Senior Section

The Senior Section is a flexible programme open to all members of Guiding aged 14-26. Young women can be Young Leaders, Rangers, Lones, In4mers, Adult Leaders, SSAGO or even Trefoil Guild members. All Senior Section members can participate in the Look Wider programme and more details of national opportunities and information about the section can be found at www.girlguiding.org.uk/seniorsection and regional opportunities can be found on www.girlguiding-anglia.org.uk.

In4mers are trained peer educators from the Senior Section who run sessions for other Brownies, Guides, other Senior Section members and Leaders. You can also work with schools or youth groups and can facilitate as many sessions as you like each year. Being an in4mer can be your only role in guiding, or you can combine it with being a Ranger or Leader.

In4mers can be trained to deliver sessions on:
    * binge drinking
    * bullying
    * eating disorders
    * disability awareness
    * the media
    * refugees
    * self- esteem
    * sexual health
    * stress management
    * world poverty and development.
They can also research and run sessions on other topics.

Trainings to become an in4mer are free and are run nationally, by Anglia in the Region and in some Counties. At the basic trainings you'll learn in a hands-on way, exploring the skills and methods used in peer education through different activities. You will also receive practical tools like ideas for games and activities, you'll receive information on the topics and how to get 4 started in you local guiding area. use the Contact us form to find out when the next one is taking place. If you'd like to find out more about peer education, how about inviting an in4mer to your unit for a topic or taster session?

Once you've been to a basic training and become an in4mer there is plenty more opportunites to develop your peer education skills - how about a topic training to learn about a new area or even an advanced training.The Advanced Training is a fun packed weekend which gives you the knowledge, skills and confidence to pass peer education techniques on to others. This could be either new In4mers - by being a trainer at a Basic Training - or it could be Brownies and Guides, through PETiT 4 (Peer Education Techniques in Training) sessions.

There are other roles within 4 such as Supporters or Coordinators - Over 25s can fill these roles and the Senior Section CD has more information. There is also 4CaST which is 4s National Coordination and Support Team, open to In4mers, Supporters and Coordinators. More details on this are given to in4mers at the basic training.

If you would like to know more about the 4 initiative, use the contact us form.
4 is an exciting peer education initiative all about working 4ward, 4 self, 4 others. The aim is: To enable the development of skills, knowledge and understanding of girls and young women by creating opportunities for them to learn from each other.

February 2012

Proms in the Park

Now, for some people, getting up at 7am on a Saturday to catch the 8.30 train might not be the best of experiences but boy was it worth it! – 17 of us, Guides, Senior Section and our leaders, spent a day in London, seeing the Guiding sights, exploring the city then taking part in one of the biggest events of the year. This world famous event featured 5 hours of music and entertainment, ending with a live link to the Royal Albert Hall for the traditional festivities of thousands of voices and exhausting flag waving and a magnificent firework display.

After a fun filled train journey, we made our way to the Crystal Palace Maze, dodging all the fun-runners along the way. The maze, which was officially opened on Saturday 5^th September 2009 to celebrate the centenary year, was a brilliant way to start the day. We unintentionally split into different groups, one taking the logical routes, planning where would be best to go, one, the leaders, following each other in what looked like a conga line, and the last, my group, flipped a coin at every possible turning. No matter what way you chose to battle the maze, you would have the most fun trying to get to the centre!

Lunch, some would argue THE most important time of the day, took us to Pizza Hut. Our order of 9 pizza’s, 3 garlic bread, however many wedges and about 4 litres of fizzy drinks were probably not anticipated by the friendly waiter but he rose to the challenge! Maybe we didn’t get them in the time we should have but they still tasted good.

Now we get to the highlight of the day, the entire reason for making the 142 mile round trip to the ‘City of Smoke’, The Prom in the Park. We managed to settle down amongst the picnics and, while everyone was getting seated, the warm up bands came on, played their pieces and left. But then, The Jersey Boys came on stage, making everyone stand up and dance to the high pitched ‘Sherry’s’ that followed! Then followed the brilliant Bjorn Again with their stunning ABBA costumes and dance routines. After the introductory bands and acts, the headliners began. These included stars like Sir Terry Wogan, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Neil Sedaka and José Carreras. I know what you’re thinking, who are these people? (Apart from Sir Terry Wogan, of course!) Even though I’m not a great opera or classical fan myself, I couldn’t have enjoyed them more! Even with a crowd of 40,000 voices, you could lie back, close your eyes and just listen. After this unwind came the rock! The world renowned Kerry Ellis wandered onto the stage and was shortly joined by insanely talented ex-Queen guitarist, Brian May. With his massive head of hair and her tiny shiny dress, they really were a match made in heaven! If you haven’t guessed already, I am a huge fan of both these artists but have never seen them perform live together. I really would suggest going to see them, especially at the Proms, the atmosphere was astounding!

Once the main acts had finished, it was time for the traditional sing-a-long of Rule Britannia and the National Anthem with the sea of Union Flags waving in the moonlight, illuminated by the intense spotlights. The great British Patriotism remained and was finished with a wonderful display of fireworks which we enjoyed as we slowly crept closer to the Orange Exit.

After a really enjoyable day we still had the long train journey home. This was joined by two slightly merry men who mistook our leader for Arkala and then started calling her Mum and asking countless times to get woken up for their stop! This really ended the day well, giving us all a good giggle before our trip back into our beds!

Jennifer Collins

Huntingdon Senior Section and ASSK Representative