Teenage student heads to South Korea on guiding trip

Ranger Guide Sarah Fallon is one of just 12 in the North West to be selected for a lifetime trip to South Korea.

Sarah, 14, became a member of 1st Whitworth Guides after moving to Whitworth from Haslingden in 2020 and is now a Ranger. The Year 10 student at Whitworth Community High School was introduced to Girl Guiding by her grandma Christine Fallon after she moved to Whitworth.

She said: “I had never done anything extracurricular, but I really like the community in Girl Guiding and everyone who goes is really nice. I soon felt like I knew everybody and we all get on really well.

“I love the different experiences I get to do and meeting new people.”

North West Girl Guides run three international trips each year for Guides and Rangers aged 14 to 18 and one trip just for Guides.

Two camps are held in advance of the lucky participants being selected for the conservation, community and culture trips.

Sarah said: “I was selected to take part in the culture trip and we all met up to decide where we wanted to go.

“We discussed America, Inter-railing in Scandinavia and then South Korea was mentioned and we all wanted to go.

“The Guides and Rangers and three leaders and meet up regularly and we also hold Skype calls once a month. We have to raise £2,200 each towards the trip which will be 12-14 days in the summer of 2025.

“We will be based in a hostel in Seoul and what I am most looking forward to is staying in a Buddhist Monastery. We also want to visit a temple and will be hiring traditional Korean dresses to wear.

“Another night we will be sleeping overnight in a capsule hotel. It is going to be so good. We have a group chat for everyone who is going and they all keep on coming up with more ideas of things we can do.”

The Guides and Rangers have already designed their own sew-on cloth badge for the trip, which they will also be selling.

Sarah is hoping to run a Hallowe’en Disco at The Ashcroft for all the Guide sections in the area and is planning to have a stall at Whitworth Community High School’s Christmas Fair.

She said: “My grandma is amazing and my dad Richard and step-mum Helen have been really supportive. Helen is teaching me how to make craft items to sell on my stalls and Christmas decorations.

“Leaders in my Guides are making gnomes and another Guide is crocheting items for the stall.”

She said they were also applying for grants to help towards costs.