Open Water Course Schedule with DIVE Northampton
Course Schedule Options and Pricing
There's quite a lot to read here but it is all really important so give it a go...
We have 3 options in terms of schedule and pricing and we can usually accommodate most requirements. It is important to note that the cheapest option is the Standard Option and any sessions that fall outside the standard schedule will incur additional costs and as such, the more you can fit into the standard schedule, the cheaper your course will be. In addition, the Standard course schedule and structure is designed to fit in with the way your body learns and develops motor skills and in general terms, shorter or longer schedules tend to reduce the quality of skills you learn and increase the burden of learning.
About us
Dive Northampton is the County's premier Dive Training Centre. Simply put, this means that we've reached the standard that allows us to train other Instructors - we teach the teachers and therefore have to maintain the highest standards. We run just about every Dive Course you would wish to take from Try Scuba to Instructor. We became a PADI Dive Training Centre in 1992 and have gained accreditation with ANDI, DSAT, RAID and SSI over the years. With over 25 years training experience at the centre, we have certified huge numbers of divers, some of whom go on to become instructors all around the world.
Despite our commitment to staffing ratios, annual training equipment replacement and training standards, our price structure is generally no more expensive than other Dive Centres locally. This is especially important in the current economic climate. You can be certain that despite being competitively priced, we will ensure that the highest possible standards are maintained, whether you are in the pool or Open Water.
You can start your course at any time within 6 months of booking. Our school equipment is replaced on a regular basis, usually every 12 months. We provide you with the training materials to access online on your phone, ipad, tablet or PC, to allow you to study at home, in comfort, at your own pace. In most Dive Centres, course prices will determine the ratio of Training Staff to Students in aquatic environments. In many cases you will be expected to pay a substantial premium to receive individual attention or reduced ratios. At Dive Northampton we will usually provide a Staff Member for every student whether we are in the pool or Open Water, at no extra cost. We believe that people learn best when they are happy, are enjoying themselves and feel safe. Before you decide who to train with, make sure you check how other dive centres compare!
We don't simply want you to take our word for this, we'll guarantee it. If, at the end of your Course, you are not satisfied with the training you've received, we will refund the difference between the price of our Course and the price you would have been charged by any other Dive Shop in Northamptonshire.
Price
First, the price; for the Standard Open Water Referral Course, the price is £225 and the Standard Open Water Course costs £345. This includes your materials, all the equipment you'll need and the final certification – these costs are often added on elsewhere.
Provided that you are at least 12 years old, generally healthy, can tread water for 10 minutes and can swim 200 metres, there should be no problem with the course. Because the Open Water training is conducted in Dry Suits (something else most other Dive Centres charge extra for) and can be strenuous, both we and the Open Water training site impose a minimum age of 12 to do the course. For those people who don't want to complete their training dives in the UK and 10 and 11 year-olds, we can do the academic elements and all the pool work and then complete your certification to enable you to conduct the Open Water dives abroad whilst on holiday, where a Dry Suit is not necessary. This option is called a Referral and this costs £225.
The Referral Course is ideal for anyone wishing to avoid British cold-water diving and complete their Open Water dives abroad - something that is very popular during the winter months as you'd imagine. That being said, because we use the best quality equipment and train our divers using Dry Suits, learning and diving all year round is not a problem. Not only will we train you, if you haven't got a holiday booked, we also regularly organise trips abroad that you can join to complete your Open Water training. In addition, the Referral allows us to introduce far more flexibility in scheduling at no extra cost. If you are undertaking the Referral option and decide to finish off here in the UK, you can opt onto this option at any time – we will simply charge you the difference between the two options, there is no surcharge.
