About Us

The Brigades @ Starbeck is the joining of two Christian based youth organisations in one place: The 3rd Harrogate company of The Boys’ Brigade (BB) and the 1st Harrogate company of the The Girls’ Brigade (GB) meet at, and are an integral part of, Starbeck Methodist Church.

 

The object of the Boys' Brigade is:

 

"The advancement of Christ's kingdom"

The object of the Girls' Brigade is:

 

"Seek, Serve, and

Follow Christ"

 

The Brigades strives to allow children a safe environment to develop a variety of different skills and their faith through an award-based activity scheme. Using these activities we can teach children to both interact within their age group and develop friendships that in many cases last a life time.

Award Schemes

Both the BB and GB have comprehensive awards scheme which are specifically tailored to each age group and help us build an inclusive and exciting program to cater for all needs. 

 

The BB work around 5 key areas:

 

  • Body - fit for fun, this is essentially games and physical activities
  • Mind - think and do, this contains simple puzzles and quizzes, thinking games and treasure hunts, hobbies and collections
  • Spirit - God and me, this covers devotions, prayers and worship, bible stories and characters, and Christian festivals
  • Community - me and my world, this includes activities on conservation, the local community, the church and helping others
  • Creativity - make and do, this involves crafts, cooking, mime and drama

 

The GB have recently created a new award scheme:

 

  • n:vestigate (ages 4-8) – This stage focuses on the girls having fun and making new friends, this means plenty of activities (usually accompanied by a lot of noise, mess and laughter!!)
  • n:gage (ages 7-11) – With this age group we spend more time developing themes – in the last year this has included astronomy and personal safety (involving a trip to the fire station)
  • n:counta (ages 11-14) – This section is more about giving the members space and time with their friends as well as new opportunities and challenges.
  • n:spire (ages 14-18) – In this section the young women are encouraged to take charge of their own programme and decide what they want to achieve on a Brigade Night. This allows them the flexibility to explore themes which are most relevant to them and helps them prepare for a life beyond school whether that is into further education or starting work. At this age they are given the opportunity to get involved with the younger groups as role models and helpers as well.

 

As The Brigades @ Starbeck we are able to utilise both award schemes ensure that your child not only enjoys their time with us but learns along the way and hopefully makes many friends!