Keeping Reigate Beekeepers in touch with each other and events.
The BBKA has circulated the document below featuring all the additional training courses being offered for 2023. https://www.bbka.org.uk/pages/shop/department/training-courses
Please direct any queries to: [Read more…]
Once again, this will be a joint venture between Croydon and Reigate BKAs, and is supported and endorsed by both Associations.
Anna Slade writes …
The objective of this study group is to offer the opportunity to study, and gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of: hive types; selecting apiaries; prevention and detection of swarming; methods of swarm control; seasonal management; signs of queen status – these are just a few of the topics covered in the syllabus.
Who is Module 1 ideally for? Well, anyone who has kept bees for more than one year, and preferably has completed (or is working towards) the Basic Practical Assessment (BPA), is welcome to participate in this group. Module 1 complements the BPA, but is best completed afterwards, building on the foundations of the BPA to widen and deepen the knowledge gained. It’s a logical step for those who have taken their BPA to move on to modular learning, and many undertake Module 1 first, although the modules can be taken in any order (except for Module 8, which has to be taken last). In this study group, we intend to complete the Module 1 syllabus in time to take the exam in November 2022, although there is no obligation to sit the exam.
Those also taking the BPA need not be too concerned to the depth Module 1 goes into for their preparation for the practical exam; however there are many synergies between the Module 1 syllabus and the BPA, so your practical learning will complement your theoretical learning in Module 1.
There is NO financial cost to you as a participant, as long as you are a current member of either Reigate or Croydon BKA. However there is a cost in terms of your time and your participation in assisting group learning, whilst also respecting others in the group, as those leading, presenting or assisting are all volunteers, each one at a different stage in their beekeeping journey, and many juggling full-time jobs and families.
The course arrangements are as follows:
If you are interested, or have any questions, please contact Keith Mackie on 07786 024325 or keith@mrmackie.com, Debbie Burney on 07810 172938 or debbie@mrsburneysbeeclub.co.uk, or Anna Slade on 07947 431053 or annaslade@virginmedia.com.
Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to studying with you!
Kind regards
The Module 1 Leadership Team (formed of RBKA and CBKA members)
Keith Mackie writes …
The intention is to undertake the exam in March 2022, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to, and don’t be shy about coming along and joining the study group on Zoom. The plan is to do fortnightly study groups on a Monday, from 8pm till 9:30pm, working through the syllabus of this module.
Debbie Burney, Alexandra Collins, and myself are coordinating the groups progress through the theory of this course, culminating in what we hope will be most of the group taking the exam. We plan that different members of the group, will present sections of the syllabus to the others in the group; to share the work and as a group work together using shared research notes.
Croydon BKA (CBKA) has kindly funded the BBKA correspondence course & Zoom facility for the Study Group. The correspondence course provides sample exam papers to be completed and submitted to an outside assessor for marking and annotation, providing a wonderfully complete set of answers which can then be used for revision and exam practice. The revision / study notes will be compiled to create an array of study material which will then be available to CBKA’s members for their use in future years.
It was discovered this week that an updated syllabus is being launched for the 2022 exams, with extra points added! These include the development history of extraction equipment, management of bee colonies for honey production from specialist crops, honey granulation and the properties and use of honey for wound care.
The first three fortnightly sessions will cover the following topics:
Further weeks will cover general topics such as the constituents of honey and beeswax, the use of other bee products, the main nectar and pollen producing plants of the UK and so on.
The BBKA exams can now be taken at home under strict guidelines as well as at exam centres, which means that no travel time or costs need be incurred. Those who took Modules earlier this year will be interested to know that the computer portal which ensured no internet access during the exam has been updated, requiring a new set of software protocols to be installed, but we can worry about this in the new year!
(The notice will also appear on the website and social media and in the BBKA News.)
The application details [click here] can be found on the BBKA website (You need to be logged into the BBKA website to view)
Completed forms and cheques payable to ‘BBKA’ should be given or posted in good time to:- Celia Perry – County Exam Secretary
For the postal address, or if you have any related queries, please contact Celia either by phone; on 07903 991120 or by email at; beeexams@hotmail.co.uk
Please do not leave it until the last minute to send in your form and cheque, because all the forms and payments still need to be forwarded, by Celia, to the National Beekeeping Centre at Stoneleigh within a week of the above deadlines.
A BIG thumbs up message from our County Exam Secretary and member of the BBKA Exam Board … Celia Perry … for Reigate Beekeeping Division candidates who took the BBKA Basic Assessment this July 2019 at the Henfold apiary..
With a pass mark being 50% and a credit being 70%, the following members now have their beekeeping ‘wings’.
Nick Clark, (Pass)
Lisa Gallo, (Credit)
Sue Hanley, (Credit)
Deborah Jardine , (Pass)
Brian Kay, (Credit)
Andrea McIver, (Credit)
Richard Pfeil (Pass)
Helen Stocker (Credit)
“Your certificates and badges will be presented to you at the AGM in November”
And this from Andrew Cornwall …
“Many Congratulations to all those who took their Basic Assessment this year. Another Full House of Passes and Credits. Well done to you all!
