Life in Guiding
Sections and ages
How the UK's youth sections have been named and organised since 1909, with the dates we are sure of and the ones we are not.
Today the UK has four youth sections: Rainbows (4–7), Brownies (7–10), Guides (10–14) and Rangers (14–18). Moving up between sections is flexible, and as a reasonable adjustment for disabled members Girlguiding can be flexible about the upper age of a section (young members policy).
The history is less tidy. Section names changed, ages changed and exceptions existed. We will not publish a single definitive age table until the different editions of the rules have been compared, so ages below are given only where a source supports them.
| Section | Name used | Dates | Ages | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbows | Rainbows | 1987–2021 | 5–7 (from 4 in Ulster) | Evidence status: Verified |
| Rainbows Minimum age lowered to 4 across the UK in 2022, after a pilot from autumn 2021. |
2022–today | 4–7 today | Evidence status: Verified | |
| Brownies | Rosebuds | 1914 | under 11 (about 8–11 in secondary accounts) | Evidence status: Verified |
| Brownies | 1915–today | 7–10 today | Evidence status: Verified | |
| Guides | Girl Scouts (self-organised) | 1908–1909 | varied | Evidence status: Verified |
| Girl Guides / Guides | 1910–today | 10–14 today | Evidence status: Verified | |
| Rangers | Senior Guides | 1916–1919 | over 16 | Evidence status: Verified |
| Rangers (Sea Rangers from 1920/27; Land and Air Rangers from 1943) The dates of the Sea, Land and Air Ranger branches are in some doubt; sources give 1943 or 1945 for Air Rangers. |
1920–1966 | to be confirmed | Evidence status: Unconfirmed | |
| Senior Branch / Ranger Guide Service Section Sources differ on whether the 1967–68 amalgamation was first called "Senior Branch" or the "Ranger Guide Service Section". |
1967–1972 | to be confirmed | Evidence status: Unconfirmed | |
| Ranger Guides / Ranger Guide Units Dates rest on enthusiast chronologies; to confirm from annual reports. |
1973–1993 | to be confirmed | Evidence status: Unconfirmed | |
| The Senior Section Start date approximate. |
1994–2017 | 14–25 | Evidence status: Unconfirmed | |
| Rangers Announced in 2018 with the new programme; Girlguiding's leaflet for parents says Rangers replaced The Senior Section from the 2019–20 school year. The exact changeover date is not yet confirmed. |
2018–today | 14–18 today | Evidence status: Unconfirmed |
Rainbows
Formally added as the youngest UK section in 1987, after the Executive Committee decided in 1983 to create a programme for young girls. Northern Ireland had already run a "Bunny Scheme" for younger girls; sources date its start variously to the 1950s and to 1965. Rainbows were for ages 5–7 until 2022, when 4-year-olds could join across the UK, as they always had in Ulster.
Brownies
Began as Rosebuds in 1914 and renamed Brownies in 1915, after Juliana Horatia Ewing's story "The Brownies". The first Brownie handbook appeared in 1920. Entry ages in later rules editions are still to be compared.
Guides
Girls registered as Scouts from 1908, before a separate scheme for Girl Guides was published in November 1909 and formally organised in 1910. Early entry ages need checking against the first rules.
Rangers
Senior Guides (for girls over 16) began in 1916 and became Rangers in 1920. Sea Rangers, Cadet Rangers and, during the Second World War, Land and Air Rangers followed. After the 1967–68 reorganisation the section had several names, including The Senior Section (for 14–25-year-olds), before "Rangers" was restored with the 2018 programme. The dates of each change after 1967 still need confirming from annual reports.
Adults are not a “section”
Young Leaders, adult volunteers, the Trefoil Guild (founded 1943) and the Inspire community for 18–30-year-olds are part of the wider guiding family but are not youth sections. We will explain each separately.
Beyond the UK
Other countries organise their sections differently and use different names. In Canada, for example, Brownies were renamed Embers in 2023. Country pages will set out each organisation’s own structure.
Current ages from Girlguiding’s section structure page, last checked 25 September 2026.