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Fast track SQL Course (3 days)

Shaun (one of our 7 Wise Owl trainers)

Find the right course for you

Over 50 Google
5-star reviews

 

546 attributed
reviews

Topics from our Introduction to SQL course

  • Using SQL Server

    Subtopics

    1. SQL Server Management Studio
    2. Controlling windows
    3. Using Object Explorer
  • Creating databases - overview

    Subtopics

    1. Designing databases
    2. Primary keys
  • Working with tables

    Subtopics

    1. Creating tables
    2. Allowing nulls or not
    3. Identity fields
    4. Creating relationships
  • Query Designer

    Subtopics

    1. Building queries
    2. Editing queries in the designer
  • Simple Queries

    Subtopics

    1. Creating queries
    2. Comments
    3. Indentation and case
  • Setting criteria using WHERE

    Subtopics

    1. Wildcards (% and _)
    2. Setting criteria for dates
    3. Coping with nulls
  • Calculations

    Subtopics

    1. Calculated columns
    2. Using aliases
    3. String functions and concatenation
  • Calculations using dates

    Subtopics

    1. GetDate
    2. Converting dates
    3. Useful date functions
  • Basic joins

    Subtopics

    1. Inner joins
    2. Table aliases
    3. Left and right outer joins
  • Aggregation and grouping

    Subtopics

    1. SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX
    2. Various ways to count
    3. Grouping by fields
    4. Using HAVING to filter results
  • Views

    Subtopics

    1. The view designer
    2. Limitations of the designer
    3. Scripting views
  • Subqueries  

    Subtopics

    1. The concept of a subquery
    2. Syntax of subqueries
    3. Using subqueries in a query
  • Derived tables and CTEs  

    Subtopics

    1. Using derived tables
    2. Common Table Expressions (CTEs)
    3. Multiple CTEs in a single query

Topics from our Advanced SQL course

  • Stored procedures

    Subtopics

    1. Creating stored procedures
    2. Executing stored procedures
    3. System stored procedures
  • Variables

    Subtopics

    1. Declaring variables
    2. SET versus SELECT
    3. Tricks with variables
    4. So-called global variables
  • Parameters and return values

    Subtopics

    1. Passing parameters
    2. Default values / WHERE clauses
    3. Output parameters
    4. Using RETURN
  • Scalar functions

    Subtopics

    1. What they are
    2. Writing user-defined functions
    3. Worked examples
    4. Pros and cons of scalar functions
  • Testing conditions

    Subtopics

    1. IF / ELSE statement
    2. Using CASE where possible
  • Looping

    Subtopics

    1. Syntax of WHILE
    2. Breaking out of a loop
  • Error-handling

    Subtopics

    1. Using TRY / CATCH
    2. System error functions
    3. Custom error messages
  • Deleting using SQL

    Subtopics

    1. Ways to drop tables
    2. DELETE versus TRUNCATE
  • Updating data in SQL

    Subtopics

    1. The UPDATE statement
    2. Updating using joins
  • Inserting data

    Subtopics

    1. Making tables (SELECT INTO)
    2. Appending data (INSERT INTO)
    3. Inserting individual rows
  • Creating tables

    Subtopics

    1. Creating tables in SQL
    2. Primary keys and indexes
    3. Adding relationships
  • Transactions

    Subtopics

    1. Beginning a transaction
    2. Committing / rolling back
  • Temporary tables and table variables

    Subtopics

    1. Scope (local versus global)
    2. Using temporary tables
    3. Creating table variables
    4. Pros and cons of each approach
  • Table-valued functions  

    Subtopics

    1. In-line table-valued functions
    2. Mult-statement table-valued functions
  • Derived tables and CTEs

    Subtopics

    1. Using derived tables
    2. Common Table Expressions (CTEs)
    3. Multiple CTEs in a single query
  • Debugging  

    Subtopics

    1. Debugging queries and procedures
    2. Setting breakpoints
  • Dynamic SQL  

    Subtopics

    1. Building up dynamic SQL
    2. Executing dynamic SQL
    3. Disadvantages of dynamic SQL
  • Pivots  

    Subtopics

    1. Assembling data for pivoting
    2. Using PIVOT
    3. Dynamic column headers
  • Triggers  

    Subtopics

    1. Insert, update and delete triggers
    2. Using generated tables (eg INSERTED)
    3. Using INSTEAD OF

Topics marked will be covered if time allows.

