Can I re-post something from your chat rooms from last February, which is relevant again?
Some of you are renewing RHS Student Membership - or trying to - and getting mixed messsages from the people manning the RHS phones. One of you was wrongly told BEST wasn't on their list of providers, and generally you are asked for an NUS number. You don't, you just need something that identifies you 'uniquely' as a student.
So, to recap:
If you are studying with us you
are entitled to apply for student membership of the RHS, which can be as
little as £10 per year.
I think this doesn't allow you to take a companion into RHS gardens like regular membership, but it does give you free access to the RHS gardens and partner gardens for yourself, access to shows on 'members only' days, AND the annual subscription to The Garden which alone is worth more than £10.
To qualify the RHS ask for a student number -but
we don't assign you a student number of our own as we don't need any
more bureacracy than the RHS already requires...
However if
you have an RHS Candidate Number because you are registered for a
Practical qualification, or have entered any RHS exams, then you can
phone 0845 130 4646 and give them the code 3481 and your Candidate number. They should be able to find you in the system and have agreed this is fine.
If you aren't registered for an exam already, I've been in touch with the RHS about the simplest way to confirm your student status. My suggestion is that
1. you change your password for the online classroom and then
2. you forward your original enrolment email to membership@rhs.org.uk
with a covering email to explain that you are applying for student
membership. They have agreed that the enrolment email is proof of
student status. You could quote 3481 (the current membership drive code)
as well if you like.
We
log your user name and original password as our record of your
enrolment, and this (with your online email and original
payment confirmation) is how your identity is stored in our files.
If you have not already changed your password, I suggest this is a good
time to change it to something memorable ( 8 letters minimum, at least
one capital, one number, one 'other'), save it somewhere safe, and
then send the email to the RHS. Please do not send the email without changing your password!
If at any stage you lose or forget your password, I will always restore your original for you so that you can reset it yourself. I cannot see the password you have set, that's why I will always reset to the original.
The
automatic reset function will only operate if you've entered an
external email for the system to send a change to, so send me an email
if you have problem with it.
Janet