You can even go straight to Gold if you wish although you will have to do longer on volunteering and be over 16.
quote from website
"If you start your Silver without doing Bronze first you’ll have to do an extra 6 months volunteering or doing whichever of the Physical or Skills sections you have spent more time on. Though you can change your mind later, you should decide which section you want to do for longer at the beginning. Knowing how long you’re going to do it for will help you to choose your activity and set your goals for each section.
It will take you at least 6 months for Silver if you've already achieved your Bronze, or 12 months if you've jumped straight into Silver."
The skills section can be a wide variety of things - learn sign language, to knit, to tie knots, some carpentry, learn to drive, photography, a new language. Just be imaginative. A very useful skill is cookery!