Assessment will be based on a practical exercise in which the candidate follows a course in heavily contoured open or forested terrain between locations on subtle contour features. The assessor will judge whether the chosen routes represent the most effective choices taking into account height gain and loss as well as physical demands, whether the candidate uses the full battery of basic navigational strategies with confidence and skill and how well concentration matches the difficulty of navigation.

The length of the course will depend on type of map and terrain, but as candidates at this level are expected to be very fit, it will normally be between 6 and 10 kilometres on low fell or moorland and at an altitude of not more than 600 metres. Attention must also be paid to the candidates' ability to use large contour features like ridges, valleys, or spurs as a means of locating smaller features. E.g. buildings or small crags e.g. following a long valley up towards a small marsh location at its head could give the attack point strategy a contour dimension. A ridge route to a summit could well be the best ‘attack line’ rather than a direct approach up a steep and rocky hillside.

As with Bronze and Silver Awards the practical assessment can be used as a teaching basis for future attempts, if a first attempt doesn’t reach the standards required. An oral or written examination will supplement the practical element. Where inclement weather or testing conditions have not been encountered in the practical exercise, candidates should be questioned to judge their awareness of safety and physical factors involved in wilderness navigation with special attention to clothing. equipment, basic first aid and flexible decision making when circumstances demand it, (e.g. bad weather strategies and escape routes)