Get a PDF of the course contents

Why Choose Us?

Here are some reasons to choose Wise Owl courses:

In addition, here are some benefits unique to classroom training:

And some benefits specific to online training:

  • Courseware posted to you in advance
  • Separate pre-course check-up included
  • Our clever Wordsworth system means you can use our laptops (and we can see them)

We've been in business over 30 years - we must be doing something right!

Fast track SQL course dates

The table below lists the Fast track SQL courses that we currently have scheduled (click on one of the tabs to filter the list).

Date(s) Date(s) Duration Venue Price Times  
Wed/Fri 29-31 January 2025 29-31 Jan 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 12-14 March 2025 12-14 Mar 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 28-30 April 2025 28-30 Apr 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 11-13 June 2025 11-13 Jun 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 21-23 July 2025 21-23 Jul 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 10-12 September 2025 10-12 Sep 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 29-31 October 2025 29-31 Oct 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 01-03 December 2025 01-03 Dec 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book

If you can't see the course you want listed above, don't despair! If you can muster 3 or 4 people together, it may well be worth organising an onsite course at your office (we'll provide and set up the computers), or else an online course tailored to your needs.

We don't currently have any Fast track SQL courses scheduled in our London training centre. We may consider adding dates - it's always worth asking.

Alternatively, if you have a handful of like-minded people in your organisation, you could consider booking your own bespoke Fast track SQL course, whereby you get to pick the dates, training delivery method and venue!

We don't currently have any Fast track SQL courses scheduled in our Manchester training centre. We may consider adding dates - it's always worth asking.

Alternatively, if you have a handful of like-minded people in your organisation, you could consider booking your own bespoke Fast track SQL course, whereby you get to pick the dates, training delivery method and venue!

Date(s) Date(s) Duration Venue Price Times  
Wed/Fri 29-31 January 2025 29-31 Jan 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 12-14 March 2025 12-14 Mar 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 28-30 April 2025 28-30 Apr 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 11-13 June 2025 11-13 Jun 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 21-23 July 2025 21-23 Jul 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 10-12 September 2025 10-12 Sep 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Wed/Fri 29-31 October 2025 29-31 Oct 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Mon/Wed 01-03 December 2025 01-03 Dec 3 days Online £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book

If you can't see the course you want listed above, don't despair! If you can muster 3 or 4 people together, it may well be worth organising an onsite course at your office (we'll provide and set up the computers), or else an online course tailored to your needs.

About half of our courses are created bespoke for a single organisation, and either delivered onsite (usually somewhere in the UK, but we're willing to travel!) or online. For onsite courses we will usually provide and set up the necessary computers free of charge.

There are four main reasons why you might want to book tailored training like this:

  1. If you have 3 or more people, organising custom training will probably be cheaper than booking people individually onto a scheduled course.
  2. You'll be able to choose the content of any training, and be able to pause it for discussions on how you'll use software internally, or ask to take digressions.
  3. You may not be able to travel to our venues, so it might be easier to ask us to travel to you.
  4. You may not be able to make the dates of our published scheduled courses, and want to be able to choose when your training takes place.

If you'd like a quote for how much a tailored course would cost please let us know what you'd like to achieve and we'll get back to you (normally within half a working day).

What other people have said about our Fast track SQL course

Here are some comments we've received about our Fast track SQL course . You can see all of our 546 reviews here. We would like to sincerely thank the clients whose names are shown below for kindly agreeing to let us share their feedback.

"I absolutely loved the course and attending it has given me a lot of food for thought in how I can implement the use within my team. The trainer was superb and communicated clearly the 'how' and 'why' you'd do things in a certain way, looking out for common errors along the way. I needed to know about how to import data into SQL, which wasn't part of the course content, but the trainer was very accommodating by staying behind with me for 10 minutes to show me how I'd do this, which was very much appreciated. I am inexperienced when it comes to using databases and writing script/code, however I had heard about the benefits of using SQL as a tool and wanted to upskill. Thank you for the course - I hope to come on another sometime soon!"

Katherine Wellock

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG)

"A great trainer and it didn't feel like he was just reading from a script. He explained each step and showed us multiple ways to achieve the desired outcome and which methods should be used in a particular situation. He also pointed out any common problems or things we should look out for that he has experienced in his career. Other staff have already taken the course and have had positive things to say about it."

