King's Scout Award

The King’s Scout Award is the top achievement for Explorer Scouts and Scout Network members and comprises a variety of activities to complete. It’s closely linked to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, so it’s worth considering working on the two awards together. To gain the award, you must complete all of the following requirements before your 25th birthday.

Since the 1st June 2024, we have made some updates to the King's Scout Award. Please check the information in the Pre. June 2024 requirements section to make sure you are completing the correct requirements based on your age bracket.

Young People who's KSA is approved by UK Headquarters in one calendar year, will be invited to celebrate their award by attending an event held at Windsor Castle in the following calendar year. This National Day of Celebration and Achievement is normally hosted on the Sunday nearest to St George’s Day in April. KSA award holders and their invited guests, will join the Chief Scout and others to recognise their achievements in an informal parade around the Quadrangle in the castle grounds.

How to earn your award:

1. Award Participants Must:

• Be aged 16 or older to start the award and complete the award before your 25th birthday 
• Be a member of either Explorer Scouts or Scout Network (or a combination of both) for at least 18 months to complete the award
• Be a member of Explorer Scouts or Scout Network at the time you complete the award

This means members can only start working towards and count activities undertaken in achieving the KSA from their 16th Birthday. Activities and nights away completed in achievement of the Chief Scout Platinum and Diamond Awards can be counted towards the KSA. 

2. Nights Away:

Complete 24 nights away as an Explorer Scout or Scout Network member, of which at least 12 must be camping.

Any nights away can count for this section, whether used in another part of this award, or to count towards the Chief Scout Platinum or Chief Scout Diamond Award.

3. International, Community & Values (ICV) List:

Complete six activities in total, two from each topic area of the ICV activities list. View the ICV list for the King's Scout Award. A minimum of two must be from the KSA ICV list and the others from any of the KSA, or Chief Scout Platinum or Diamond ICV lists.

If you have completed your Chief Scout’s Platinum Award, you will have already done two activities and will only need to do a further four activities.

If you have completed your Chief Scout’s Diamond Award, you will have already done four activities and will only need to do a further two activities.

4.Presentation:

Make a presentation covering all elements of your award to a suitable audience, with the aim of inspiring and motivating others to achieve the award. The presentation should be the final activity you complete.

The presentation section of the Award can be signed off by one of the following roles:

• Adult volunteers in the District 14 – 24 Team
• Youth Lead
• District, County, Region or Area Lead Volunteer
• District, County, Region or Area Programme Team Member

We’d suggest this is different to the Award Mentor, and we’d recommend inviting a District or County Team member to attend the presentation too.

5. Sign-Off:

Each  requirement  needs  to  be  signed  off  by  an  assessor. This  is   someone  who  can vouch  for  the  activities  you  have undertaken and provide some basic evidence (a short statement) about your participation. This is often your Explorer Team Leader or your District 14-24 Team Leader. 

However,  assessors  can  be anyone  who  has  witnessed the  activities  you’ve undertaken for the specific requirement.

Once  you  have  completed  all  of  the  above  requirements,  a relevant person must approve your award as complete by filling out the 'KSA Logbook approval' section of the KSA Logbook and Completion form (which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page). Please see the KSA logbook for roles that are able to sign off.

6. Hold the DofE Gold Award or Complete the King's Scout Award Challenges:

More Award Information:

More details on the King's Scout Award can be found on the Scout UK website, by clicking the link below.

District King's Scout Award Sign Up:

A form to sign up to the King's Scout Award within our district will appear soon, watch this space!

King's Scout Award Logbook Download:

Please download the award logbook below, either as a PDF or Word, and keep a record of your achievements and progress for your award...