We’re delighted to announce that registration is now open for this autumn’s Full Licence course at Cray Valley Radio Society — and this year we’re doing things rather differently. After some thinking about how we can improve the course, and after listening to feedback from recent cohorts, we’ve redesigned the course around a blended learning model that combines guided self-study with focused face-to-face teaching. We believe it gives candidates the best possible preparation for what is, without question, the most demanding of the three amateur radio exams.
Why we’ve changed the format
The Full Licence syllabus is substantial. Cramming it into a handful of consecutive Saturdays has always meant a heavy cognitive load and very little time to absorb difficult topics between sessions. The new format spreads the workload sensibly across several months, so that by the time candidates reach the classroom, they arrive already familiar with the material. Classroom time can then be spent where it adds the most value — deepening understanding, tackling the trickier topics, and sharpening exam technique — rather than covering ground from scratch.
How the course works
The course runs in two phases.
Phase 1 — Guided self-study (September to early November). Candidates receive weekly training materials by email, including short explanatory videos and worksheets covering specific parts of the syllabus. Every Wednesday evening we run a live tutorial on Microsoft Teams, where instructors review the previous week’s worksheets, answer questions, and draw out the points that most often trip people up. Crucially, every candidate is paired with an experienced radio amateur as a one-to-one mentor — someone to call on between sessions for help with anything that isn’t clicking.
Phase 2 — Classroom teaching (November). Three all-day Saturday sessions at the clubhouse focus on consolidating knowledge, working through the more demanding material, and thorough exam preparation.
Key dates for 2026
- Wednesday 2 September – Teams kickoff meeting, including a mathematics primer
- Wednesdays through 4 November – weekly live tutorials on Teams
- Saturday 7, 14 and 21 November – three all-day classroom sessions at the clubhouse
- Saturday 28 November – exam day at the clubhouse
What it costs
The course fee is £95, which includes the £39 RSGB exam registration fee and refreshments on classroom days. Candidates will also need to purchase two RSGB textbooks — the Full Licence Manual and Exam Secrets — which we’ll recommend at the start of the course.
How to sign up
Full details of the course — including the complete schedule, required materials, and what to expect week by week — are on our Full Licence course page. You can read more about our overall approach to amateur radio training, including our Foundation and Intermediate courses, on the training page.
Since 2006 we’ve taken pride in achieving a high first-time pass rate, and we’re confident this new blended approach will continue that tradition and raise the pass rate further. If you’ve been thinking about taking the step up to Full, this is a great year to do it — we’d love to have you on board.