Community Support Information

Becoming a Guide

Guides are usually aged between ten and 14, although some Guides like to stay until they are older. Any girl over the age of ten can become a Guide as long as she wants to make the Guide Promise.  She receives a certificate and a Promise Badge when she has taken her Promise, and gets to choose herself how she would like to celebrate her special day and where she would like to go to take her Promise.

Welcome Pack
New Guides receive a welcome pack, which includes:

Useful information on guiding locally and nationally
Information sheets for the Leader to complete
Goodies, including:
                        - a novel
                          - a keyring
                              - a notepad and pen
                              …all in a drawstring bag.

The Guide Promise

I promise that I will do my best:
To love my God,
To serve the Queen and my country,
To help other people
and
To keep the Guide Law.

The Guide Laws

Guide Wear
Each Guide chooses the top she wants to wear from the variety of options available to her at the Guide Shop at JHQ (if you live further afield, your Guide Leader will place a mail order for you).  The specially designed Guide tops are stylish, practical and economical.  Guides choose whether they want to wear jeans, trousers, a skirt or shorts.  These can be any colour the Guide chooses to wear.

What do Guides do?
Guides challenge themselves!  Being a Guide is all about belonging to a group, learning new skills, making new friends and helping others.  A wide variety of challenge badges give each Guide the opportunity to try out new things and achieve her own personal goals.
Guides work together in Patrols, groups of four to eight girls, and elect their own Patrol Leader. A Patrol plans its own activities with the support of the Guide Leader.
Guides have the opportunity to go on day trips, weekends away, camping trips in Germany and abroad, attend the BIG GIG… read on!

Guide Website
Visit the Guide website at www.girlguiding.org.uk/new/guides 

G File

The ‘G File’ is an A5 sized  two-ring binder which contains all the information a Guide needs!  It includes space to fill in all the activities she has taken part in,  contains wallets to hold her ‘Go For It!’ cards, has space for her badges and contains stickers.

Go For Its!
‘Go For Its!’ are themed activity packs that girls use to plan their Patrol times.  A ‘Go For It!’ usually runs for about half a term, allowing for a couple of weeks when other activities can be done – for example a unit swimming trip.
A credit-card-style certificate will be awarded to each individual in the Patrol when they have spent four ‘Patrol times’ working constructively on the activities.
Here is a small selection of some of the ‘Go For Its!’ available:
Go For It!...

Evaluation
After completing a ‘Go For It!’, as a Patrol, the Guides decide how the activities went (with support from the Guide Leader if needed).  Did they enjoy them?  Did things go well?  Would they do anything differently next time?  All part of girl-led Guiding, and an excellent introduction to teamwork and developing management skills!

Interest Badges
Have you got an interest that you’d like to take further? Are you sporty, arty, a chocoholic or a film buff? Love camping, parties, or putting on a show? Whatever you’re into, there will be a badge for you to try!
Doing interest badges allows you to:

Interest badges are designed for Guides to do as individuals. However, if you share an interest with your Patrol or a group of Guide friends, you can work together on a badge.

For every badge, you will need someone to test you. A badge tester should be someone with appropriate knowledge or experience for the content and skill level of the badge. Testers can include Patrols, Young Leaders, Leaders, specialists, and interested or knowledgeable people.

When you get a badge, you can display it in all sorts of ways. Badges can be stored in your G file, sewn on your gilet or camp blanket, or displayed in photo frames. They’re your badges – so how you display them is totally up to you!

Camping and Trips Abroad
Opportunites are always coming up for Guides to go on day trips, go camping and even to travel abroad!  There are several Girlguiding centres in the UK which have camping facilities - 2005 saw a group from BFG Guides going to the New Forest for a week.  Guides also have the opportunity to go on short city breaks, for example girls from BFG recently went on a weekend trip to London.  BFG Guides took part in  Intercamp in Holland in 2005, which is a large scale multinational Scouting and Guiding event held annually at various locations throughout Europe. The Intercamp 2007 is in France.   Older Guides (14+) may even be lucky enough to be selected for international camp in countries further afield, for example Canada - a group of 7 Ranger Guides and 3 Leaders went to Canada in July 2006.

BIG GIG
A group of BFG Guides went to the BIG GIG at Wembley Arena in October 2006.  The BIG GIG is an annual pop concert held just for Girlguiding.
Acts included Shayne Ward, Alesha, Lemar, Nylon and Lil’ Chris.  11,000 Guides screamed their hearts out!

Moving on to Senior Section
Young women aged 14 – 25 become part of ‘Senior Section’ and there are many options open to them, such as becoming a Ranger Guide, a Young Leader or a Young Guider, to name but a few.
During her time in the Senior Section, a young woman participates in a programme known as Look Wider, which is based on the principles and methods of guiding. It is designed to appeal to all young women and offers fun and flexibility to suit the individual. The programme is also linked to a variety of recognised qualifications or awards, both within and outside guiding. The opportunities and challenges which it offers can be followed by a group or by individual members. The choice is made by the members themselves.
The Senior Section has the same Law, Promise and Motto as the Guide Section. There is also a further commitment: to be of service to the community.
In their own time, with people of their choice, Senior Section members make a Promise. Members wear a Promise badge appropriate to the group to which they belong. (When a young woman belongs to two different groups, she may wear either badge as appropriate).

To register for Guides, get in touch with your local Hive.