We are a well established Scout Group within Benton district, with Beaver, Cub, Scout and Explorer Sections, offering a full range of activities to our young people and adults alike.

Our Group is open to both boys and girls, of all abilities, aged 6 to 18, who live in Wideopen, Seaton Burn, Brunswick, Hazlerigg and the surrounding areas.

We meet at St Johns URC Church Hall, Canterbury Way, Wideopen NE13 6JQ.

Meeting Times Are:

Beavers:      Monday from 5:00 - 6:15 pm

Cubs:          Thursday from 6:10 - 7:25 pm

Scouts:       Thursday from 7:30 - 9:15 pm

Explorers:    Thursday from 7:30 - 9:15 pm and every other Monday from 7:30 - 9:30 pm

We welcome new members in all of our sections.

We do not have a policy of maintaining waiting lists - where a young person is old enough for the relevant section, we will aim to find them a place, however for those parents wishing to pass details of their son / daughter who has not yet reached Beaver age (6 yrs), we will retain that information until they are old enough to join the section and will contact you again at that stage.

We have an active parent support group and welcome assistance from parents and friends alike, to help to further develop the Scout Group and deliver the wide range of activities, badges and training offered to our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.  

You do not need to have been in Scouting or have an interest in the outdoors to help out, as there are many roles which suit a wide range of interests and skills - just get in touch if you think you can help us.

'Scouting is about being with friends, as part of a team, 

participating fully in the adventure and opportunities of life.'

If you would like to join the adventure at 2nd Wideopen Scout Group

please email mike.hawkins26@gmail.com or

call Mike Hawkins on 01670 733210

Following a number of successful applications made by the Scout Group, to a range of Community Funds, we are pleased to be able to confirm that we have been awarded a number of grants for the purchase of much needed archery /  catering equipment and to finally replace our aged trailer with a purpose built replacement. We will also be developing some publicity leaflets, to spread the word about Scouting in Wideopen and the surrounding areas. 

All of this has been made possible thanks to the following fantastic awards:

• A £3,235 grant from Bellway (from money set aside for community developments, as part of their house building in Wideopen).
• A £550 grant from the R W Mann Trust.

Now that Debbie and Mike are qualified as Archery Community Sports Leaders, we will be looking to offer archery as a new activity that members can take part in within the Scout Group.  The activity can be undertaken by both young and older members, as well as those who may be a little less mobile and agile.  After the training, hopefully the Scouts will be able to work towards their Master at Arms badge, as well as gaining a new skill.

We have purchased various sized bows and arrows and large archery safety curtains, which will allow us to undertake the sport both indoors and outside, throughout the year. We hope to be able to further increase the range and amount of equipment and targets we have in due course, which will allow even more individuals to take part in the sport. 

Thanks to a lot of hard work and collaboration with the Co-opertive Group and partners, 2nd Wideopen Scout Group have been able to link into the Co-op's Community Dividend Fund for the next six months, to potentially allow us to benefit from donations across their local stores (Wideopen, North Gosforth, Moor Farm and Cramlington).  

Thanks to an off-chance conversation with one of the Co-operative's members of staff, we were pointed towards the application process, to apply to be a possible beneficiary for the forthcoming six months.  Following completion of the necessary application and being vetted, the Co-operative Group kindly agreed to help us from April 2017 to the end of September 2017 towards the cost of purchasing some additional equipment to help us to enhance what activites we can offer and deliver.

With this help, we hope to be able to purchase some additional water activities equipment (canoes / paddleboards / water safety equipment), some additional lightweight tents and some state of the art first aid training equipment, to demonstrate and train our young members on how to use defibrilators.

The more people who register for our fantastic cause on line and use their Co-op card on Co-op branded products, the more that we can be helped.  To date we have over £1550 in donations but we have a long way to go still to reach our target!

We would look forward to your potential support, if you would like to support our cause - just click on the attached website to sign up and then select 2nd Wideopen Scout Group for your cause: https://membership.coop.co.uk

Many congratulations to the following members of our Scout Group on gaining top Scouting Awards!

