South Central Blue Badge Course

Stonehenge

The South Central Blue Badge training course will prepare candidates to enter the profession of tourist guiding in the four counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Wiltshire.

  • Course status: Approved

Course Detail

The Blue Badge is an internationally recognised benchmark of excellence in tourist guiding, awarded by the Institute of Tourist Guiding.

A local training course leading to a Blue Badge qualification will be starting in November 2022 and running through to exams in summer 2023, with some additional business skills lectures in September ’23.

The area being covered by the course includes the two World Heritage sites of Stonehenge and the Jurassic Coast, two National Parks (New Forest and the western part of the South Downs), major tourist attractions such as Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the medieval cathedral cities of

Winchester and Salisbury, and a great variety of other places of interest in coast, countryside, town and village settings.

Please take the time to read the prospectus HERE which explains everything you need to know about the course and how to apply.

Students study and are assessed on the following:

Written papers:

  • Background knowledge of the UK
  • Two regional knowledge papers
  • Tour planning project

Practical exams covering:

  • Guiding an urban walk
  • Guiding a rural walk
  • Guiding in a religious building
  • Guiding in a museum/gallery
  • Guiding on a coach

On passing these written and practical examinations the guide is awarded a Blue Badge, which is the industry's recognised symbol of professionalism in tourist guiding.

Information & Application

Applications for the 2023 South Central Blue Badge Training Course are now closed.