Top Awards for young people
From your first Chief's Scout Award to The King's Scout Award, anything is possible.
Our Top Awards are designed to be challenging, relevant and rewarding, but, most of all, they should allow young people to have fun, make new friends and gain some amazing memories in Scouts.
From the Chief Scout’s Acorn Award in Squirrels to taking on the Explorer Belt, Duke of Edinburgh or the King’s Scout Award, each award shows you’ve tried new things, been dedicated to learning new skills, developed resilience and determination and built your confidence.
All our Top Awards are a really big achievement, and you should be proud.
Here you’ll find inspiration, guidance and great ideas to help get you started on your first or next Top Awards adventure.
This is for Explorer and Network Scouts. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) gives young people the chance to make friends, have fun and build confidence in an empowering, exciting and non-competitive learning environment. There are three awards, which are Bronze, Silver and Gold.
This is for Explorer and Network Scouts. The King’s Scout Award (KSA) is the top achievement for 14 to 25 year olds. This award is closely linked to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, so it's worth considering working on the two awards together.
This award is only for Network Scouts. Provided by the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOGS), Scouts of the World Award (SOWA) gives members the chance to undertake a project of their choice, within the themes of Peace, Environment and Sustainability.
This award is for Explorer and Network Scouts. The Explorer Belt is a challenge of a lifetime. It's a chance to take part in a ten day expedition that brings you a real understanding of a different country, its culture and way of life.
From Squirrels to Explorers, discover the awards for each Scout section. Start with your membership badge and climb all the way up to the Chief Scout Award, gaining Activity Badges and Staged Badges along the way.
The Chief Scout's Acorn, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Platinum Awards are the highest awards in each of the sections, from Squirrels to Explorers.
This award is for Explorer Scouts. Our Young Leader’s Scheme and Young Leader Award is for older Scouts who volunteer in younger sections.
If you’re interested in any of the Top Awards, take a look at our video introductions to find out more about each one.
The skills you gain from our Top Awards and Scouts are exactly the kinds of skills employers are looking for. Find out how to include your Top Awards on your CV, on applications and in interviews.
Take a look at our awards for recognising achievements and thanking volunteers for their contribution to Scouts. Please note, these are separate to our Top Awards, but our volunteers are the shining lights who make Scouts possible.