 Bronze Chief Scout's Award - (the highest award you can gain in the Beaver section) 

• Lucas Davidson, Sam Dayes, Cameron Hunter, Scott Coates, Jack Chadwick, Thomas McDonald, Lewis Crispin, Oliver Moore, Samuel Finley, Corey Armstrong, Lewis Chadwick, Maddison Cole and Courtney Moore.

  Silver Chief Scout's Award - (the highest award you can gain in the Cub section)

• Thomas Nichol, Luke Smith, Cameron Hunter, Jack Chadwick, Kenya Robson, Mason Alexander, Matthew Rickeard, Sam Dayes, Scott Coates and Thomas McDonald. 

  Gold Chief Scout's Award - (the highest award you can gain in the Scout section)

• Oliver Jennings, Emma Hawkins, Shauna McLeod, Daniel Dayes, Aaron Thomas, Edie Frith, James Ashpool, Dillon Robson, Ethan Hollywood and Bethany Kemp.

  Platinum Chief Scout's Award - (the initial Chief Scout's Award you gain in the Explorer Section)

  Young Leaders' Badge - Awarded following training to Explorer Scouts who choose to devote a large proportion of their time in Scouting to service in another section.

• Oliver Jennings, Emma Hawkins, Bethany Kemp, Will Hayes and Harrison Hayes

  Adult Leader Training Award (Wood Badge)

• Alison Todd - one of our Assistant Cub Leaders - who's Wood Badge was presented at our Cub adventure weekend at Whitley Bay in July 2013.

• Lee McConnell - one of Assistant Scout Leaders who's Wood Badge was presented at one of our Troop meetings in November 2013.

• Richard Jennings - yet another one of our Assistant Scout Leaders, who was presented with his Wood Badge in February 2014.

• Sheila Barbour - Our Cub Scout Leader, who was presented with her Wood Badge in February 2016.

• Congratulations also to Kelly Stephenson - our Beaver Scout Leader on being awarded her 5 Year Service Badge and Certificate, which was presented at Beavers in December 2013.  we worked out that all of the Beavers were still in nappies when Kelly first started helping out with the Group (initially in the Scout section).

• Congratulations also to Richard Jennings - one of our Assistant Scout Leaders, Sheila Barbour, our Cub Leader and Jackie Hawkins, our Group Treasurer who have all recently been awarded their 5 Year Service Badge by the Scout Association.

• Congratulations also to Debbie Hodge on being awarded her 10 Year Service Badge and Certificate, when she joined to help out when Callum joined our Cubs..

• Congratulations to Debbie Hodge and Mike Hawkins who have completed refresher training for the archery instructor / leader training programme and have now re-qualified as Archery GB - Archery Instructor, meaning that they will be able to lead and teach archery to members of the Scout Group as part of our programme of activities.. 

Thanks to some fantastic support from the Woodland Trust and it's partners, once again our Scout Group has received over 400 wildlife, copse and hedge sapplings (young trees), for planting in and around the Wideopen / surrounding area, to help with our continued commitment to the environment. Additionally we will also be putting up more bird and bat boxes to encourage nesting birds / bats to breed.

All this work involves the whole Scout Group, leading to members gainiing their Environmental Partnership Award, Community Challenge Award / Badge and in the case of the Scouts - their Forester Badge.

Over the past few years we have planted trees at the Watery Gates site, close to the A1 / Little Waters, at Greenfields School in Wideopen to help re-establish their bird sanctuary and at the Three Hills Nature Reserve - planting in total, somewhere in the region of 1000 young saplings, including hawthorns, blackthorns, crab apple, cherry plum, beech, rowan, silver birch, elder, ash, oak and dog / wild rose  (all native species to the area).

Our aim, working alongside Newcastle and North Tyneside Council conservation and park ranger staff, students and staff at Greenfields School and the voluntary group - the Wideopen Forum, has been to help to create a wildlife corridor, to enable wildlife, including birds and mammals to move safely between nature habitats at the Big Waters, Weetslade, Havannah and Three Hills Countryside Parks and High Gosforth Park - not easy when you think of the new housing being built in and around the area and the fact that the corridor is crossed by the main flight path for Newcastle Airport!

