I would like to welcome you to the Gordo Explorer Scout Unit, my name is Michael Hopcraft and I set up this Explorer unit in 2005, with the aim that Explorer scouts should have more control over their scouting programme and experiences.

Who: The Unit leadership team is: Matthew Bodinham, Mark Kemp, Simon Marris, William Mason, David Sawyer, Beccy Coates, Daniel Jones, Matthew Womack and myself.

What: Explorer scouts is for anyone aged 14 – 18 years old. No previous Scouting is required. We run varied activities and skills nights during the weekly meetings, while at the same time working towards the Chef Scout Platinum, Diamond, and Queen Scout awards; the three highest awards in Scouting. These awards are closely linked with the Duke of Edinburgh award and you can be awarded both awards on completion of the Scout awards.

Why: All Explorer Scout Units are named after a great Explorer from history. Our unit is named after a squirrel monkey sent into space by NASA as an experiment into manned space flights. The flight capsules landed back on Earth but sank in the sea. The data from this led to manned space travel. A full press release and picture of Gordo the squirrel monkey can be found here.

Where: We meet at the 33rd (Kidlington) Oxford Scout Group Headquarters: 90a Blenheim Road Kidlington.
We also have some access and use of the Groups Boating Island at Kings Lock on the Thames at Wolvercote, which we use during the summer months.

When: The unit meets Mondays 7.00pm – 9.00pm throughout the year.

How Much: When you join us you have four weeks free to see if you like the unit and to see if this is what you would like to do. After the four weeks we charge a weekly fee of £2.50 on attendance, as during your time with us your have a busy school life and exams which are important, and we understand that you may not be able to attend every week. Collecting the subs in the way makes it very difficult to calculate a fee to cover you Capitation (insurance) so we have to charge this separately with a yearly one off payment. The amount is set by the Scouting Headquarters and I send out a bill as and when I receive the information around February/March.

For more information on what we do, check out our ‘Programme’, ‘Events’, and ‘Galleries’ pages.