Company Section

Age group:

11-15 years of age

Weekly meetings:

Tuesday evenings from 7:00pm-8:30pm

Uniform:

The Boys wear a blue BB polo shirt and a navy blue Company BB sweatshirt along with grey or black school trousers. The Boys are expected to wear black clean shoes or trainers. The Boys receive badges during the year and will be given an armband to wear on both arms.

Officer-in-Charge:

Ian (Lieutenant)

Company Section Staff:

Ian (Captain)
Maureen (Lieutenant)
Gillian  (Lieutenant)
Gill  (Lieutenant)

What does Company Section do?

The Company Section is our group that works with those aged 11-15 years old. The Boys in Company Section are led through the BB’s Discover programme which is organised to engage everyone with something they would enjoy and to help them with skills that will equip them for adulthood. Our weekly programme for this age group is rarely based around a theme, but is planned to engage our Boys in activities that challenges them physically, mentally and spiritually. This age range is a critical one and as a Company we believe it is important we invest our time in supporting our Boys as they begin to discover who they are as they move forward in becoming young men. We encourage them to carry on participating in Battalion, Regional and National level competitions and activities. As they grow older we challenge them to take on the responsibility of becoming young leaders within our Company. Our staff begin to take on the role of mentors as we help shape the Boys’ leadership capabilities and empower them to use these skills in our younger sections. While in the Company Section the Boys are building everything they do and learn into gaining the second highest award in the Boys’ Brigade: the President’s Badge. The Boys must be actively engaged with the Company and at Battalion level to receive this award. The badge itself is only bestowed to those Boys by our Battalion President who authorises them to have it based on written recommendations from the Company Captain. In recent years we have seen many of the local secondary schools and academies running the Duke of Edinburgh Award, as such many of our older Company Boys use their time as members of our Company towards gaining their Bronze and Silver DoE’s.

The fun doesn’t stop when they enter this section and we see our Boys solidify their relationships with their friends in this age group as they share with each other many memorable experiences. If you asked any of our Company Boys what is their favourite memory of being in this section they will most likely tell you it’s the time they spend together on our joint week-long Summer Camp with our Girls’ Brigade Company.

Transition to Amicus

In recent years our Boys have become eager to begin their move into the Amicus group. They are excited about the opportunities that await them when they join the group, especially as they take on more ownership of their programme. In their last year as a Boy within the Company Section our Officers specially design the programme so it has an Amicus “flavour” to it. This provides them with an idea of what it will be like when they become permanent Amicus members. In the lead up to gaining their President’s Badge (and a few months before they join Amicus) the Amicus leaders arrange a number of activities and events where those joining Amicus are invited to attend. This can range from a simple outing to a local restaurant (normally Nandos!) or a special sleepover/weekend away.

On rare occasions, the Company Captain and Amicus Officer-in-Charge have given special dispensation to a Boy in joining in with Amicus activities if he is the only Boy in Company Section who is 14 years of age. As a Company we feel it is important to encourage our Boys in being active members and recognise that they can form strong relationships with their peers who may be slightly older than them by a year or two years. The Company Captain and Amicus OiC will give this special dispensation on a case-by-case basis and when deciding will normally take into account such things like the Boy’s maturity, attitude and any impact it would have on the Company Section and Amicus group.