Girl Recognition System
The Australian Guide Program (AGP) focuses on leadership and personal development, empowering girls to do their best. The process helps girls to plan, implement and evaluate their own activities to help overcome challenges and set goals for themselves.
This can be done by Girl Guides themselves or with their Patrol or Unit and the Girl Recognition System provides opportunities to complete challenges and activities while also earning badges and Awards to recognise those achievements.
The Badge Book and the Youth Awards Book contain details on how to earn badges, certificates and Awards.
The five Girl Guide Handbooks contain age-appropriate information on Girl Guiding in Australia.
All resources can be purchased from the Girl Guides Australia Retail Shop.
Explore a Challenge
Girls can complete these challenges at any time and then re-explore them if they wish.
There are 11 challenge areas to choose from:
Advocacy- Life Skills
- Be Prepared
- Outdoors
- Faith Awareness
- Science and Technology
- Friendship
- The Arts
- Guiding
- World
- Health and Fitness
Girls follow their interests, choose four different challenges in one of the areas listed above.
They can be tried on their own, or as a Patrol or interest group.
Create a Challenge
There are 30 badges to choose from within Create a Challenge, 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 Girl Guide Handbook or the Badge Book.
Awards for Guides to work towards and gain a great sense of achievement:
Junior BP Award
To achieve the Junior BP Award, two challenges must be completed from the Youth Awards Book.
The topics covered are:
- Promise and Law
- Outdoors
- Patrol System
- Service
- Guiding Traditions
- World Guiding
Bronze Endeavour Award
Girl Guides can achieve the Bronze Endeavour Award by completing half of the required activities (six) while working towards the Junior BP Award (halfway).
BP Award
To achieve the Baden-Powell or BP Award, 3 challenges are completed from the Youth Awards Book.
The topics covered are:
- Promise and Law
- Outdoors
- Service
- Guiding Traditions
- World Guiding
- Patrol Systems
Silver Endeavour Award
Girl Guides can achieve the Silver Endeavour Award by completing half (nine) of the required activities while working towards the BP Award.
Once the remaining 9 activities are completed, the BP Award may be presented at a special ceremony.
Queen's Guide Award (Including Gold Endeavour)
The Queen’s Guide Award is the peak achievement for Youth Members of Girl Guides Australia.
The Queen’s Guide Award provides an opportunity for extraordinary personal development and greater self-awareness and is recognised in the education system in South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania.
The Queen’s Guide Award has two parts:
- the challenges for the Gold Endeavour Award which focus on participating and learning
- the additional challenges for the Queen’s Guide Award which focus on organising and leading
Girl Guides age 13+ can commence working on the Gold Endeavour Award.
To achieve the Queen’s Guide Award, please look at the Youth Awards Book.
Click here to read more about the Queen’s Guide Award.
Duke of Edinburgh International 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
- Endeavour Badge
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.