Important updates to the Voyage award
Our Voyage award has now been running for 10 years and it was time for a little update to bring it inline with our brand update and following feedback from members and our Voyage coordinators.
At this stage, our first update is our record books. Other updates to the badge designs and certificates will come over the next 12+ months as we deplete the current stock that we have. This is to reduce any wastage so it will be perfectly normal for members to have the previous brand and current brand side by side. We have worked hard to update the designs without changing them dramatically from the originals.
Book changes
The updated record books are slightly bigger (now A5 size like our magazine), with more space for notes, and more detailed information for mentors as well as updates to the activity suggestions.
Increase in cost
Along with this comes a small increase in cost. This is the first cost rise since the Voyage award began 10 years ago and this reflects an uptick in production costs for the certificates, badges, books and also a rise in postage costs.
The Voyage award now costs £7 per level.
Replacement books cost £4 each. Replacement badges and certificates cost £1.50 each. If you need replacements, please email us. If you have completed a level, you an purchase cloth Voyage award badges from our online shop. These now cost £1.50 each.
We have updated our application form, so please ensure you are using the 2024 form to apply. Or apply directly via our website where the costs have been updated automatically. If you apply using an out of date form, we will gently request that you pay the difference in cost.
Our Voyage award is a personal challenge aimed at supporting members to identify their skills, improve on what they know, and learn new ones. It has 3 levels - bronze, silver and gold - and for each level there are challenges to compete designed around 5 key areas.
Although this is a personal challenge, individuals can work as a group to support and encourage each other.
Each level is completed one at a time, in your own time. All levels have a minimum time to complete it within, but no maximum, so you can work at a pace that is best for you. After completing each level, you will be awarded with a certificate and metal pin badge.
Each level has 5 sections that can be worked in any order:
- service
- myself
- teamwork
- skills
- explore my world
Choose an activity, skill, or challenge for each section, and find a mentor who can support you for each one. You can find out more about the role of the mentor on the downloadable guide.
When you sign up for your bronze award you will receive a record book in the post. Use this record book to record your hours and achievements.
If you'd like to find out more we have a handy guide with lots of examples of activities. We also have frequently asked questions at the bottom of the page.
The Voyage award is only available for members of Trefoil Guild in the UK and TGIFC, and we can only send badges and record books to members who are registered with us.
How to apply
Each level of the Voyage award costs just £7. You can apply for your silver once your bronze has been signed off, and your gold once your silver level has been signed off. To apply for any level, use the link below.
Sign up
If you can't apply online, please use our form, and make payment via the details on the form.
Got a question about our Voyage award?
Check out our FAQ's and if you still can't find the answer, contact your country or region Voyage coordinators.
Or you could try asking other members. Have you joined our Trefoil challenges Facebook group? You will need your membership number to join.
Need to find a mentor?
Our new mentor information sheet can help you explain the role.
Please see your country and region page to find your Voyage award coordinator's contact details. If you cannot find their details on your country or region page, contact your county programme and development adviser.
If you are a member of a nationally registered guild, you can your coordinator's details by checking the country or region page for the area you live in. For TGIFC, your coordinator is your region chair.
National programme and development adviser: Caroline Harries
Voyage award FAQs
You can apply online here. Once you have applied, you will be sent a Voyage award record book and welcome letter, then it’s over to you!
Apply here
If you cannot apply online, please download a form and send payment via the details on the form. Cheques are made payable to ‘The Trefoil Guild’.
A metal badge and certificate will be presented to you by your county chair after you complete a level and it has been signed off and processed by your Voyage award coordinator. You can also purchase cloth versions of our bronze, silver and gold badges if you have completed the relevant level. Speak to your country or region coordinator, or purchase them via the Trefoil shop.
Visit shop
In the first instance, you should contact your country or region coordinator. You can find their details on your country or region page. If you cannot find their details, contact your county programme and development adviser. If you are a member of a nationally registered guild, you can your coordinator's details by checking the country or region page for the area you live in. For TGIFC, your coordinator is your region chair.
Yes, replacements are £4 each for the books. Certificates and badges are £1.50 each. Send a payment via BACS for £4 or £1.50 to the Trefoil Guild office account (details on the voyage application form) with the relevant reference:
membership number+voyagebook
membership number+voyagecert
membership number+metalbadge
Please email us to say what it is for and which level (bronze, silver or gold) that you need replacement items for. Alternatively, you can send a cheque and a note to the office address. Cheques are made payable to The Trefoil Guild.
Can Guiding leaders also take part? Voyage award is for Trefoil Guild members in the UK and TGIFC only. We are happy to share our award with Trefoil Guilds around the world, but we are unable to administer the award in other countries.
