a Scout might also achieve the Snowsports Badge.

There are 12 badges available for Beaver Scouts, 35 for Cub Scouts, 70 for Scouts and 28 for Explorer Scouts.

The requirements for the Activity Badges provide a wide range of choice for Scouts. Most Scouts will be able to access the Badges of their choice. There will be a number of young people with Special Needs who will need further flexibility to gain their Activity Badges. Adaptation may be required specific to the needs of the young person concerned. The aim in each case should be to improve access to the Badge rather than to reduce the challenge of its requirements.

Requirements for the following badges are listed in this section:

• Administrator
• Aeronautics
• Air Researcher
• Air Spotter
• Angler
• Artist
• Arts Enthusiast
• Astronautics
• Astronomer
• Athlete
• Basic Aviation Skills
• Aviation Skills
• Advanced Aviation Skills
• Aviation Skills training activities
• Camp Cook
• Camper
• Campsite Service
• Canoeist
• Caver
• Chef
• Circus Skills
• Climber
• Communicator
• Craft
• Cyclist
• Dinghy Sailor
• D.I.Y.
• Dragon Boating
• Electronics
• Entertainer
• Equestrian
• Fire Safety
• Forester
• Global Conservation
• Guide
• Heritage
• Hiker
• Hill Walker
• Hobbies
• Interpreter
• Librarian
• Lifesaver
• Martial Arts
• Master at Arms
• Mechanic
• Meteorologist
• Model Maker
• My Faith
• Naturalist
• Basic Nautical Skills
• Nautical Skills
• Advanced Nautical Skills
• Nautical Skills training activities
• Navigator
• Orienteer
• Parascending
• Photographer
• Physical Recreation
• Pioneer
• Power Coxswain
• Public Relations
• Pulling
• Quartermaster
• Smallholder
• Snowsports
• Sports Enthusiast
• Street Sports
• Survival Skills
• Water Sports
• World Faiths
• Writer
• Activity PLUS
• Instructor badges

In addition to these, there are six Activity Badges staged across these Sections.

These are:

• Emergency Aid

• Hikes Away

• Information Technology

• Musician

• Nights Away

• Swimmer

The Staged Activity Badges have been designed to provide a unified approach throughout the Sections.

All the Staged Activity Badges have 5 stages, except Nights Away - which has 12 and Hikes Away, which has six. This means that a young person can gain whichever badge is appropriate to the level they have reached. It is possible, for example, for a Beaver Scout who is an excellent swimmer to gain a higher level badge than a Scout who has just taken up the activity.

more about Staged activity badges...

Since the Activity Badges cover a wide range of subjects, it is unlikely that any Scout Leader will have the expertise needed to assess all of these badges. Wherever possible, an appropriate assessor should be found. This may be a Leader or Helper in another Section or another group, a Young Leader, a member of the Scout Fellowship or a parent/carer. In some cases, use of an external assessor is appropriate, for example, using a fire-fighter to assess the Fire Safety Badge.