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Thread: Doing the exams...

  1. #1
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    Default Doing the exams...

    This might sound like a bit of a plug for the SBA exam syllabus but having completed my first year's beekeeping I've been doing the BBKA Module 1 and Basic exam through our local association a bit further south I took the Module 1 - General Husbandry exam yesterday having done an evening every other week for the past 12 weeks to cover the coursework.

    I'm not sure how the SBA Certification differs, if at all, from the BBKA stuff, but as a new beekeeper I definitely recommend looking into the Basic exam and the first 3 Module, theory, papers especially if your association does what ours did and gets a bunch of you together to work through the correspondence course material. It's a great way to confirm what you think you know and highlight the stuff that, actually, you don't. Down here at least, a lot of people have never bothered doing the exams so in our group we had what was effectively a commercial beekeeper sitting an exam designed for someone like me with a year's experience. A great way to tap up some practical knowledge.

    Again, I don't know how comparable it is to the situation here, but around the South West of England, councils are starting to tighten down requirements for beekeepers wanting to keep bees on allotments, last year you had to be a member of your local Association, this year they want you to have the basic certificate too. Those of us currently not holding the basic certificate are still waiting to see if they make that requirement retroactive or just for new [potential] beekeepers.

  2. #2

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    H'mmmm.... I am tempted to do the first exam. What puts me off is another distance learning type course I did (not bee related), which I found incredibly dull and therefore almost impossible to motivate myself to sit and study it: it was something I was doing for interests' sake, not an enforced thing - so it wasn't like I was studying stuff that I wasn't genuinely interested in. The course notes were shocking and there was a huge amount of rote memorising of stuff.
    Anyhow, I don't think our local assoc has enough people interested to get a group together to do beek exam courses. To be honest, I've not made much of an effort to find out more about it though. I think may make that my mission for the week.... pretty sure the deadline is looming but not yet past.

    Anyhow, sounds like yours went well!

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    On the plus side, the Basic certificate is a practical rather than written exam so there's no excuse

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    You'll find that the more you pass the various modules the more beekeeping will grip you .Once you've passed the basic bits the more interesting and fascinating beekeeping becomes.

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    In the 1970's ,at Warwick University, trainee Teachers could do a ten weeks of beekeeping as one their three 'extra Curricular' courses of their professional training. We were encouraged to start beekeeping in schools, to get young people interested. Our eldest daughter did such a course at Myton School Warwick, under the guidance of one of her teachers, Peter Spencer of the Warwickshire beekeepers Association. Those were the 'good old days' before Health and Safety took such a firm hand in our lives.

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    Hi Nellie. Good for you for getting into the exam modules. It's often said that knowledge is power and the same is true in beekeeping circles. The more you know the better beekeeper you will become, the better you will treat the bees in your care and the more interesting you will be when speaking about beekeeping subjects.. The SBA exams are exactly the same as the BBKA. The SBA use the same papers, which has several advantages, the least of which is the standardisation of certification and standards. The way you have been studying sounds good as well. In my local association in Ayr, Scotland we did something similar, but unfortunately for not as long as you did. It's worth getting into the books early in the winter and taking your time to learn and consolidate the information. Unfortunately if you learn quick often you lose it quickly also.
    Best of luck for the other modules in the time to come. However don't stop at the first three modules, there is so much interesting stuff in the others, especially the biology. It's just miraculous what God packed into that little bee body and it is so well worth studying.
    Last edited by Phil McAnespie; 27-03-2010 at 02:42 AM. Reason: spelling correction

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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil McAnespie View Post
    It's just miraculous what God packed into that little bee body and it is so well worth studying.
    I agree!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil McAnespie View Post
    Hi Nellie. Good for you for getting into the exam modules. It's often said that knowledge is power and the same is true in beekeeping circles. The more you know the better beekeeper you will become, the better you will treat the bees in your care and the more interesting you will be when speaking about beekeeping subjects.. The SBA exams are exactly the same as the BBKA. The SBA use the same papers, which has several advantages, the least of which is the standardisation of certification and standards. The way you have been studying sounds good as well. In my local association in Ayr, Scotland we did something similar, but unfortunately for not as long as you did. It's worth getting into the books early in the winter and taking your time to learn and consolidate the information. Unfortunately if you learn quick often you lose it quickly also.
    Best of luck for the other modules in the time to come. However don't stop at the first three modules, there is so much interesting stuff in the others, especially the biology. It's just miraculous what God packed into that little bee body and it is so well worth studying.
    Thanks I just mentioned doing the first 3 specifically as that opens the door for the next level of practical exams if I recall correctly. Either way I've got my sights, eventually, on the Master Beekeeper qualification so I've no intention of leaving it at the first 3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nellie View Post
    Thanks I just mentioned doing the first 3 specifically as that opens the door for the next level of practical exams if I recall correctly. Either way I've got my sights, eventually, on the Master Beekeeper qualification so I've no intention of leaving it at the first 3
    Good for you!!!!

  10. #10

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    I would like to start studying for these bee exams (have just looked them up on the SBA home page). Just finished an OU degree and swore I wouldnt do anymore studying...but this is different....much more interesting. Will start with the basic exam but would like to work through them all. The microscope one looks particularly good. Do you have to buy a microscope for this and learn at home or is there a practical course out there? Few grey areas - do I just learn all the stuff in the syllabus then apply for sitting the exam? Is there an exam centre or what for sitting the exams?? Cant wait to get started!!

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