ESC Announces Updated Version of the Direct to Full Syllabus

The RSGB Examination Standards Committee is pleased to announce the publication of an updated version of the Direct to Full syllabus.

The significant changes from the previous version are the moving of some points between Section One on Licensing and Section Two on Operating. These changes bring the Direct to Full syllabus into line with the latest version of the three-part syllabus.

You can find the updated syllabus and change documentation on the RSGB website.

These changes will come into effect from January 2026, so please choose the correct version of the syllabus for the date you plan to take your exam.

More Information - https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2025/08/22/esc-announces-updated-version-of-the-direct-to-full-syllabus/

RSGB Examinations Standards Committee Publishes Annual Report

The RSGB Examinations Standards Committee, or ESC, has published its annual report, relating to activities in 2024. The report shows that overall candidate numbers have increased to above pre-pandemic levels and are well above the extrapolation of the declining trend over the decade before the pandemic.

The ESC believes that this is probably due to the availability of remote invigilation online examinations taken at home and the increase in provision of distance learning courses, making the hobby much more accessible than in the past.

More Information - https://rsgb.org/main/blog/examinatáion-standards-committee-reports/2025/06/18/examinations-standards-committee-report-2025/

On-Loan DMR Kit Starts Young UK Hams On Their Journeys

When you’re first starting out in amateur radio, you can’t borrow confidence in getting on the air but now in the UK you can borrow something that’s almost just as helpful. A new program created especially to help hams under the age of 18 who are just starting their radio journeys.

The DMR project launched recently by the Radio Society of Great Britain is a way to provide opportunity - and radio equipment - for young new amateurs to become accustomed to making QSOs on a regular basis. The Outreach Team’s new DMR kit contains DMR handheld transceivers and hotspots to borrow for as long as three months at no cost. 

Accompanying the equipment, of course, is the opportunity to use it - and the RSGB’s team will also be hosting regularly scheduled youth nets to give as many participants as possible a good start. Licensed hams or school groups with at least one licensee are eligible to apply to use the kits.

Meanwhile, the society is also encouraging teachers to establish school clubs and to become amateurs themselves. Funding from the Radio Communications Foundation will cover the cost of up to nine teachers’ exams.

More Information - https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2025/05/16/rsgb-outreach-team-announces-new-dmr-project-for-under-18s/