Annual General Meeting
10[th] Itchen (West End) Scout Group
18[th] June 2026 - 18.30 - Scout Hall, Elizabeth Close
Reports for the Year 1[st] January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025
Reports from:
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Squirrel Drey
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Beaver Colony
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Cub Pack
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Scout Troop
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Group Lead Volunteer
At the 2026 AGM, we are delighted to share what our Squirrels achieved throughout 2025.
We maintained a full drey of 12 young people, supported by 3 Leaders, and 3 Young Leaders. We were fortunate to welcome Rose as a Young Leader during the year.
2025 was a brilliant year, and we continued to discover just how much can be packed into one hour a week. Our 12 Squirrels earned an impressive 166 badges, including an amazing 8 Chief Scout’s Acorn Awards.
Some highlights from the year included making and cooking apple crumble on the fire, creating and hiding our own geocaches, growing our own carrots, going climbing, pressing all the buttons in the Police car during the Police visit and continuing our project to make cards, decorations and gifts for local care home residents
We also enjoyed a busy calendar of events, including the Squirrels Day at Reef Camp, our second Hampshire Scouts Squirrels Fun Day at Ferny Crofts, and the Itchen District Squirrels Christingle service.
I’d like to finish by recognising all the people who make Squirrels possible.
To our Squirrels - thank you for your enthusiasm, curiosity and willingness to get stuck in. To our parents and families - thank you for your support behind the scenes (and please keep sewing on those badges). To our Trustees - thank you for everything you do to keep our Scout Group running smoothly. Thank you to Dan, Karen, Ken and Hannah for stepping in whenever we’ve needed an extra pair of hands.
A big thank you to Elizabeth, Amelia and Rose for helping us every week and ensuring every Squirrel is included and having fun. Your support is invaluable.
And finally, a massive thank you to Sam and Teresa.
Thank you to the whole Squirrel team for your time, energy and good humour. Your help in planning and running our fantastic programme continues to give our Squirrels the very best start to their Scouting journey.
Rebecca Taunton | Section Team Leader
This year has been an incredibly active and exciting one for our Beaver Colony, with a wide range of activities designed to build confidence, develop new skills, and help our young people explore the world around them.
Beavers took part in celebrating festivals, exploring different traditions and cultures. They enjoyed cooking sessions and healthy living activities, learning about food, wellbeing, and making good choices. A visit to the local church helped them understand community spaces and meet people who support our area.
We had plenty of fun too, including a brilliant comedy performance, energetic outdoor activities, and a hands-on fire session where Beavers built and lit their own small fires safely under supervision. They also learned important first aid skills, gaining confidence in how to help others.
Traditional Scouting remained at the heart of our programme. Beavers practised core Scouting skills, took part in Taskmaster-style challenges, and even built bat boxes to support local wildlife. Creative sessions included craft projects, while our science activities encouraged curiosity and hands-on learning.
To finish the year, the Colony enjoyed a festive Christmas film, bringing everyone together to celebrate their achievements.
We were also proud to award five Bronze Chief Scout’s Awards, recognising outstanding commitment, enthusiasm, and progress throughout the year.
It has been a fantastic year for our Beavers, full of learning, laughter, and adventure.
We look forward to even more exciting opportunities ahead.
Heather Pearce | Section Team Leader
2025 was another year with lots of activities for the Cubs.
The winter term started with pizza making, Chinese new year, a trip to the Apple Store and pancake night. We then had the return of the village quiz and lots of games.
The summer term saw a trips to Itchen Valley, games at hatch grange, Cub Camp, picnics and water games.
In the Autumn term we had fires and nerf wars, village quizzes and crafts. The most notable night was the evening we asked the Cubs to bring items to fill shoe boxes to send to Ukraine for children to open at Christmas who had been victims of the conflict. We were so overwhelmed with your generosity that we filled more shoes boxes than we were expecting and they were greatly appreciated, so thank you.
The Cubs had 2 opportunities for weekends away, indoors in January at Pauline’s lodge and then under canvas at District Cub Camp in July, both were well attended.
The Cubs achieved a massive 197 badges between them last year with the usual backwoods cooking, entertainer, hikes and nights away; and some of the less common ones, snow sports, sailing and money skills, 11 cubs achieved their Silver award the highest award you can reive as a Cub before moving up to Scouts.
Our numbers dropped a little this year and have stayed steady throughout last year, and we currently have 22 Cubs.
Our leadership team as ever have worked together to deliver our programme and offer opportunities and adventures to these young people and we have gained some new help.
Karen, Rich, Angus, Sarah, Shane, Steve, Kate and Ben, thank you!
Jamie and Elizabeth our young leader team thank you, Elizabeth has sadly left us now to focus on her dance on a Thursday night.
Wider team, thank you.
Grown ups of our cubs also thank you for your support, your patience and help when needed.
