# More ... > Beekeeper education >  Reference books for exams

## Mellifera Crofter

I saw a couple of expensive booklets called 'Beekeeping Study Notes' on Thornes.  Would you recommend them for taking the exams?  They're not listed on the SBA website.
Kitta

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## Neils

Are they the yate's ones?

I hear a lot if mixed reviews about them if so, but have never personally used them.

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## Mellifera Crofter

Thanks Nellie - and I can see from your other posts that you clearly did not need them either.  I'll use other books and information (such as the FERA leaflets you mentioned in the other thread).
Kitta

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## Neils

Somewhere in my list of bookmarks, I have a link to one of the English association sites who put together a very thorough set of study notes for each Module Syllabus. That might well be a cheaper rival to the Yate's guides. 

What they are good at doing is covering the individual syllabus points, the criticisms that I've read about them is that they are sometimes slow to release updates to reflect the latest syllabus and that some of the information contained within them is either out of date or just plain wrong.  Again I've not personally used them so I'm only going on what I've been told.

I think for Module Three in particular it's an un-necessary expense, given the wealth of good material out there for free, for some of the other modules which tread off the beaten track a bit in terms of what you might want to know as a competent beekeeper (do you really need an indepth understanding of Honey Bee Biology? Perhaps not) they might have more value. 

I will perhaps get hold of one just to see what I think of them.

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## drumgerry

I think this is what your bookmark will be Nellie

http://blog.mbbka.org.uk/category/education/

Pretty good and free.  I don't have the Yates Module 1-4 book as it was out of print when I was sitting Mods 1 and 2 this March.  But I do have their Basic book and while it's ok it's quite opinion-based and for that reason I didn't like it.  From what I've read their books covering the modules are in a similar vein.  I'm trying to study for the modules using other sources.  For module 3 I believe the Celia Davis book is a good source (together with the stuff Nellie referred me to in another thread)

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## Mellifera Crofter

Thanks Nellie and Drumgerry - for the extra information and for the link.  I hummed and hawed as to whether I should buy them or not, but your replies put my mind at ease - I won't.  Thanks, K

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## Neils

> I think this is what your bookmark will be Nellie
> 
> http://blog.mbbka.org.uk/category/education/
> 
> Pretty good and free.  I don't have the Yates Module 1-4 book as it was out of print when I was sitting Mods 1 and 2 this March.  But I do have their Basic book and while it's ok it's quite opinion-based and for that reason I didn't like it.  From what I've read their books covering the modules are in a similar vein.  I'm trying to study for the modules using other sources.  For module 3 I believe the Celia Davis book is a good source (together with the stuff Nellie referred me to in another thread)


That's the one.

I did have a look at the guides on amazon and the basic one gets pretty bad reviews compared to the others. I hadn't realised that they covered multiple modules so the price perhaps isn't that bad if you're intending to do them all and in a relatively short space of time.

One caveat would be that I know the BBKA is changing the modules soon. The intention is apparently to make them less focused around remembering facts as being more towards demonstrating understanding of the topic in question.  Module 3 is supposed to become more focused around bee health rather then pests and diseases as it is now so in the longer term, they might not be worth the money until the programme is clearer.

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## Adam

I've got Yates that covers modules 1 - 4. It has lots of information in there but isn't a good read unlike Winstons Biology of the Honeyybee which is a cracking read IMO. There are mistakes too  - it's more comprehensive than just brief notes. Yes there are opininons in there rather than just fact.

The mbbka downlads are good.

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## Easy beesy

And I'm going to throw a spanner in - the new edition of Yates 1-3 is very impressive. Up to date and everything in one book. The gen husbandry one is good too. S'pose it depends on when they were last reviewed. BTW have to agree on winston - excellent book.

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## Mellifera Crofter

Back to square one!  Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions.
Kitta

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## susbees

I got a copy of the new 5-8 for 7 and barely opened it. They are forever saying we covered this elsewhere, rattling on about ancient history (only needed for 8) and saying we don't understand the question. And they are pricey and verbose. OK, so that's a bit one-sided but for 3 I'd say it's unnecessary (though may be proved wrong after November!) 
and we did 1/2 without it....though can't say we passed yet! My partner reckons you could almost pass 1 from learning the Thornes catalogue  :Wink:

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## Easy beesy

Lots of my 'students', I use the term loosely as we're all studying together withe as contact point, like Yates as they think it will provide the answer to everything and they won't have to buy different books for different modules, and therefore working out cheaper in the long run, then ask me 'how do you know that?' -  Because I read, question, research, read more and then (try to) verify. 

Just shows there's no easy way through it. 

Cx

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## thada1

having got to mod6 in a strictly linear fashion, I've found I'm using the Yates' books less and less.  On the + side, they have done a great job bringing together a lot of information, and particularly on the timeless elements of beekeeping, they are as comprehensive as any other source, and a good quick reference source.  On the downside, the mixing of opinion with fact becomes grating, and particularly in the disease/behaviour sections, it's impossible for them to be up-to-date.  I'm not so familiar with their husbandry texts, but I suspect they may suffer from less aging.  Somewhere in the syllabus, it talks about encouraging a wide reading - which is a sound policy if you want to get expert in any subject.  The Yates' books encourage the same sort of unhelpful thinking that pervades the GCSE system: read this and pass.

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## Black Comb

I agree with the others about Yates. The more I read Celia Davis the more I realise how good she is.
The BBKA book list is frustrating. A lot of the books are out of print and when you do find them they are expensive.
For module 3 the FERA downloads are excellent. 
The Bucks notes are good too but not so hot for Mod. 5.

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