Qualifications


British Horse School Qualification (BHSQ)


Personal Development Qualifications (PDQs) Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2



An example of one of our presentation days for our PDQs...



Specification document


These Personal Development Qualifications are suitable for learners who are age 11+ and are delivered through the CLTH programme. The qualifications are suitable for those who are either permanently excluded from or at risk of permanent exclusion from education. Or who have special education needs or disabilities (SEND) and those who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). 


The Personal Development Qualifications: 


  • Aim to support the development of knowledge, skills and behaviours for life
  • Focus on aspects that are essential for all such as building relationships, working with others and developing new skills
  • Are inclusive and accessible for all learners


There are three qualifications: 


Qualification Level – Entry level 3 - 610/1225/7 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 30 Credits – 3 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 30


Qualification Level – Level 1 - 610/1226/9 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 50 Credits – 5 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 50

(Equivalent to GCSE 1-4)


Qualification Level – Level 2 - 610/1227/0 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 60 Credits – 6 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 60

(Equivalent to GCSE 5-9)


BHSQ qualifications are: 

  1. Nationally recognised 
  2. Quality assured 
  3. Vocationally-related 
  4. Mapped to national occupational standards (NOS) where appropriate 
  5. Designed to meet the needs of employers 
  6. Regularly reviewed by industry practitioners. 


BHSQ qualifications provide valuable opportunities for learners to: 

  1. Develop new skills 
  2. Develop existing skills 
  3. Gain underpinning knowledge and understanding 
  4. Progress to further study, education and training 
  5. Progress into employment.


Assessment will be carried out by an appointed assessor in an assessment centre/venue approved by the BHS (Wirral Riding Centre). All learning outcomes and assessment criteria must be met for achievement.


2023/2024

Last academic year we were successful in getting 25 of our Young People through at least one Personal Development Qualification. 

8 out of the 25 achieved their Level 1 and Level 2 qualification and 17 achieved their Level 1 qualification and will progress onto their Level 2 this year. 


It was an absolute pleasure to register these assessments in both April and June and we are delighted that 25 of our Young People now have a GCSE equivalent, 8 of these Young People have two GCSE equivalent qualifications and the other 17 Young People have one GCSE equivalent qualification.


2024/2025

This academic year we started with just the same amount of momentum!

  • In October we entered and were successful with 9 Level 1 PDQs and 1 Level 2 PDQ. We held a presentation on Wednesday 4th December and celebrated our wonderful young people!
  • In December we entered and were successful with 5 more Level 1 PDQs and 5 more Level 2 PDQs, we had an extra special celebration on Friday 28th February where we joined by Martin Clunes (President of the BHS), James Hick (CEO of the BHS) and many more members of the public - it was a wonderful event to celebrate our young people!
  • February saw another entry of 4 Level 1 PDQs and 1 Level 2 PDQ. They have their presentation to look forward to on Tuesday 20th May.
  • We submitted 4 Level 2 PDQs in April. They joined our February young people and received their certificates on Tuesday 20th May. They were presented their certificates by Chris Lowcock, The Senior Manager of Alternative Provisions for Wirral.
  • Our last submission date for this academic year was Friday 20th June and we were successful with 3 Young People achieving their PDQ Level 2s and 2 Young People achieving their Level 1!


In total this academic year we have been successful with 20 Young People achieving their Level 1 PDQ and 14 Young People achieving their Level 2 PDQ! We couldn't be prouder of each and every one of them :)



Stage 1 BHS Ride and Care


On Monday 8th July 2024 our first six CLtH Young People were entered for their BHS Stage 1 ride and care qualification and they each passed with flying colours! We continued with this success with another six Young People who did their assessment on Monday 3rd February 2025 - they also did exceptionally well and all achieved their stage 1! We couldn't be prouder of how organised, professional and exceptionally knowledgeable they each were on the day. They each articulated their understanding well and rode so confidently. They were assessed by Julian Campbell - the assessment was so professional whilst still providing such a safe and trusting environment for our Young People.


Celebration for our first six Young People....


Celebration for our second six Young People...