Scheduling Options
There are 3 scheduling options. The Standard Open Water course, which is the cheapest, runs over 4 consecutive Sundays and a new course starts on the first Sunday of every month. You will need to ensure that you are available for all of the 4 Sundays of the course. In addition to the 4 Sundays, on week 3 there is an additional session in the pool on Thursday evening (we meet at about 6:30pm to 7:00pm for an 8:00pm pool session) to get our students familiar with the use of a Dry Suit. After all, during the winter in the UK, a Dry Suit is essential! For the Referral option you will do the first 3 Sundays and not the additional Thursday. To take a look at a specimen schedule for this option, follow this Schedule Link.
Alternatively, for a single £95 supplement, you can opt for the Flexible course option and choose whatever schedule you want, over a maximum 4 month period, provided it fits in with the established theory, pool and open water training days. This gives you a huge amount of flexibility in scheduling your course. We will agree your course schedule with you when you book the course and you can change this as often as you want within the 4 month period, provided you give us at least 2 week’s notice of the change. Please remember that as it interrupts the training process and impacts on your motor skill development, large gaps in training should be avoided. This structure allows us to offer you complete flexibility - you simply select which method suits you best and we charge you accordingly.
Finally, we can offer a completely Bespoke course schedule for those wanting a one-to-one course, an Intensive course or whose personal schedule makes either of the first two options impossible. As we will have to book additional pool and open water sessions to meet your schedule requirements, this option is priced on an individual basis and you will have to come in to the Centre to discuss this in more detail.
Extra Information
We do our Open Water dives at Stoney Cove which is about 35 minutes from Northampton and is located near Lutterworth at Stoney Stanton. Full details are available during the course. It is worth noting that Stoney Cove is probably Europe's biggest and best known inland Dive Training Centre and represents an ideal place to learn all year round.
All equipment hire, training materials, certification and air fills are included in your course fee. There are however 1 additional cost:
Stoney Cove charges a fee for entrance to the site. As they provide heated changing facilities, parking, toilets and Emergency Rescue Support, this fee is good value and is payable by anyone, trainee or diver, who uses the facility, although spectators don't pay. This cost would not apply to anyone completing the Referral option. The cost is around £20 per visit but does change every year or two.
There's quite a lot to read here but it is all really important so give it a go...
We have 3 options in terms of schedule and pricing and we can usually accommodate most requirements. It is important to note that the cheapest option is the Standard Option and any sessions that fall outside the standard schedule will incur additional costs and as such, the more you can fit into the standard schedule, the cheaper your course will be. In addition, the Standard course schedule and structure is designed to fit in with the way your body learns and develops motor skills and in general terms, shorter or longer schedules tend to reduce the quality of skills you learn and increase the burden of learning.
About us
Dive Northampton is the County's premier Dive Training Centre. Simply put, this means that we've reached the standard that allows us to train other Instructors - we teach the teachers and therefore have to maintain the highest standards. We run just about every Dive Course you would wish to take from Try Scuba to Instructor. We became a PADI Dive Training Centre in 1992 and have gained accreditation with ANDI, DSAT, RAID and SSI over the years. With over 25 years training experience at the centre, we have certified huge numbers of divers, some of whom go on to become instructors all around the world.
Despite our commitment to staffing ratios, annual training equipment replacement and training standards, our price structure is generally no more expensive than other Dive Centres locally. This is especially important in the current economic climate. You can be certain that despite being competitively priced, we will ensure that the highest possible standards are maintained, whether you are in the pool or Open Water.
You can start your course at any time within 6 months of booking. Our school equipment is replaced on a regular basis, usually every 12 months. We provide you with the training materials to access online on your phone, ipad, tablet or PC, to allow you to study at home, in comfort, at your own pace. In most Dive Centres, course prices will determine the ratio of Training Staff to Students in aquatic environments. In many cases you will be expected to pay a substantial premium to receive individual attention or reduced ratios. At Dive Northampton we will usually provide a Staff Member for every student whether we are in the pool or Open Water, at no extra cost. We believe that people learn best when they are happy, are enjoying themselves and feel safe. Before you decide who to train with, make sure you check how other dive centres compare!