And thanks also to Colin Clement and Jim Cooper who deserve much credit for all their work tutoring on the hives & helping me in the Weekly Theme sessions.
Next year you’ll get the chance to either have a go at co-tutoring a Beginner’s hive or joining an Improver’s hive, under the joint direction of Vince Gallo & Mike Hill.
Thank you for being such a challenging and engaged group. You’ve kept me on my toes with your questions!
Many Congratulations again! Your hard work obviously paid off. You are now Beekeepers, no longer mere keepers of bees.”
Finally thanks, and well done to Andrew Cornwall and all the hive tutors for another great job with the Education Programme and once again to Celia Perry & Bob Maurer for providing the Mock Assessment experience.
Exams may not necessarily be the reason why people take up bee-keeping, but it is hoped that some of the candidates will want to go on and try either the Modules or the General Husbandry, or maybe both, in due course.
For more info on ‘life after the Basic’ Click here.
Congratulations to Keith Mackie and Trevor Keast for their achievements in the November 2018 sessions of BBKA Written Module Examinations...
Planning to sit Module exams or undergo Assessments this year? Closing Dates for completed registration forms, with payments or proof of payments as appropriate, for entries to take BBKA Module exams and Assessments in 2019 to have been RECEIVED by Celia Perry ( beeexams@hotmail.co.uk ) … are:
Visit BBKA website for Registration forms and details of fees and payment methods.
Reigate member, Adam Leitch, National Diploma in Beekeeping (NDB) and Tony Harris NDB (Scottish Beekeepers) are teaching a short course “Handling Skills” on Sunday 12th May and Monday 13th May 2019 at Reigate’s Training Apiary, in Surrey.
An ‘Early-Bird’ discount applies, so the 2 days of training & lunch is £88 if booked early.
The course details, and all other information including booking can be found on the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/handling-skills-reigate-tickets-53445580169
NDB Short Courses are aimed at all beekeepers, to assist you in developing your own bee handling capabilities and knowledge, and are open to all. The courses are subsidised by FERA, and provide an intensive, but fun mixture of beekeeping theory & practice, and are both classroom and apiary based, with lots of opportunities for questions and participation. The courses will equip you with skills to manage and understand your own bees better, whether you are just looking to get more enjoyment from your beekeeping and develop your skills to make beekeeping more enjoyable and easier, or you are taking BBKA exams, and looking to learn best practices from expert tutors.
For details of all upcoming NDB Short Courses visit the NDB website
http://national-diploma-beekeeping.org/front-page/short-courses/
To facilitate RBKA members taking the Honey Bee Health Certificate next year, plans have been drawn up to use the pavilion at Henfold for a study group to get to grips with the theory side of the syllabus.Convenor: Andrew Cornwall, RBKA Education Coordinator
Target Membership:
Primary requirement:
Only open to RBKA Members (any category of membership) who already hold the BBKA Basic assessment.
Then:
Any member who would like to understand more about honey bee pests & diseases and take this stand alone certificate (N.B. NOT part of the route to Master Beekeeper);
or
Any member who is planning on taking the BBKA General Husbandry assessment within the next two years.
Meeting Dates: [Read more…]
Whilst it is still recommended that you pass the Basic Assessment before attempting any of the written modules, from March 2019, you will be able to take a module without having passed the basic Assessment. Up until now, if you wanted to take one of the written module exams, you had to first pass the Basic Assessment.
The BBKA Examination Board has taken this decision in the interests of inclusivity, to enable those people who, for whatever reason are unable to keep bees, to go through the module system if they wish.
You will still need to have passed the Basic Assessment if you want to take any of the practical assessments such as the Honey Bee Health Certificate.
Celia Perry
Surrey BKA Exam Secretary
BBKA Examination Board member
The BBKA Basic Assessment is an enabling exam that all beekeepers should plan to take within their first few years of beekeeping. But what happens next? Until this year, other than simply practicing what you have learnt to date, the next formal qualification options would have been to … study for the academically focused BBKA Theory Modules, … work towards the Microscopy Certificate, … or to prepare for the more practical BBKA’s General Husbandry Assessment. To take all of these you need to have passed the Basic Assessment.
From 2018 there will also two new practical assessments which are intended to help beekeepers achieve a better awareness of the needs of honey bees and their management. They are ‘Honeybee Health’ and ‘Breeding Honey Bees’. [Read more…]
You’ll hear people talk about ‘doing the Basic’ and you might wonder what it is all about. Celia Perry explains …The Basic Assessment is set by the BBKA and if you pass, it demonstrates to the rest of the world that you have reached a certain level of competency in beekeeping.
It has been compared with the driving test. But just as you can throw away your L plates on passing, it doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know about driving (or beekeeping). If you want to keep your bees on land belonging to someone else or on allotments, you may be asked to show you have achieved a certain standard and this is it. [Read more…]
The BBKA Basic Assessment is an enabling exam that frankly all beekeepers should plan to take within their first few years of beekeeping. But what happens next? Andrew Cornwall offers a personal insight into how he is approaching and tackling this question …
I don’t want to keep repeating my first few years of beekeeping over & over again. I want to learn more theory & practice.
To some extent I can do this by reading at home & going along to Henfold. [Read more…]
