Recognition of Girls
The Australian Guide Program focuses on leadership and personal development, so girls can do their best. They complete activities and set goals, earning badges, certificates and Awards to recognise these achievements.
Most challenges can be done by girls themselves or with their Patrol or Unit.
The Girl Guides Australia publication Look Wide can be purchased from Girl Guide Retail Outlets to start planning.
The AGP Process helps girls to plan, implement and evaluate their own activities to help overcome challenges and set goals for themselves.
Explore a Challenge
Girls can these challenges at any time and then re-explore them if they wish. There are 10 topic areas to choose from:
Our World- Guiding World
- Life Skills
- Be Prepared
- Outdoors
- Health and Fitness
- Arts
- Friendship
- Science and Technology
- Faith Awareness
Girls follow their interests, choose four different challenges in one of the ten topic areas listed above or create their own.
They can be tried on their own, or as a Patrol or interest group.
Create a Challenge
There are 30 badges to choose from, plus a blank badge for girls to create their own. Using the Australian Guide Program process – girls discover, decide, plan to create their own challenges and then do and check to complete and earn their badge.
Achieve a Challenge
These challenges are designed to recognise the skills and abilities of the individual. Completing each challenge will show that girls have reached a set level of skill in their chosen area.
- Trefoil 1 indicates a beginning skill
- Trefoil 2 shows an intermediate skill
- Trefoil 3 recognises advanced skill development.
They can be completed individually or as a Patrol or interest group.
Discover a Challenge
There are ten levels of this challenge with a minimum age for each level.
Each level has four sections: Physical, People, Practical and Self. Girls are required to complete ten challenges to complete the badge. Each level is named after an Australian gemstone. These badges include many of the traditional Guiding skills all Guides should know. The syllabus for each of these badges can be found in the age appropriate Guide Handbook.
Awards for Guides to work towards and gain a great sense of achievement:
Junior BP Award
This is assessed by the the Guide and her fellow Guides. She must complete at least two challenges AIM HIGH book from each of the following topics:
- Promise and Law
- Outdoors
- Patrol System
- Service
- Guiding Traditions
- World Guiding
When six activities completed she will be halfway and she will be presented with the Bronze Endeavour reward for working so hard.
BP Award
Guides can read the options in the AIM HIGH book and then work on 3 challenges in each of the following areas:
- Promise and Law
- Outdoors
- Service
- Guiding Traditions
- World Guiding
- Patrol Systems
When 9 activities are completed she will be presented with a Silver Endeavour badge.
Then once the other 9 activities are completed she will receive her BP Award at a special ceremony.
Queen's Guide Award
The Queen’s Guide Award is the peak achievement in Guides. The challenges must be completed before a Guide’s 18th birthday and information is also available in the AIM HIGH book.
See the Queen’s Guide Award Page for further details.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award has three levels of Award – Bronze, Silver and Gold. Any girl 14 years and over can join Guides to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. She can register through your State Girl Guides organisation and join a local Unit of girls their age.
External Assessors
An external Assessor may be needed to assess challenge work for the below:
- Queen’s Guide Award (including Focus and interest assessments if needed)
- BP Award
- Junior BP Award
- Endeavours
- all ‘Look Wide’ and ‘Look Wider Still’ challenges.
Guides can use the External Assessment Protocol for Guides to help them understand what is required of them when using an external assessor.
Leaders can use the External Assessment Protocol for Leaders to assist Guides in completing their challenges when external assessment is required.