Every January, the Roger Drury School of Highland Dancing will run medal test examinations in Highland Dancing. These examinations are carried out by an examiner from the British Association of Teachers of Dancing. Medal Test examinations are an excellent way for a child (or adult!) to have recognised the progress they have made with their Highland Dancing throughout the previous year. Unlike a competition where, if you're lucky, you receive a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, in a medal test examination you will receive valuable criticism from a very experienced examiner.

The path a dancer will take with their Medal Test examinations is as follows:

First Steps, Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, Pre-Gold, Gold, Blue Riband, Medallion, British Award and Premier Award

In addition, similar to music examinations, there are a number of Grade Examinations that can be taken. These test not only the dancer's ability to actually dance the dances, but also their technical and theoretical knowledge of Highland Dancing. They are:

Primary, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4 and then Grade 5

When a student has passed through all these examinations, they then work towards becoming a qualified teacher (if they wish) by taking a number of professional examinations. In order, they are:

Student Teacher, Associate Member, Member and finally Fellow of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing

Where can you go after that? Well you may then wish to qualify as an official Adjudicator at dancing competitions by taking the SOBHD Judges' Test and, if you have a high level of dancing knowledge and expertise, you may be lucky enough to be invited to become an Examiner with your teaching organisation.