Ben Ryland

Macquarie Energy Leasing

"Great training experience, fantastic and knowledgeable trainer. 100% suited to my needs, could not recommend enough"

Jaroslaw Borgul

Ifor Williams Trailers Ltd

"It was highly interactive: having to type out and run the code alongside the trainer ensured that I learned how to do it (vs trying to absorb lots of theory from powerpoints!) Our trainer was very personable, and ensured that we stayed engaged throughout - not easy to do over a three day course delivered remotely!"

Myriam Telford

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)

"I thought the training was a good introduction to SQL. The trainer was obviously very experienced and I found it useful that he explained why certain aspects were important, rather than just how. He was clear and easy to understand. "

Jessica Clark

West Berkshire Council

"Very enjoyable course, communication and procedure from start to finish was great as well. I had everything I needed well in advance, which is a huge plus; this meant no faffing around on the day-of and we were straight in there."

Bradley Swift

Torus62 Ltd

About this Fast track SQL course

Click on one of the tabs below to see the given information about the course.

Out of all of our three-day fast-track courses, this is probably the one which offers the best alternative to the relevant two-day introduction and two-day advanced courses.  This is for two reasons:

  • The progression from selecting data in SQL through to advanced topics like creating stored procedures is natural and fairly straightforward.

  • The fast-track course misses out some topics which are of less use than others (table-valued functions spring to mind).

However, for many people three days of training can be a day too much, so please do bear this in mind when considering booking onto this course (if you find learning software difficult, this also isn't the course for you).

Pre-requisites

There are no special pre-requisites for you to satisfy to attend this course, other than to have a good level of IT literacy.  If you don't find it easy to create Excel formulae you should avoid this course!

What you'll need to bring

If you book on a classroom course, the only thing you need to bring to the course is ... yourself! We even provide a notepad and a suprisingly nice pen for you to take notes with.

For online training you'll need two things:

  1. A good internet connection (otherwise you'll have a frustrating time); and
  2. A second screen (a requirement, not a nice-to-have!)

You can see full details of our online course requirements here.

For classroom training, you won't need a computer - we (obviously) will provide that. However, you're welcome to use your own laptop if you prefer, providing that you have the correct software installed.

For online training you will need a computer, but you won't need to have any software installed.  This is because you'll use Windows Remote Desktop to connect to our computers using our whizzy Wordsworth online training system, and these computers will have all of the necessary files and software installed.

When you book a place

If you book a place on one of our courses:

  • For classroom courses we will send out a joining email. That's it!
  • For online courses we will get in touch to organise a half-hour pre-course check to iron out any connection problems before the course (rather than during it). We will also ask you whether you want to receive a printed copy of the course manual (and post this to you if you do).

Whatever type of course you book, we will also send you out a reminder a few days before the course is due to take place - not that (we hope) you'll have forgotten!

After the course

After the course finishes you'll receive a digital certificate proving your attendance (we will gladly send a paper copy on request also).

We don't have any formal arrangement for answering questions after the course, but if you get stuck on something and email your trainer they should (and nearly always do!) respond as quickly as their training schedule allows.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions

Click on any heading below to learn more!

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What other SQL courses can I take?▼

Here is a list of all of the SQL courses that we run:

Course name Days
Introduction to SQL 2 days
Advanced SQL 2 days
SQL in Azure Data Studio 2 days
Fast track SQL (this course) 3 days

What courses do you have related to this one?▼

You might like to consider invesigating these related courses:

Related course Days Level
Introduction to SQL 2 days Introduction
Advanced SQL 2 days Intermediate or advanced

What are your venues for your classroom SQL courses?▼

We run our scheduled classroom training courses in the following venues:

Venue Details
SQL training in London We run our courses in London from the LandMark offices in Bishopsgate, right in the middle of the City (and close to Liverpool Street mainline station).
SQL training in Manchester We run our courses in Manchester from the Holiday Inn business centre, which is a few minutes' walk from Piccadilly station.
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Head office

Kingsmoor House

Railway Street

GLOSSOP

SK13 2AA

London

Landmark Offices

99 Bishopsgate

LONDON

EC2M 3XD

Manchester

Holiday Inn

25 Aytoun Street

MANCHESTER

M1 3AE

© Wise Owl Business Solutions Ltd 2025. All Rights Reserved.

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