Frequently Asked Questions

The course content is the same, you have tutor support and access to the resources in the online classroom (Virtual Learning Environment or VLE) with both; the correspondence version gives you full-colour printed course notes to work from and to keep, and for that reason this course costs more.

If you aren’t happy reading notes on a computer or tablet, you may prefer this.  Of course, you can download and print out all the notes for yourself if you are studying the online course, but there are a lot of course notes.  

The VLE in which we deliver the courses is called Moodle, which runs with Microsoft and Apple systems.

Most of the material is loaded as pdfs, with powerpoints and some Word documents, so if you can open these you should be able to view your course.

If you use an iPad or tablet, you may find it easier to download material to a computer first then view the files.If you have problems, you can email enquiries@bestinhorticulture.co.uk

No, almost all the course materials can be downloaded and run offline whenever it suits you, or printed out at home if you want to get away from your screen. Sometimes the notes contain links to useful websites for further information, and you may like to go online to follow these up.

Narrated presentations (and videos for the practical courses) are linked from our YouTube channel so that they run more smoothly; and content like quizzes or sample online exams are interactive and can only be taken when you are online.

You will be enrolled in the ‘chat space’ related to your course; you will get notifications of posts ‘bounced’ to your home email, but you need to go online and log in to make or reply to posts.

No, the RHS says that there are ‘no pre-requisites’ to study the level 2 qualification, so an interest in gardening and an enthusiasm for knowledge are enough to study at level 2. This is the right starting point for most adult learners: RHS Level 1 is a purely practical qualification used mainly for school and therapy gardening.

It is strongly recommended that you complete some sort of level 2 horticultural qualification before you attempt level 3.

It is up to you to decide how fast you work through the units:  we enrol you for 18 months initially; it all depends on how much time you have free to study!

As a guide, the RHS provide estimated Guided Learning Hours (GLH) and Total Qualification Time (TQT) for each of their Certificates. In classroom terms, GLH represents teaching, assessment, marked feedback on coursework and  all examinations or assessments; TQT the overall time a learner needs to spend in and out of the classroom in studying to gain the qualification.  The GLH for the Level 2 theory Certificate is 120 hours, TQT 180 hours.

This does not translate very exactly to distance learning for RHS theory courses, where you choose when and how to study.  You might consider the GLH indicates the number of hours it takes to work through the course notes, complete practice and test papers and have them marked by your tutor – and TQT includes following up references and links, doing your revision and reading round the course to be ready for the exams.

From learner feedback on the new RHS qualifications, it is best to consider that the TQT assigned by the RHS slightly underestimates the breadth of study involved to get ready for two exams, and be prepared to allocate a little more time.

Example for guidance:

If you allocated 200 hours to study for both level 2 theory exams, that could be four hours a week for one year – two evenings; or it could eight hours a week, a day or two half-days, over half a year.

Your goals are the exam sessions in February, June and October; we recommend you make yourself a study plan once you have enrolled and had a chance to look through the course materials, to decide when you can study and which exam rounds to aim for. Your tutor can help you with this if you like.

Many centres around the UK offer RHS courses, and these are listed on the RHS website. Depending on the particular course their students are following they will be running some or all of the exams at a session - however not all centres take external candidates, so it is a good idea to contact the Centre's Examinations Officer well in advance of the exam cut-off date to check if they will accept you.  The RHS  host exams at Wisley, but  again places are limited so book the exam well in advance. BEST runs all the exams at its Ryton and North Moreton centres for its distance learning students.

RHS exams are now offered online; you take them at home, using your own computer, with a webcam running invigilation software. The RHS provides a test exam to check that this will work for you.  In exceptional circumstances the RHS will provide paper-based exams, but you will need to travel to one of our centres for this, and there will be additional costs from the RHS and for personal invigilation.

We ask you to indicate which exam rounds you are aiming for when you have enrolled on your course, but you will receive reminders in the VLE and be able to change dates if you need to. There are still fixed deadlines to enter and withdraw from RHS exams – late entries or withdrawals can involve extra charges from the RHS.

You can start the courses whenever you like. The fixed points are the examination dates in February, June and October. You will be enrolled with us initially for 18 months’ tutorial support,  and this will cover at least three opportunities to sit the exams and achieve your certificate.

Yes, we have to register anyone studying on an RHS course within a month of enrolment, and pay the fees for exams and registration to the RHS at that point. Your enrolment covers entry for two examinations – if you need to retake an exam the RHS will ask for additional fees.

Yes, if you want the qualification. You cannot study an RHS course without registering with the RHS and paying exam fees to them. If you really dislike exams and only want to study for pleasure, you cannot be forced to take them – but you will not achieve an RHS qualification at the end of your course.

The current RHS syllabus for RHS Level 3 Certificate in The Principles of Plant Growth, Garden Planning and Applied Propagation is focussed on the management of gardens which are open to the public; it builds on the more general base of the current level 2 Certificate.  It presumes that you have covered all the topics in this, so if there are significant areas which you have not covered in your work or other studies, you may be happier starting at level 2 and gaining confidence rather than always trying to catch up and fill in gaps as you go along.

If you have already studied an older form of RHS Level 2 certificate, you may need to do a little extra reading on the areas now covered in the level 2 syllabus.

The best way to judge is to go to the RHS website and look at the syllabus – all the unit contents are listed in detail. Or you can download the syllabus pdfs for both levels from the course pages on this website.

 We really do recommend that you have taken RHS exams at level 2 before you progress to level 3. Another awarding body’s level 2 does not give you experience of the RHS style of questioning.

If you would like to see what an online classroom is like in Moodle, you can go to a sample course in our VLE; this has some examples of course materials from RHS theory classrooms at levels 2 and 3, some videos and presentations from RHS practical classrooms. There is a separate sample classroom for the Certificate in Organic Horticulture.

Click on the link here,  find the sample classroom in the listing on the front page, and log in as a guest to enter.