Our awards

Girls can work toward a range of amazing awards to mark their achievements

Awards add something extra special to girls’ guiding experience.

Our range of awards inspires girls and celebrates their achievements. Some are new awards, others have a long history. But all of them take time and commitment to achieve, which is why they’re something girls can be really proud of. 

Theme awards and the top  awards are based around elements of our programme. They're designed to encourage girls to take on a broad range of challenges. The activities girls do in their unit meetings can count towards these awards. This makes them much more accessible, which means more girls can achieve them. 

Theme awards

These awards relate to the six new themes that run across the programme. There’s an award for each theme in every section. So a girl who starts in Rainbows and goes right through to Rangers could end up with 24 Theme awards.

A girl has to complete the following combination of activities within the same theme to achieve the Theme award for that section:

  • One interest badge
  • One skills builder stage
  • A certain number of hours of unit meeting activities: two hours for Rainbows, three hours for Brownies and four hours for Guides and Rangers.

Each Theme award has its own specially designed badge that girls won't be able to wait to get their hands on. Girls and young women can track their progress in shiny badge and record books.

Top awards

There are three top awards for each section.

  • Bronze award: a girl needs to complete any two Theme awards from her current section.
  • Silver award: a girl needs to complete any four Theme awards from her current section.
  • Gold award: a girl needs to earn all six Theme awards and then do a final challenge. The challenge changes depending on a girl’s section and her interests.

These awards are a great achievement and a big commitment. So it’s up to each girl whether she chooses to complete the top awards.

Fun fact!

There are woven and metal badges for the top  awards  - and the Gold award metal pin badges have a secret message on the back of them.

Taking it further

As girls progress through guiding, those who want an extra challenge can complete further awards outside of the programme themes. These awards will be familiar as they’ve long been a part of guiding. They’re a chance for young women to take on wide-reaching adventures in their community and internationally.

Queen’s Guide award

The Queen’s Guide award is the highest award you can work towards in guiding. It gives members the chance to develop their skills, have adventures and challenge themselves while contributing to guiding and their local community.

Who’s it for? Members aged 16-30 years old

Commonwealth award

A truly international challenge, the Commonwealth award is open to guiding members in all Commonwealth countries. This award strengthens the bonds between girls living in the Commonwealth as they learn about each other’s history and culture.

Who’s it for? Members aged 13-25 years old

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is an internationally recognised challenge that girls can complete as part of their guiding experience. There are three progressive levels of the award – Bronze, Silver and Gold – that vary in length and commitment. 

Who’s it for? Anyone aged 14-25 years old (up until a girl’s 25th birthday)

Permits

Permits boost girls’ camping and event knowledge, experience and confidence. They also empower them to make the right decisions when things don’t go to plan.

Why we’re excited about awards

There’s something available for everyone who wants to complete an award. Every girl will have the opportunity to push her boundaries, have new experiences and feel proud of her achievement. And as girls get older the range of awards increases, so girls can tailor their guiding journey to really suit their interests.