Walking Qualifications - Options for Assessment

Our walking leadership schemes are all designed around developing your personal skills as a leader of others. The terrain is different in each scheme (Lowland, Hill and Moorland, Mountain), but the principles are very similar which is why we’ve always made it possible for candidates who have attended one of our training courses, to attend a ‘lower’ level of assessment. There are many reasons why people might do this; for some it’s due to changing circumstances which means a different assessment is more appropriate, some people never intend to take the assessment that would normally follow the training course they’ve attended and some people just want to develop their confidence.

We have now streamlined the process so that candidates who have completed a Mountain Leader or Hill and Moorland Leader training course, may be assessed at a 'lower' level, as long as they are registered for that scheme.

(In the past, candidates had to apply for exemption from training if they wanted to attend a lower level of assessment. This was always granted as we were effectively accrediting their prior learning on a different Mountain Training course, but it involved an administrator editing their account accordingly – this is no longer necessary.)

For example, if a candidate has completed Mountain Leader training, they may now attend a Hill and Moorland Leader or Lowland Leader assessment without needing exemption from training, as long as they are registered for that scheme (registration on the new scheme was always necessary). The same is now true for Hill and Moorland Leader trainees, who may attend a Lowland Leader assessment without applying for exemption from training as long as they are registered.

NB. If candidates decide to take an assessment for a scheme they have not been trained for, they still need appropriate experience in that terrain as each presents its own challenges, particularly with regards to access and common hazards.