Across every section in The Scout Association, young people are invited to make a Promise. It’s a personal commitment that reflects the values of Scouting and what it means to be part of the movement.
While the wording of the Promise changes as young people grow and progress through the sections, the core ideas stay the same: doing your best, helping others, and playing an active role in your community and the wider world.
Squirrel Scout Promise
I promise to do my best to be kind and helpful and to love our world.
Squirrel Scouts is often a young person’s very first experience of Scouting. The Promise is kept simple and age-appropriate, focusing on doing their best, being kind, and learning how to be part of a group.
At this stage, the Promise helps set the tone for everything that follows: having fun, trying new things, and starting to understand what it means to help others and be a good friend.
Beaver Scout Promise
I promise to do my best to be kind and helpful and to love our world.
At Beaver age, the Promise is short, simple, and easy to understand.
It introduces young people to the idea of doing their best, being kind, and taking responsibility in a way that feels achievable and encouraging.
Making the Beaver Promise is often a young person’s first formal moment in Scouting, and it’s treated as something to be proud of — a step into being part of the team.
Cub Scout Promise
I promise that I will do my best
to uphold our Scout values, to do my duty to The King,
to help other people
and to keep the Cub Scout Law.
The Cub Promise builds on what young people learned as Beavers, encouraging them to think more about how their actions affect others.
It reflects growing independence, curiosity, and a stronger sense of right and wrong.
At this stage, the Promise helps Cubs understand that Scouting isn’t just about activities — it’s also about attitudes, choices, and how they treat people around them.
Scouts, Explorer, Network and Adults Promise
On my honour,
I promise that I will do my best
to uphold our Scout values, to do my duty to The King,
to help other people
and to keep the Scout Law.
From the Scout section onwards — including Explorers, Scout Network and adult volunteers — the same Promise is used.
This reflects the idea that while roles, responsibilities and life experience change, the core values of Scouting remain constant.
At these stages, the Promise represents a conscious commitment to live by those values in everyday life. It recognises personal responsibility, service to others, and an active role in local and global communities.
For adults, the Promise also underpins their role as volunteers and role models, supporting young people to grow while continuing to develop their own skills, character and sense of purpose within Scouting.
