The dates stated in these rules apply to Medals for Excellence 2008-09.

1. The competition is exclusively open to:

1.1 Residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland only.

1.2 Learners who have completed a full qualification by City & Guilds, NPTC, ILM, HAB, or those that are jointly awarded with CITB or ILEX between 1 August 2007 and 31 July 2008.

1.3 Lecturers or trainers who have been actively involved in delivering a qualification by City & Guilds, NPTC, ILM, HAB, or those that are jointly awarded with CITB or ILEX during the period 1 August 2007 and 31 July 2008.

2. Centres may only make the following nominations:

2.1 For learners within all occupational sectors except Creative Occupations:
Centres are only permitted to make one nomination per occupational sector – this is across all levels of a course, not one per level.

2.2 For learners within the Creative Occupations sector:
Centres are only permitted to make one nomination per design and craft family.

2.3 For lecturer/trainer nominations:
Centres may make up to three nominations from their centre for this award, irrespective of sector (but note that there is only one lecturer/trainer medal available per occupational sector).

2.4 Centres that have satellite or sub-centres are still limited to the above restrictions. Nominations must be made for the centre as a whole, not for each satellite or sub-centre.

3. Evidence – all evidence must adhere to the following:

3.1 No fragile, breakable or dangerous items should be submitted with a nomination. We will not accept any glass, china, porcelain, crystal, ceramics, pottery, mirrors, sculptures, trophies, furniture, plants and food – photographs and / or video (see note 3.6 below) and written testimony should be used in its place. We will not accept liability for any damage to fragile items that are sent to us. Fragile items will not be judged. If you are in any doubt please consult the Corporate Affairs department.

3.2 No bulky items should be submitted with a nomination, all individual pieces of evidence    must fit into a standard box file – 36cm x 24cm x 7cm.

3.3 No more than five pieces of evidence will be considered per nomination. Any excess evidence will be returned unopened. A logbook, one assessment, a video, a set of photographs and a selection of witness testimonies would count as five individual pieces of evidence.

3.4 Evidence should show a broad understanding of all areas of the qualification, not just a specific module. It is recommended that a broad range of work is also provided so that the judges can see a variety of what the nominee has done. Please avoid sending in more then two of the same types of evidence i.e. five pieces of evidence does not mean five logbooks.

3.5 All video evidence must be cued to start at the beginning of the submission. No video or DVD should be more than 15 minutes long. A single A4 sheet or narration should be used to describe its contents.

3.6 We highly recommend that evidence is hand delivered or sent by guaranteed delivery and that you keep all records of postage until you receive our acknowledgement of receipt. 

4. Awarding of the medals:

4.1 Learners within all occupational sectors except Creative Occupations:
One medal per region/nation is available in each of the 26 occupational sectors. If you are unsure which occupational sector the qualification comes under please consult the ‘Guide to Qualifications’.

4.2 Learners within the Creative Occupations sector:
These medals are awarded on a UK and Ireland basis and are therefore not awarded per region or nation. There are 11 craft and design families and one medal available per craft and design family. There is also an additional medal that can be awarded to a learner who has used new technologies over traditional methods to excel in their work. A Creative Occupations learner can not be nominated for this medal directly. Please note that a learner can not be awarded both a craft family medal and a new technology medal.

4.3 Lecturer/trainer nominations:
These medals are awarded on a UK and Ireland basis for each occupational sector. This means that there will be 27 medals available (including Creative Occupations).

5. Entries must arrive at City & Guilds before mid-day on 25 July 2008. Late entries will be returned unprocessed. Please send entries to:

Corporate Affairs (Medals for Excellence)
City & Guilds
1 Giltspur Street
London
EC1A 9DD

6. Incomplete or incorrect nomination forms will be returned unprocessed.

7. Subject experts, appointed by City & Guilds, will conduct the judging. Judging results are subject to the approval of the Head of Corporate Affairs.

8. The judges’ decision is final. No appeals will be heard or correspondence, relating to result determination, entered into. The restrictions on the number of medals awarded per geographical area and sector outlined in rule 4 do apply, however in exceptional circumstances the judges may award more than one medal in an occupational sector and region/nation if they feel the nominees are equally worthy. This is all at the judge’s discretion.

9. Whilst City & Guilds will make every attempt to return evidence as soon as the judging phase is completed, City & Guilds reserves the right to hold all evidence submitted until the results are announced.

10. Results will be announced by the end of December 2008.

11. A medal winner will receive a City & Guilds Medal for Excellence and a certificate. The nominating centre will also receive a certificate acknowledging their nominee’s achievement.

12. Nominees who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, but who are ‘pipped at the post’ by medal winners will receive Highly Commended certificates acknowledging their excellent work. 

13. It is the responsibility of the nominator and nominee respectively to ensure that City & Guilds Corporate Affairs department is informed of any changes to their contact details. Failure to do so may result in either party not receiving notification of results or similar correspondence and may cause delay in the return of evidence.

14. City & Guilds reserves the right to revise these rules and regulations at any time. Should it be necessary to do so, City & Guilds will make effort to communicate any changes to interested parties as quickly as possible.