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The National Navigation Award Scheme
Hill Climb Activities can facilitate the NNAS for both adult and school groups. The scheme is a personal performance, non-competitive, incentive scheme for all ages. Training and Assessment courses use Harvey Maps of 1:25,000 or 1:40,000 scale, Ordnance Survey maps of 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 scale or orienteering maps of 1:10,000 or 1:15,000 scale.

Its ideal for enhancing you or your students enjoyment of the countryside and developing sound navigation practice?

You or your students can achieve a personal performance award in navigation at the NNAS Bronze, Silver or Gold Levels, validated to a national standard.

The levels of NNAS award
All courses include knowledge of safety and access issues when walking in the countryside, as well as an understanding of environmental issues and awareness of impacts.

Bronze NNAS Award – navigation in the countryside using paths tracks and other linear features, basic map interpretation and compass work is included. Distance 2-5 kilometers.

Silver NNAS Award – navigation in the countryside using skills acquired at bronze level and adding skills required to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks, accurate compass work is required and an ability to use appropriate navigational techniques to go across country in some cases, e.g. choosing an appropriate attack point. Distance 5-8 kilometers.

Gold NNAS Award – navigation in the countryside using skills of the first two levels, but adding techniques and skills for dealing with complex contour features large and small. Distance 6-10 kilometers.

Young Navigator Star Award
The junior version of the National Navigation Award Scheme. The Young Navigator Star Award represents a similar programme to the adult NNAS in encouraging the acquisition of map and compass skills but is specifically designed for the primary and secondary school age group. It is also designed to fit into National Curriculum areas such as PE, Geography and Maths.
This junior scheme is designed so that the elements at each level of Bronze, Silver and Gold Star Awards can be completed either in the classroom, inside school grounds or in a local park.

The Young Navigator Star Award is open to young people of all levels of physical and mental ability including those with specific disabilities. This junior scheme simply needs a large scale map of the school area. The Gold Star Award in the junior scheme leads in to the Bronze NNAS Level in the main NNAS scheme. This allows a natural progression for older children to the main scheme and higher levels of navigation skills.

Bronze Star Award – in the classroom, map concept, symbols, drawing your own map and following a route on it.

Silver Star Award – in the gymnasium or school site, introducing the compass for orientation, developing spatial awareness, and following a route on a map.

Gold Star Award – following line features on the school or park map. Children organise and plan simple courses for one another, compass bearings and contour appreciation are developed.

Give us a call to discuss how we can tailor a course to your needs.