I wonder if anyone here attended the RSGB Convention this week, and in particular, the exam update?
For those who didn't, here is an extract from my
The Exam Update took place on Saturday afternoon and was presented by Tony Kent G8PBH from the RSGB¡¯s Exam Standards Committee. This was an overview of exam activities, including the rollout of the 2019 syllabus, plus the revised structure of the group (including the new Exams and Syllabus Review Group). Some notes:
The stats for exams from Jan to Sep 2019 were presented, plus the stats for the first full month of the new syllabus. With only 13 exams (29 candidates) taking place in September, Tony reported that it¡¯s too early to make any judgement base on this limited data.
Takeup of the online exams is only running at around 25%, which appears to be lower than the RSGB would like. Several questions were asked about online exams, and handling Internet dropouts during exams
One member of the audience asked for the RSGB¡¯s comments about rumours of a possible new entry-level, or fourth-level exam. The response was that this was nothing to do with the RSGB ESC, and is apparently a ¡°discussion that other people are having¡±.
RSGB is recruiting for members to join ESRG (Exams and Syllabus Review Group).
The direct-to-Full exam and syllabus has been ¡°delayed¡±, due to the re-org/recruitment of EG to ESRG
Disappointing that there was no tutor session this year ¨C just one talk on exams (compared to three training & exam sessions last year). Could the RSGB¡¯s apparent lack of interest in supporting and talking to its volunteer trainers signal that change is in the air? Could a new entry-level exam, remote online exams and a theory-based direct-to-full exam reduce the need for tutors and clubs?