BHS exams - direct entry has anyone done this with success?

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wynnwith

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hi all - im desperate to do bhs exams to at least stage 4 i have many years experience but not a lot of money or time to go through all the exams - i need to get to a level i can teach at as soon as possible and earn an income. i know you can do a direct entry to say stage 3 but no idea how easy this is or what the best was is to go about it. i recently went to ingestre for a lesson & was told i was ready for stage 1, 2 and 3 now but not sure if i wasting time trying to get direct entry or whether i need to just suck it up get a loan and do all the exams - also the early stages are so booked up its hard to get on to them. sorry for the waffle, any help or advice would be massively appreciated!
 
Hey, it’s been a long time since I was involved in the industry but I have avoided some exams. I did riding and road safety and then assistant ride leader (level 2), I did stage 2 knowledge and care, ride leader (level 3), NVQ 3 with riding and jumping as an element, level 2 generic equine coaching and PTT. The assistant and ride leader exams are trekking centre exams. NVQ’s are now BTEC quals. I reckon you could go to college to do a level 3 course but would still need to top up with a few elements of BHS 3. However, this was a few years ago so I don’t know for sure. Could you call the BHS for advice or contact a local apprenticeship place? Good luck though!
 
wynnwith said:
hi all - im desperate to do bhs exams to at least stage 4 i have many years experience but not a lot of money or time to go through all the exams - i need to get to a level i can teach at as soon as possible and earn an income. i know you can do a direct entry to say stage 3 but no idea how easy this is or what the best was is to go about it. i recently went to ingestre for a lesson & was told i was ready for stage 1, 2 and 3 now but not sure if i wasting time trying to get direct entry or whether i need to just suck it up get a loan and do all the exams - also the early stages are so booked up its hard to get on to them. sorry for the waffle, any help or advice would be massively appreciated!
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I didn't do a direct entry although I think I may have been eligible to due to competition history I believe you can jump up that way, I am quite glad I didn't though as although I have many years experience and was ahead riding wise than a lot of the candidates I did feel I learnt a lot about the way the bhs wanted things done, basic things I probably would have failed the higher exams on if I hadn't picked them up in the earlier ones. Obviously you may be ok but I really did learn loads from the earlier exams that helped me on the later ones. Otherwise you may be able to take the UKCC route if that's easier (and cheaper?).
 
I did direct entry to Stage 3 many years ago, I had to do a horsey CV (including some evidence of results) and provide at least 2 referees as to my competence. (and I had to provide my pony club riding & road safety certificate - that was the hardest bit as it took me ages to find it in my mum's loft)

One thing to note is that its a one time thing - if you fail the exam you are bumped back to the bottom so if I'd failed I would have had to do stages 1 and 2. At the time I did it this was split between SM and Riding so you could pass half of it.

I don't know if any of this applies now.
 
I don't think that is the case currently - it's certainly not shown in any of the materials I've read on direct entry. The exam waiver is valid for 5 years, which implies to me you have that length of time to pass the exams at the chosen entry level, including re-sits.

If you do have a question though, the BHS team are really helpful - they've been helping me with my application very well.
 
If anybody is at all interested, I went for an assessment with Tim (FBHS and BHS Assessor) at Ingestre today. Annoyed with how I rode, but that’s the way things go.

Anyway - he has recommended applying for direct entry at Stage 4. Definitely some things to work on - I’ve lost quite a bit of nuance through ages riding youngsters and naughty things, but if I put that right 4/5 won’t be a problem. Here we go...!
 
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