Girlguiding unveils 72 new badges including 'Fandom' and 'Bee Rescuer'

Girlguiding, the UK's largest youth organisation for girls, has launched 72 new badges in one of the biggest updates in its 115-year history.

The new badges have been designed for girls aged 4 to 18 across all sections of Girlguiding; Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers. This is only the second time in the organisation's history that the badge programme has been updated on such a large scale.

Some of the new badges on offer are earned through laughter, kindness, or even strong interests, where enthusiasm over things like Taylor Swift could see teenage Rangers receive a Fandom badge.

Archive images courtesy of British Pathé

The new badges also cover a wide range of interests and skills, from interior design and food tasting to learning about insects and creating calm spaces.

They were developed after feedback from more than 20,000 girls and volunteers .

More than 4,000 badge ideas were submitted, and 11,000 girls helped test the new activities that each badge involves.

My voice is one of the new badges being introduced by Girlguiding

The badge activities were developed with Girlguiding's youth panel Amplify. Fatima, who is 18 and part of the group, says: "It's empowering to know our voices help shape what guiding looks like for the future."

The aim of the new badges is to give members more choice and to reflect the things they said they wanted to learn.

Amanda Azeez, Girlguiding Acting CEO said: "They've been designed by girls, for girls which is so important to make sure we are staying relevant to girls' wants and needs. My personal favourite is the Bee rescuer badge for Rainbows - I just love it!"

A badge renewal like this has only happened twice before in Girlguiding's 115-year history

Some of the new badges include:

• Courage: Helping younger members in Rainbows understand that being brave means trying new things, even when they feel nervous.

• Interior Designer: Giving girls the chance to plan, design and decorate a space using their creativity.

• Calm Spaces: Encouraging older members to create a relaxing environment that helps them feel calm and focused.

• Food Critic: Helping girls explore different flavours and express their opinions on what they do (or don't) like.

Since the last badge refresh in 2018, Girlguiding says more than 1.5 million badges have been earned by girls across the UK.

How did Girlguiding begin?

Princesses Elizabeth (left, future Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret Rose (right) were both Girl Guides

The Girl Guide Association was created in 1909 by a woman called Agnes Baden-Powell.

Agnes played an incredibly important role in the Girl Guide movement.

Her brother Robert had founded the Boy Scouts Association not long before, but many people didn't approve of girls taking part in outdoor activities, despite many wanting to take part.

Agnes wanted to change that and her brother was in full support of her creating an organisation specifically for girls.

Girl Guides were soon practising skills like cooking and first aid and there were lots of different badges they could earn.

Many of these skills became very useful when the First World War began and saw lots of men and boys go off to fight.

Famous Girl Guides include the late Queen Elizabeth, who became a Guide in 1937 at 11 when she was a princess.

In 1994 The Girl Guide Association's name was updated to the Guide Association.

It was updated again in 2002 and is known today as Girlguiding UK.