Article 2 Deanna Carden

With the season changing, there is a sense of awards in the air where this is the time to start
thinking about what you would like to get out of these organisations.

There are many great awards which you can achieve throughout your guiding and scouting
experience which would advance experiences which would make your CV stand out as well as your
personal statement.

The highest award which you can gain in both scouting and guiding is the Queen’s Guide award and
the Queen’s Scout award. These awards are very hard to achieve, and they require a lot of hard work
and dedication to gain. When this award has been completed, there is an official ceremony in which
you are invited to go to London, to Buckingham Palace in order for you to get your award from the
Queen.

What this award entails on with the Queen’s scouting award, you must be between the ages of 16
and 25 in order to gain this award. There are several elements to the challenge, where you have to
spend 18 nights away, and 12 of those night should be camping. These nights away should be
completed whilst you are in Explorer Scouts (16-18-year olds) and Network Scouts (18-25-year olds).
There is the International, Community and Values list. This list entails different activities where you
have to complete six different activities.

Another element to the award is the service, where you have to provide service to the community.
This is where another award is able to be achieved, as you have to undertake this element for 12
months and show the relevant training. This is the opportunity in order for you to gain the Young
leader award and this is an extra element in which you are able to put on your CV as well your
personal statement. There is a five day and four night expedition which has to be undertaken, and
this can be done by walking, cycling, canoeing, and horseback riding and on a dinghy. There is a
residential which is the same time frame as the expedition.

This is a similar layout to the Queen’s Guide award. There are five sections within this award. These
are service in Guiding, where you take an active role in guiding at a range of levels. Outdoor
challenge, where you would build on your teamwork and leadership skills in a glorious outdoor
setting. The personal skill development where you try a new skill and develop it, or take an existing
skill to a new level for a minimum of 60 hours over 12 months. A personal skill can be anything,
anything from ballet to circus skills. From performing magic tricks to becoming a technology whizz.
There is community action to getting involved more with the world around you can gain a greater
understanding of it through practical and research projects of your choice. There is a residential, the
same as the Scouting version of this award, however, there is a difference in the time scale as with
guiding where you spend two nights and three days away from home with new people.

For the scouts, there is the Chief Scout awards which starts from bronze all the way up to diamond.
This award is completed within your time as a Beaver for the bronze award where you have to
complete all of the challenge badges which is set out for the Beavers and then there is any additional
four activity badges or four staged activity badges which you have to complete in order for you to
gain this badge. It is the same when following through the different sections where the number of
badges to complete change when you move up from each section.

There are different awards of which you are able to get within the units, there is the young
leadership qualification which is available for 14 to 18 year olds. This is awarded so it gives them the
opportunity to see if you are cut out to be a leader and you have the opportunity to be able to take
your training on further so you are able to gain your leadership qualification where it enables you to
take on a unit of your own or join another unit as an assistant leader.
Article 2 Deanna Carden

For the young leader qualification, you have to complete six modules one of which you have to
access the system called Go! There is a module for leadership, planning, working with the girls, local
guiding and your role in guiding. This award can be completed at any pace you would like so you can
fit it around your other activities such as school and homework.
The leadership qualification can be completed after your young leader qualification, and if you are
under the age of 18 you are granted your qualification but cannot be classed as an adult leader until
your 18th birthday. This award can be completed at any time dependent on your circumstances,
some people have completed the award within six months of starting. The modules which have to
be completed are your role in the programme where you look at how you are able to contribute to
the unit. Another module is called work with the unit and the unit team to plan and carry out the
programme. Provide opportunities for the unit to carry out a range of activities, reflecting balance
and variety in the programme is another module to complete. There are many more for you to have
a look at.
For the members of senior section, there are many awards which you are able to get. There is the
Chief Guides award, and this is awarded when you have completed phase one and phase two of the
eight octants. These octants include leadership, creativity, personal values, out of doors, community
action, independent living, fit for life and international. For phase one there is a list of what type of
activities you can take part in and you must complete three of the activities. For phase two there is
less activities to select but you only must complete one over a period of over 12 hours minimum to
complete the phase. When you have completed all the octants, and if you haven’t made your
promise within the senior section then you make your promise and you have completed the award.
There are many awards which can be win within the senior section, one of the awards you can
complete is the Commonwealth Award. This has no timeframe to complete. There are three
compulsory challenges you have to undertake, the first of which is looking at the history of
Girlguiding from its inception in 1909 at the Crystal Palace rally. There you observe the differences
between modern guiding and the sort seen over 100 years ago. The second challenge is to look at
the Commonwealth, to explore and expand your knowledge of other countries within the
Commonwealth and learn about the development of the Commonwealth of Nations. The final
challenge tests dedication to the community; you have to carry out a minimum of 20 hours of
voluntary work within your local community. There are also two additional challenges, based on a
theme of your choice. Some potential choices include health, environment and culture heritage.