This year we are also looking at the potential of planting a number of trees in memory of those brave individuals from Wideopen, Seaton Burn, Brunswick, Dudley and the surrounding area who gave their lives during the Great War (1914 - 1918), We hope to be able to create a lasting memory of their brave sacrifices, which will form a part of our Group rememberance activities - when over the next four years we will be researching details of those soldiers, early airmen and sailors who went away from the area as heroes - with many tragically never to return.

Following the great success of the Scout Group helping out with the inaugural Race for Life event at Northumberlandia (near Cramlington) back in May last year, a number of ladies (young and not so young) from the Group took part in and completed this years event.

Following a period of training in recent weeks, 14 Members from the Cub, Scout and Explorer sections, as well as a number of our female leaders joined almost 300 other ladies and girls to take part in the Race for Life - all with the aim of raising money for the charity Cancer Reseacrh UK.

The evening turned out to be a rather cold, damp and windy, with conditions under foot being extremely muddy, following a day of heavy rain, so the warm ups were a welcome opportunity to get moving and do just that - warm up! They all then set of on the 5km (3 mile) Run around and yes even up parts of the Grand Lady of Northumberland.  

The girls from the Group all did brilliantly, with four of them completing the Race within the first 15 to finish (which is a fantastic achievement!). 

It was evident that the Scouting spirit was present on the night in massive amounts, as the girls, all dressed in their specially commissioned cerise pink  tartan neckerchieves cheered and supported each other and received huge encouragement from all the spectators both out on the course and as they each in turn finished.

On the evening, the girls were joined by four of the lads (also wearing their pink tartan neckers), who worked their socks off helping with the administration and delivery of the Race, working alongside students from Northumberland College and staff from Northumberland Sport, as well as offering fantastic moral support and taking part in the warm ups. 

As a result of all of their efforts, the girls have been working towards their Fitness Challenge Awards (for the Cubs and Scouts) and the fitness section of the Chief Scout's Awards / Duke of Edinburgh's Awards for the Explorers, as well as gaining their Race for Life medals.

On behalf of everyone involved in 2nd Wideopen - a  massive Congratulations to Alex, Zoe, Bethany, Alice, Ellie, Abigail, Shauna, Emma, Lauren, Esme, Anita, Kelly, Debbie, Jackie (and Kelly's mum and mother in law)  who all completed the Race and a massive thanks to Aaron, Dillon, James and Ethan who helped deliver the Race - you were all fantastic ambassadors for Scouting and made all the leaders proud on the night!

Further pictures taken by the official photogher will shortly be available on the Northumberland Sport website - see the link below:

http://www.northumberlandsport.co.uk/

At 2nd Wideopen, we are committed to ensuring that Scouting is open to everyone, no matter what sex, race, religion, ability or background a person may come from and we actively encourage members from across our community to join us.

We try to ensure that members can safely and confidently take an active part in all of our Scouting activities - where cost may be an issue, we have  a small stock of outdoor equipment in various sizes which can be borrowed - including expedition rucksacks, mummy sleeping bags / liners and robust waterproof jackets (please note there may be a small charge to cover cleaning / maintenance costs and numbers are limited).

Our Equipment Bazaar

We know that youngsters grow out of footwear and clothing at an alarmingly quick rate. With this in mind, we operate an 'Equipment Bazaar' scheme - allowing parents to sell on suitable outgrown items of outdoor clothing and equipment and enabling families to purchase appropriate items more cost effectively - ensuring members are better equipped to safely take part in our range of Scouting activities.

The Scout Group has a number of items of clothing and walking boots for sale at very reasonable prices - mainly sized for Beaver / Cub age, although we do have a limited number of pairs of girls walking boots of Scout age / size.  Before you go out and buy any new outdoor gear - you may want to give us a call.

If you would like more information on the support available or would like details of what we have in the Equipment Bazaar - contact Mike Hawkins (Group Scout Leader) on 01670 733210.