Cub Scout Age Ranges and age of entry to the Section
At its meeting of 30th May 2009 the Scottish Board agreed to remove the Scottish variation to Rule 3.8(h) of POR, which determines the minimum age for entry to the Cub Scout Section. With immediate effect the position in Scotland is now in line with the position applying in the rest of the UK.
POR Rule 3.8(h) reads:
The core age range of the Cub Scout Pack is from 8 years to 10½ years. A young person may join at 7½ years and remain in the Pack until their 11th birthday.
The key effects of this change from the previous Scottish rule are that (i) young people may transfer from the Beaver Scout Section from age 7½ rather than 7¾, and (ii) direct entry to the Section from outside Scouting is also now permitted at age 7½ rather than age 8.
A Scottish variation was introduced at a time when there was a bar on under-8s joining the Cub Scout Section elsewhere in the UK as a consequence of an interpretation of legislation applying outside Scotland. Following clarification received by The Scout Association, the bar on under-8s in the Cub Scout section has been removed. There is thus no reason for the Scottish position to vary from the rest of the UK.
Scottish Variations from POR are required where the law applying in Scotland differs from that on which POR (UK) is based. In Scotland, Scottish Variations take precedence over POR (UK).
