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Essex Ham

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RSGB announces removal of exam practials

Posted: 01 Oct 2021 09:22 AM PDT https://feedpress.me/link/22841/14785839/rsgb-removes-practicals.html


The RSGB has today announced the permanent removal of the practical
elements of the entry-level Foundation exam. This follows the scrapping of
the Intermediate practicals in 2020.

Here is the wording of todays official announcement:

The mandatory Foundation level practical assessments have been suspended
during the past 18 months when clubs were unable to meet in-person due to
the Covid-19 pandemic. This has allowed over 4,500 candidates to take the remote-invigilation online Foundation exam through self-training and/or distance learning. Now that Covid-related social-distancing restrictions
are ended, clubs can meet again and re-start in-person training for those

candidates that want it. Naturally, tutors are wanting to know if and when
the mandatory practical assessments will be resumed. This was considered by
the RSGB Examinations Standards Committee (ESC) at its recent meeting, at
which Ofcom was represented, and we can now announce that the following

decision has been reached:

The current mandatory Foundation practical requirements, as detailed in
Section 10 of

Syllabus 2019 v1.4, are, with immediate effect, permanently removed.

The announcement concludes with a suggestion that practicals will be
considered as part of the next major syllabus review, and that clubs are
free to offer practicals if they wish, they just wont be mandatory.
One of the Amateur Radio Foundation Practical Assessments

For those not familiar with the practicals at Foundation, these consisted
of mandatory assessed FM and SSB QSOs, use of radio controls, setting up a station, antenna matching / SWR and either a Morse appreciation or a data
mode QSO.

Todays decision is largely set to polarise the UK amateur radio community,
with arguments both for and against, commonly:
In favour of removing practicals

This allows people to get licensed without the need to visit a club for practical sessions handy for those without easy access to a local club
It speeds up the licensing process no need for students to wait for a
local club to run a course
Many view practicals to be of limited value, not relevant, and often
treated as tick boxes
Allows more time for a club to focus on teaching the theory, or developing
its own, more relevant practicals
Removes the admin of the Registered Assessor and venue approval

Against the removal of practicals

Many people like to learn hands-on visually, as opposed to from a book or online videos
Clubs may feel cut out of the training loop, which is often an area for recruiting new members
RAE exams were often criticised for having no practical element and
producing operators with limited practical experience, something fixed with
the 3-tier system
Hands-on training encourages students and tutors to work together and
allows for a two-way interactive experience
Improves confidence when buying and setting up a station, and getting
on-air solo for the first time


As the RSGBs announcement suggests, clubs are still free to run hands-on practicals and demos during their training courses just because theyre no longer mandatory, that doesnt stop clubs from demonstrating concepts via
demos, practicals and show-and-tell.

Its already evident that during the pandemic, over 4,000 people have been
able to pass the exams and get on-air without the need for practicals or
the support of a bricks-and-mortar club. That said, many of the recent newcomers will have passed without touching a radio or adjusting an antenna.

Many clubs initially concerned about the removal of practicals will no
doubt see the opportunity that this change presents by putting on events
and skills / activity sessions aimed at helping newcomers, theyll be able
to offer a valuable service to newcomers, free from the burden of the exam structure and the admin of formally assessing exams. For many years here in Essex, we were heavily involved with a monthly Skills Night aimed at
helping newcomers to gain confidence and try something new.

Moving forward, we can expect to see the smarter clubs moving towards
training and skills development, as a way to attract newcomers to their
clubs, and to fill the need for local hands-on support and advice for the
new generation of online exam students.
Your thoughts?

What do you think of the removal of practicals? Have your say belowThe post RSGB announces removal of exam practials first appeared on Essex Ham.

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