To join, find your local Trefoil today:
Your coordinator is the country or region coordinator for the area in which you live. This will differ for members in your Trefoil if they live in different parts of the UK. For TGIFC members, your coordinator is your region chair. You can find the relevant coordinators details on via the appropriate country or region page.
There is no rush or pressure for you to complete each levels so there is no maximum time limit. However, there is a minimum time limit to help you make the most of the award by. For bronze, the minimum time to complete is 6 months and 12 months for silver and gold.
No, the activities for your sections must start once you have registered for each level of the Voyage award.
Once you have completed a level, send your record book to your country or region coordinator. They will sign it off and return it to you after which you can apply online or send in a registration form for the next level.
Take precaution when sending your book. You can always use recorded delivery and we do recommend keeping copies of your work in case your book gets lost in the post.
We ask members to register and pay for each level to inform us that you have completed one level and moved on to the next. It also helps us ensure your details are up to date. The £7 fee for each level covers the costs associated with taking part in the Voyage award such as your record book, postage, badges and certificates.
The evidence file is to keep anything and everything that you have for your award – this could include correspondence, photos, leaflets, samples of work and so on. Keep a file of evidence that you can show to your mentor about what you have done – it is also quite nice to show others in your Trefoil, county or region as an example of what they could achieve by undertaking the Voyage award.
The record book is a short summary of what you have done throughout your award. The record book is the only thing you send into your coordinator when you have completed all the sections of your award to have that level signed off. Your coordinator only needs enough information in your book to see that you have completed all sections with the required hours and that your mentor is satisfied with your evidence and progress.
You can summarise the activity, include the hours completed on the record page and ask your mentor to sign it off. Your mentor will have looked at your evidence file and could write more in there if wanted.
Anyone who has an interest or good knowledge of whatever you are doing like the leader of the unit you are helping with or a tutor in IT if you are taking a course on computing. It can be a Trefoil member if they are appropriate for the role. See above for our mentor information help sheet.
The activities are only suggestions so you don’t have to do any of these. There are plenty of other things you can do, as long as you challenge yourself.
The suggested activities are divided into categories to make it clear what kind of activities you can do. The only section that you must do an activity from both categories is teamwork, where you must plan and participate in an event, however you don’t have to use the suggestions in the book, you could plan and participate in any event.
You may choose any section – perhaps choose the one for which you are short of hours. Remember, you can’t use one activity in more than one section!
Hours spent travelling to a venue where your activity or service takes place cannot be counted in your totals. However, where appropriate, times can include planning and preparation for the event, activity or service.
No, you may wish to do all your activities at the same time – but this may not be the best idea as it is a lot of work to complete at once, plus you have a minimum of 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold) after your date of registration to complete the award so there really is no reason to rush through it.
As with everything in guiding the challenge should be to do the best one can. This is why the mentor is so important, they should be discussing plans with the participant and encouraging them to stretch themselves. Therefore if the mentor is happy then the section can be signed off.
As long as the whole award level takes you the minimum 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold) then this is okay. However it is your mentor’s role to agree your plan and ensure that you carry out the activity to the best of your ability in the best amount of time. You only have to record your activity for the required number of hours. If you choose to continue with the activity then that’s great and you can write about this in your evidence file.
If you are able to complete the full amount of hours on 1 activity then that if preferable, as you are then making a considerable difference to others as well as yourself. However if this isn't possible then it can be spread over more than one activity.
If you would like to continue with an activity you have been taking part in for the bronze level of the Voyage award to complete the silver level, the skills and knowledge must be extended and this must be documented in your evidence file and acknowledged by your mentor.
Some of the sections like explore my world state that 20 or 40 or 60 hours should be completed over a minimum of 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold) – however visiting a foreign country would be carried out in a couple of weeks research and a couple of weeks travel but would far exceed the hours count.
It is the mentor’s role to agree your plan, discuss your progress, offer advice and see that you carry out your chosen activity to the best of your ability in the best amount of time.
If the planned activity covers the hours required or more, but takes less than 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold), this is acceptable. However each level has to cover at least 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold) and the certificate and badge cannot be applied for before 6 months (bronze) or 12 months (silver or gold) has elapsed.
You can download our handy guide here to share with other members. You can also make a presentation about your own Voyage award to encourage others. We have a PowerPoint template for members in our info and resources section.
The first Voyage Award record books were printed in 2013 when Trefoil Guild took on the award nationally after Anglia had run a pilot scheme.
The original record books ran out in late 2014 and some improvements were made to the 2015 version.
If you have the 2013 record books you are expected complete the level you are working on and then to work to the updated 2015 guidelines - see below.
Bronze update 2014
From 2014, the minimum time for completion of the bronze level has been reduced from 12 months to 6 months. Therefore anyone who has been working on their bronze award for more than 6 months may send in their record books in as soon as all sections are completed. There is no change to the minimum 12 months requirement for the silver and gold levels of the Voyage award.