We don't simply want you to take our word for this, we'll guarantee it. If, at the end of your Course, you are not satisfied with the training you've received, we will refund the difference between the price of our Course and the price you would have been charged by any other Dive Shop in Northamptonshire.
Price
First, the price; for the Standard Open Water Referral Course, the price is £225 and the Standard Open Water Course costs £345. This includes your materials, all the equipment you'll need and the final certification – these costs are often added on elsewhere.
Provided that you are at least 12 years old, generally healthy, can tread water for 10 minutes and can swim 200 metres, there should be no problem with the course. Because the Open Water training is conducted in Dry Suits (something else most other Dive Centres charge extra for) and can be strenuous, both we and the Open Water training site impose a minimum age of 12 to do the course. For those people who don't want to complete their training dives in the UK and 10 and 11 year-olds, we can do the academic elements and all the pool work and then complete your certification to enable you to conduct the Open Water dives abroad whilst on holiday, where a Dry Suit is not necessary. This option is called a Referral and this costs £225.
The Referral Course is ideal for anyone wishing to avoid British cold-water diving and complete their Open Water dives abroad - something that is very popular during the winter months as you'd imagine. That being said, because we use the best quality equipment and train our divers using Dry Suits, learning and diving all year round is not a problem. Not only will we train you, if you haven't got a holiday booked, we also regularly organise trips abroad that you can join to complete your Open Water training. In addition, the Referral allows us to introduce far more flexibility in scheduling at no extra cost. If you are undertaking the Referral option and decide to finish off here in the UK, you can opt onto this option at any time – we will simply charge you the difference between the two options, there is no surcharge.
Scheduling Options
There are 3 scheduling options. The Standard Open Water course, which is the cheapest, runs over 4 consecutive Sundays and a new course starts on the first Sunday of every month. You will need to ensure that you are available for all of the 4 Sundays of the course. In addition to the 4 Sundays, on week 3 there is an additional session in the pool on Thursday evening (we meet at about 6:30pm to 7:00pm for an 8:00pm pool session) to get our students familiar with the use of a Dry Suit. After all, during the winter in the UK, a Dry Suit is essential! For the Referral option you will do the first 3 Sundays and not the additional Thursday. To take a look at a specimen schedule for this option, follow this Schedule Link.
Alternatively, for a single £95 supplement, you can opt for the Flexible course option and choose whatever schedule you want, over a maximum 4 month period, provided it fits in with the established theory, pool and open water training days. This gives you a huge amount of flexibility in scheduling your course. We will agree your course schedule with you when you book the course and you can change this as often as you want within the 4 month period, provided you give us at least 2 week’s notice of the change. Please remember that as it interrupts the training process and impacts on your motor skill development, large gaps in training should be avoided. This structure allows us to offer you complete flexibility - you simply select which method suits you best and we charge you accordingly.
Finally, we can offer a completely Bespoke course schedule for those wanting a one-to-one course, an Intensive course or whose personal schedule makes either of the first two options impossible. As we will have to book additional pool and open water sessions to meet your schedule requirements, this option is priced on an individual basis and you will have to come in to the Centre to discuss this in more detail.
Extra Information
We do our Open Water dives at Stoney Cove which is about 35 minutes from Northampton and is located near Lutterworth at Stoney Stanton. Full details are available during the course. It is worth noting that Stoney Cove is probably Europe's biggest and best known inland Dive Training Centre and represents an ideal place to learn all year round.
All equipment hire, training materials, certification and air fills are included in your course fee. There are however 1 additional cost:
Stoney Cove charges a fee for entrance to the site. As they provide heated changing facilities, parking, toilets and Emergency Rescue Support, this fee is good value and is payable by anyone, trainee or diver, who uses the facility, although spectators don't pay. This cost would not apply to anyone completing the Referral option. The cost is around £20 per visit but does change every year or two.