Sam Birks | Section Team Leader
Once again, we had an incredibly varied programme including some of the classics, like Team Challenges, Chip Shop Challenge, Hungry Hippos, and Scout Sprinkles. We had some skill-based evenings covering KASP, First Aid, Orienteering, and fire lighting. And as ever, we had some totally new evenings like photography night, go-kart building, Burns night and national hot chocolate day!
2025 also saw us throw a twist on our annual summer camp, and we went to Corf Campsite on the Isle of Wight instead. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed some great activities like racing up the climbing wall, building and riding barrel buggies along the track, designing and launching rafts onto Newtown Creek, as well as a walk into Yarmouth to find the buried treasure! We even squeezed in a visit to Carisbrooke Castle, where, despite the hundreds of years of history, countless rooms to explore, and challenge sheets to solve, it was the donkey stable where we felt most at home... although as it was day 4 of camp, I think we’d just become accustomed to the smell?!
A personal highlight was our trip to Southampton Airport, where the entire troop got a behind the scenes tour of the main terminal building, air traffic control and security centre, including going through security ourselves, much to the shock of travellers trying to board their flights! We also got out on to the runway to see planes taking off and landing up close which was brilliant!
2025 saw 82 badges completed, including 14 challenges badges resulting in 3 Chief Scout Gold Awards being presented to Archie, Joel, and James. We also awarded 17 nights Away badges totalling 285 nights!
As ever, I can’t thank Dan, Damian, Becca, Su, Max, James, Nick, Luke, and Morgan enough for their efforts in building a programme the Scouts clearly enjoy so much!
We’ve already got 2026 off to a great start with loads of new things like a visit from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, our creepy crawly night, Frisbee Golf, and the return of REEF camp - but more about that next year.
Josh Robson | Section Team Leader
2025 was another great year for the Group. All Sections are flourishing, with some new volunteers having joined the Beaver, Cub and Scout teams; and some Young Leaders turning 18 and taking up adult volunteer roles. The latest ‘Meet The Team’ poster displayed in our hall shows the strength of the team.
We welcomed Katie, Caroline and Clare to Beavers, allowing Kate and Steve to move up to Cubs, and we welcomed Becca into the Scout Troop. Morgan turned 18 and swapped her Young Leader role for a full role in the Scout Troop too. We also welcomed Laura onto the Board of Trustees.
Although it outside of our reporting year, we have also welcomed Su into the Scout Troop, Elizabeth and Shane both turned 18 and upgraded their Young Leader roles for roles with the Squirrels and Cubs respectively.
Our busy Sections have provided so many amazing opportunities for adventure, fun, friendship, and a chance to learn real world life skills. There has been a good number of top awards earned in each Section, and a vast array of nights way experiences offered. We have recently started inviting children off of our waiting list into Beavers and Cubs.
We continued to pursue the construction of an outbuilding, an annexe, so that we can provide a quieter and more inclusive space for those who would prefer that. We continue to negotiate hard with Eastleigh Borough Council’s Tree Officer. We were very grateful for the support of the Parish Council.
To our Trustees; to Mike our Chair, to Sue our Treasurer, to Dave our Secretary and to Carrie, Joe, Justine, Laura and Louise, and to Tracy for auditing our accounts, thank you for your continued support. I’d like to single out a special thank you to Justine, who is standing down as a Trustee after starting her role in autumn 2019. Thank you for your service.
To Rebecca, Heather, Sam and Josh; and to Ken for leading the Chimera ESU, I say a huge thank you. You run your Sections so well that you make my job look easy!
I am also particularly humbled by and grateful for our Young Leaders, they do so much, and the team keeps growing. To Amelia and Rose who support the Squirrels, to Esme and Will who support the Beavers, and Jamie who supports the Cubs – thank you.
Finally, to all of you, our parents, our friends, the District Team and our supporters, thank you. We could not do what we do without your support.
We look forward to another great year ahead.
Daniel Wiseman | Group Lead Volunteer
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LT7fAXX15 -Scrutirr's Reporttothe Trustees Vuly r*ni Template for the scrutineer's report to the trustees Scrutineerfs Re rt to the Trustees of 31 2025 I report on the accounts of GrouplDistrict for the yÈar erKled................ As the Group'slDistrict's trustees you are resporLsible for the preparation of the accounts.. you consider that nÉrther the audit nor Ilependent examination reQUÈMents of the Charrfties Act 2011 apply. It is my responsibilrfcy wrfchout carrying out an audit iThJepeThJent examination to scrutintse the accouE)ts and to report to you. In accordance with the directions gwen in the Group'slDistrict's constrtut1o I have scrutinised the records and the accounts set out on pages ............ to......... In my opinion the accounts are in accOrdae wrth the records prcwjuced to me and comply w&th the constitutio Address- Date.. 116Jz6............................