The Girls' Brigade International Council

The Girls' Brigade International Council

Scotland

General Information
Area	78,772 Sq.Km ( 30,414 Sq.Mi.)
Population	5.1 million
Currency	1 Pound Sterling = 100 pence
Capital	Edinburgh	Time
Government	Parliamentary Democracy	GMT
Head of State	Queen Elizabeth II
Languages	English and Gaelic, which is spoken by 1.4% of the population mainly in the Highlands and Western Islands
Religions	Christian
Major Industries	Banking and finance, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, whisky, tourism

Geography

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom and consists of a large mainland and about 790 islands, 130 of which are inhabited. It is bordered to the east by the North Sea, the south by England and to the west and north by the Atlantic Ocean. Geographically, Scotland can be divided into three areas; the Southern Uplands are the fertile plains and hills bordering England; the Central Lowlands run from Edinburgh to Glasgow and contain the industrial belt and most of the population, while the Highlands are mountain ranges of sandstone and granite, rising to their heights at Ben Nevis (1343m), Britain's highest mountain.


Climate
The climate in Scotland is very ‘varied’ and can change quite significantly over seemingly small distances. The east coast tends to be cool and dry with winter temperatures rarely dropping below freezing, while the west coast is milder and wetter, with average summer highs of 19°C (66°F). The Highlands, however, can have extreme weather at any time. May and June are the driest months of the year; whilst July and August are the warmest.

Wildlife
Much of Scotland was once covered by the Caledonian forest, a mix of Scots pine, oak, silver birch, willow, alder, rowan and heather. Today, this has been reduced to a few small areas of indigenous vegetation. Almost three-quarters of the country is uncultivated bog, rock and heather, with about 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) of acidic peat. In the far north there are lichens and mosses found nowhere else in the United Kingdom.
Scotland’s fauna mainly consists of wild boars, wildcats, wild goats, highland cattle, sheep, otters, minks and a large number of red deer. Scotland's famous game bird, the grouse, graze in large numbers on the heather, with millions of greylag geese wintering on the stubble fields of the lowlands. Seals are frequently seen, and visitors come from all over for the famed Scottish salmon.

Cuisine
Scotland has an enviable range of fresh ingredients at its disposal - meat, seafood and vegetables, as well as a reputation for some of the best game dishes in the world (smoked salmon, venison and grouse). Other legendary Scottish meals include porridge, shortbread, Scotch broth and haggis (a delectable mix of chopped lungs, heart and liver mixed with oatmeal and boiled in a sheep's stomach). Whisky is still the country's biggest export.

The Girls' Brigade

Structure :	CHURCH

	COMPANY
	CHAPLAIN
	CAPTAIN
	LIEUTENANTS
	WARRANT OFFICER
	BRIGADERS
	JUNIORS
	EXPLORERS

	DIVISION

	NATIONAL BOARD

Age Groups : GB Scotland provides a varied programme of activities for girls from school year Primary 1 to Secondary 6. The girls are assigned to groups according to their school year.
	Explorers	Primary 1 - 3
	Juniors	Primary 4 - 7
	Brigaders	Secondary 1 - 6

Uniform :	Explorers	Explorers wear a navy skirt, red crested sweatshirt, white crested polo shirt, white socks and black shoes.
	Juniors	Juniors wear a navy skirt, royal blue crested sweatshirt, white crested polo shirt, white socks and black shoes.
	Brigaders	Brigaders a navy skirt, navy crested sweatshirt, gold crested polo shirt, black tights and black shoes.
All girls wear a navy armband on their left arm where all their badges are worn.

Badge Work : All badge work is based on the four-sided programme.
	Explorers	Explorers work for three star awards: Bronze, Silver and Gold. There are twenty Explorer themes, which have Spiritual, Physical, Educational and Service components in each topic.
		Example themes are Animals, Caring and Creation.
	Juniors	Juniors work for two circle and two diamond awards. Badge work can be thematic, covering all aspects of the four-sided programme or can be one subject from each aspect.
		Example subjects are: Spiritual - Bible Heroes, Christian Caring; Physical - Potted Sports, National Dancing; Educational - Baking, GB in another Land; Service - Communication, Cycling Safety.
	Brigaders	Brigaders work for five awards, four triangles and a Brigader's Brooch. Following the four-sided programme, each girl requires 8 points to complete each triangle with each subject being worth 2 points. To complete the Brigader's Brooch a minimum of 6 points must be gained in each aspect of the four-sided programme.
		Example subjects are: Spiritual - Christian Calendar, Feelings; Physical - Aerobics, Sports Skills; Educational - Flower Craft, Scottish Heritage; Service - Addiction, Entertaining Others.
		Subjects completed for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award are accepted as part of the Brigader programme. Many Brigaders also complete the two-year syllabus to gain their Queen's Award.

National President : Mrs Anne Hosie, MBE

WEB SITE : www.girls-brigade-scotland.org.uk