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10. Registering and preparing for the oral exam

a. Registration and deadlines

Once you have had your exam notification approved you can register for an exam session. You do not have to register immediately, however if you are aiming for a specific exam session it is best to register as soon as you can, as exam places are allocated on a first come, first served basis . Your exam registration remains provisionaluntil you have paid the exam registration fee.

  • If you wish to sit the May exam, you must have registered and paid by 28 February
  • If you wish to sit the November exam, you must have registered and paid by 31 August

Late applications will not be accepted, and you will have to wait for the next exam session.

b. Exam fees and eligibility

You must pay your exam fee online when registering for the exam.View exam fees and how to payEligibility for the exam is dependent on you:

  • Continuing to be registered on the Pathway
  • Being up-to-date with your Pathway fees
  • Retaining your Associate membership

If you are locked out of the Pathway system for non-payment of membership fees, non-payment of the Pathway annual retention fee, or for any other reason, you will be withdrawn from the exam and will forfeit your exam fees.

c. Special arrangements

The LI is committed to ensuring that all candidates have reasonable opportunity to perform to the best of their ability. Where candidates have special requirements, every effort will be made to ensure that reasonable and appropriate arrangements are made. You must indicate whether you have particular requirements on the exam registration form. If you have special requirements you are responsible for providing appropriate medical certification to indicate what special arrangements you feel are appropriate. In the case of dyslexia, you must provide a copy of your psychological assessment report. This must have been conducted by an appropriately qualified professional after you reached the age of 16. All requests and evidence for special arrangements need to be made at least six weeks before the first exam day of the relevant exam session. All applications for special arrangements will be considered on an individual basis. If you develop a new special requirement less than six weeks before the exam, please contact pathway@landscapeinstitute.org as soon as possible to discuss your options.

d. Deferring the exam

You can defer your exam and move your registration to the following exam session by contacting pathway@landscapeinstitute.org.

  • If you defer your exam more than six weeks before the date of the first exam in that session, you will not incur additional fees and your original exam payment and registration will be transferred to the next exam session.
  • If you decide to withdraw from your registered exam session less than six weeks before the date of the first exam in that session, a deferral fee will be charged as a contribution towards the non-recoverable costs the LI will incur.

e. After exam registration

It is mandatory for you to submit a development pack in the quarter prior to taking the exam.

  • For May exams this means submitting in quarter 1
  • For November exams this means submitting in quarter 3

If you do not make a submission you will be reported to the Chief Examiners and could have your exam registration deferred. Your mentor is strongly encouraged to submit a final mentor review for you in these quarters. However, this is not mandatory, and if your mentor is unable to submit their review this will not disadvantage you in your exam.

f. Preparing for your Chartership exam

Everyone has their own preferred revision methods, however you may find these useful when preparing:

Study groups

Passing the Chartership exam relies on you being able to communicate your knowledge and experience to strangers. Study groups are an ideal way of practising this skill, sharing knowledge and information, and providing an excellent support basis with other people in the same position. The contacts you make within your study group often prove invaluable in your professional life. The Chief Examiners highly recommend participating in a study group, and those who have practice of talking about their professional work often perform better in the Chartership exam.

For details of your local study group, check out the list of groups on Talking Landscape or join the conversation in the P2C Candidates’ Forum about teaming up with others.

Help us keep the list of study groups up to date

If study group details change, or if you want to start a study group, let us know.

Revising projects

The examiners will have access to all of your past submissions, and the comments of your mentor and supervisor. The examiners are specifically looking for knowledge and understanding relating to the syllabus areas. Consider how the projects you have worked on relate to each syllabus area. When answering a question you should always try to relate it to the syllabus and, where possible, your own experiences.

Mock exams

Mock exams are the best way to practice for the exam, and the Chief Examiners often find that Associates who have practised under exam conditions perform better in their real exam. You can never have too many mock exams, and should aim to have at least one with someone who isn’t aware of your day-to-day work. Within your study group you could organise a mentor swap to conduct mock exams with someone you’re not familiar with. Arrange as many mock exams as you can, particularly with people who are less familiar with you and your work. Consider inviting your mentor along to your study group, and do a ‘mentor swap’, so you can be interviewed by someone else. This gives you a chance to practise your interview technique, and get used to talking about the syllabus areas with people who do not know you or your organisation.Guide to organising mock examsExample exam questions 1Example exam questions 2

Chief Examiners’ feedback

The Chief Examiners provide general feedback after each exam session. This can show where candidates have struggled in the past, and provides good guidance to prepare you.November 2019November 2017May 2017November 2016May 2016November 2015May 2015November 2014May 2014

Gaining additional experience

No landscape professional will have direct experience of every aspect of the syllabus, and theoretical knowledge is perfectly acceptable in some areas. Gaining some experience is always preferrable to purely theoretical knowledge. Consider arranging to shadow other practitioners to gain a wider insight into other aspects of the syllabus, and the wider profession. You could volunteer to gain new experiences, or use real situations or projects which you are involved in or aware of and consider them from different points of view e.g. what would you do as the contract administrator; local authority; advisory body.

Webinars

The LI has a webinars playlist covering a wide range of topics, from exploring invisible fencing for cattle grazing through to SuDS. Although not specifically alined to the Chartership syllabus, many will be useful for further information on specific topics. In 2013 a series of webinars about the Pathway to Chartership process were produced:

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