The Seniors is for young men aged 15 to 18 years old.
We meet on Friday evenings between 7.30 and 9.30 pm at St Andrews' Methodist Church. With parents' permission members can stay until 10.15 pm and join in with sports and other fun activities.
See our Calendar page for full details of when the Seniors will be meeting.
The Company Section runs together with the Seniors, with the Seniors expected to take on Leadership roles within the Company Section.
We provide a programme of fun yet challenging activities including sports, games, arts and crafts, music, going on visits, outdoor adventures such as hiking, camping, orienteering, cycling, canoeing and much more.
Every young person can expect:
Seniors is all about challenging yourself, learning to accept responsibility for your actions, taking Leadership as well as learning new skills, making your own decisions and having fun. BB provides a safe environment to explore new possibilities and achieve personal goals while making friends and having adventures.
Our experienced Leaders are CRB checked and will make every effort to ensure your childs' safety. See our Information for Parents/Guardians section for more details.
The Officer in charge of the Seniors is Barry Precey.
Seniors are eligible to continue work within the Discover Award Scheme and achieve all of the same awards as detailed on the Company Section page. Or see our Discover page for more in-depth details.
In addition Seniors can take on the Challenge Plus Programme. This requires each young man to undertake in-depth Projects and Challenge activities which they themselves choose and work on at their initiative, with assistance from the Leaders if they need it. These are grouped into three zones:
There are three levels of awards which require a number of points to achieve.
The Challenge Plus Bronze Award requires 10 points.
The Challenge Plus Silver Award requires 20 points.
The Challenge Plus Gold Award requires 30 points.
Seniors will be awarded 5 points for a successful Project and 1 point for a Challenge. In most cases the Seniors will set the target or objective for Projects and Challenges themselves.
In addition to the above Seniors can achieve the following higher awards.
The Queen is the Patron of the Boys' Brigade and The Queen's Badge is the highest award that may be gained by a member of The Boys' Brigade. It aims to challenge and equip the individual, provide new opportunities and expand horizons while remaining accessible to candidates of all abilities. In the history of 3rd Basingstoke Boys' Brigade Company only one individual has achieved The Queen's Badge so you can see what a rare and high honour it is.
The Boys' Brigade has a strong association with The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Seniors & Leaders up to the age of 25 can choose to work towards earning the DEA Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.
Seniors can also choose to take on volunteer work in the community and have this recognised by a Young Volunteer Award. There are three levels of achievement within the scheme: Bronze (50 hours), Silver (100 hours) and Gold (200 hours).
Seniors are expected to take on Leadership roles within the Company Section and this is recognised in the form of ranks and promotion. Company Section members have the rank of Private while Seniors who have proved themselves reliable and trustworthy enough can earn the following ranks which are indicated by the chevrons the Senior wears on their armbands:
| Lance Corporal | Corporal | Sergeant | Staff Sergeant |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Upon reaching the age of 18 a Senior is considered a Member of Staff and joins the Leaders in helping to run the Boys Brigade Company. They may still complete their badgework for the remainder of the year. As a Leader there are many further opportunities for advancement within The Boys Brigade.
In addition Seniors will earn a service badge which shows how many years they have been a member for. A Senior who has been with The Boys' Brigade since he was 5 years old can earn up to 13 years service. But we do also provide 14 and 15 year service badges which may be presented in special circumstances.
We are a uniformed organisation and do expect our members to wear their full clean uniform every week. Seniors wear a dark blue pullover (right) and blue polo shirt (below) which is supplied to you by us. The uniform costs £25, however we will meet half that cost and only ask parents/guardians to pay £12.50. We ask for uniforms to please be returned to us when it has been outgrown or the member leaves and that way we are able to supply larger sizes (where possible) at no extra cost.
In addition members are required to wear dark trousers (school trousers are ideal), dark coloured socks and black shoes or trainers (no white socks or white trainers please). Their Badges are worn on a black armband which goes on the right arm. In addition higher achievement badges are worn on an armband which goes on the left arm. click this link to see how the Seniors' Badges should be laid out on the armbands. Seniors will need to bring a change of clothes for sports activities.
We charge a weekly subs fee of £1.50 which covers the cost of heating, lighting and resources, I assure you none of it goes to the Leaders - in fact the Leaders pay subs too! When a new member first joins that first week is FREE!
