You will study eight units, which make up this Certificate. These are:

·       1. Plant Identification

·       2. Plant establishment

·       3. Plant propagation

·       4. Plant health

·       5. Plant care:  how  to implement garden maintenance plans

·       6. Plant pruning

·       7. Care and maintenance of a range of garden features

·       8. Establish and maintain grassed areas

Click here for the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture syllabus which provides you with a complete overview of the course.

Click here for a link to the RHS website which explains more about their new qualifications which were introduced in September 2022.

Assessment: The new RHS Certificate will be assessed by two types of examination*: 

•   Two Practical Competence Assessments will cover various core tasks from the syllabus; these will be undertaken at the centre in spring and summer and assessed  by an external RHS examiner and a Centre assessor.   The Assessments are marked according to method and proficiency; the pass mark is 50%, and this element  (both assessments combined) provides 65% of the full assessment.
•  A 75 minute online test taken at the end of the course  ( the online test is designed to be taken at home, but it will be on a specific date/time decided by the RHS, and taken in line with their exam procedures). The test will consist of some multiple choice questions and some short answer questions, based on 'real world scenarios' of horticultural situations; it is designed to test the application of practical knowledge rather than underpinning theory .  The pass mark is 50% and this provides 35% of the assessment.

Final marks will only be awarded when both parts of the Assessment have been undertaken, but the Qualification can now be graded as Pass, Merit or Distinction depending on proficiency  and knowledge.

There will be an optional Rehearsal Day built into the timetable before each Practical Competence assessment; students are recommended to sign up for these days to gain valuable experience of working under time constraints and with an external assessor, who will give feedback on the tasks undertaken.

Course delivery: there will be a variety of delivery methods tailored to meet the needs of learners and the requirements of the new syllabus.

• Weekly sessions of practical tuition will allow students to concentrate on becoming proficient in various horticultural tasks.
• An online classroom will give access to videos which demonstrate the tasks you will cover, to give you a chance to return to topics for your own practice (and in case you miss a session).
• Course notes (downloadable from the online classroom)  will provide background information for each topic, written to indicate the syllabus targets for Pass, Merit and Distinction.
• A weekly recorded lesson in the online classroom will cover the key points for each practical topic. This will be in a downloadable format and with the course notes it will be an essential part of the course to complement the practical sessions.
• Plant identification will be supported by an online gallery of plant pictures, with self-test quizzes to help you to learn botanical names
• Once a month there will be a plant identification test from live specimens .

Studying in this way this will virtually double the course time, so you need to be able to commit to a regular 3 hours of home study each week . We will ensure that you are adequately prepared for all assessments and can look forward to successfully achieving your qualification.

*If you are not comfortable with an examination-based course, you may like to look at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Practical Certificate in Horticulture, which is a practical and assessment-based course.

When you have successfully completed all the constituent parts of the qualification The Royal Horticultural Society which award The RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticultural Practice, graded either Pass, Merit or Distinction.

If you combine this with the RHS Level 2 certificate in Horticultural Principles, The RHS will award you with an RHS L2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture. Until July 2024 you can also combine it with the previous theory qualifications to achieve an RHS Level 2 Diploma in Horticulture.

 Please note fees have not yet been revised to allow for RHS increases in 2024-5.

Important note on RHS fees : The RHS have made a decision that  a Centre can only accept you on an RHS course if you commit to the complete assessment process when you start. Their fees for the new Level 2 Practical are £200   - £20 registration  and £180 for examination  and assessment.  

These RHS fees are now due at the beginning of the course as an itemised part of the initial payment.

Tuition fees: £1150, RHS fees £200  = total payable £1350.

 For this RHS course,  each practical session will be supplemented by an online lessons and videos, and weekly idents will be covered by online ident presentations; this will allow sufficient time to cover the  practical work in class and prepare for the two RHS-assessed practical competence tests and the online test of practical knowledge.  This effectively doubles the course time.

There will be a non-refundable booking fee payable when you enrol on the course of 25% of the full cost of the course plus an administration charge ( £342.50 payable as the first instalment). This covers the registration and certification fees and secures your place on the course.

Please note: In the event of a place not being available or the course not running, the booking fee will be returned to you. 

The remainder of the course fees can be

•  paid in three equal instalments of £342.50, on weeks 8, 16 and 24  (including an administration fee of £5.00 for each instalment). You will receive statements of account during your course but we do not sent  out specific reminders for staged payments.
• You can ask us to set up a direct debit mandate when you book the course by indicating 'yes' on the enrolment form and we will be pleased to send you a mandate form by email. Once this has been returned to us we can request payments from your bank on or about weeks 8, 16 and 24 .

Courses will take place at our North Moreton, Bampton and Ryton Centres.

Once bookings are open you can click on the 'enrol now' button above and complete an enrolment form.

Please note course places will be limited;  if no course places are showing, please contact our administrator about a waiting list.

Once a booking has been made,  you will receive a confirmation of your place.  Shortly before the course begins you will be sent joining instructions.

There are no formal entry requirements for this course.

THe RHS states: 'This qualification has been designed to provide learners with the breadth of horticultural knowledge and skills required to carry out routine tasks proficiently in a variety of contexts. It supports progression to employment within areas of the horticultural industries (such as professional gardening, landscaping, plant production and garden retail), as well as supporting learning in entry level roles in the early stages of a horticultural career. It is also designed to meet the needs of the amateur gardener. It also provides learners the opportunity of personal development, including the changing of careers and engagement in their learning and offers an opportunity to develop transferable skills such as problem solving, implementing management plans / programmes, and communication as part of their applied learning.

In terms of progression, it allows learners the opportunity to progress to further learning opportunities at Level 3, allowing progression to higher education, career advancement or entry in the horticultural industries at a more advanced, technical level.'

An RHS Level 2 qualification is well respected in the horticultural industry and can be the first step in changing to a career in horticulture.

From this, you can go on to study the RHS theory Certificate, The RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development (2022) and work towards the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture.

You could also progress to a new RHS Level 3 Practical Certificate and to an eventual Level 3 Diploma with a Level 3 theory Certificate and Award in Horticultural Investigation.