EDUCATION COMMITTEE

2018, particularly with the Ringing Remembers initiative, was a very busy and successful year for the Guild as a whole, and the Education Committee in particular. Four full-day courses were run; Plain Bob Doubles and Minor at St. Mary Bourne in March; an Introduction to Treble Bob at Sherfield English in April; Plain Hunt and Trebling to Doubles Methods at Church Oakley in October; and finally Cambridge and London Surprise Minor at Shedfield in November. An evening of Basic Raising and Lowering took place in February, plus a morning of Raising and Lowering in Peal in May, both fully subscribed. In addition, during Holy Week there was a hands-on evening on Rope Splicing, led by the International Guild of Knot Tyers (Solent Branch), which attracted over 20 students.

Many of our students are ringers we have come to know over the years and it is wonderful to see them progress. It has been equally gratifying this year to see a number of new students who have not attended courses before - we hope we have whetted their appetite to come again.

Our four full-day courses for 2019 are already planned, starting with Cambridge Surprise Major in March - a method we have not covered for at least ten years. This will be followed by Grandsire Doubles and Triples in April, and the ever-popular Listening Skills in October. Finally, we will be offering Plain Hunt and Trebling to Doubles Methods in November, the basic “building block” for method ringing which we hope will appeal to some of our newer ringers. Alongside this we are hoping to offer a full-day Belfry Maintenance course which has proved to be very popular in the past. And look out for additional half-day or evening courses on other subjects when time allows and tutors are available.

A number of Guild members have attended ART courses during 2018, sometimes in other areas, and plans are already in hand for further Module 1 and Module 2 courses during 2019, thus encouraging those who have not tried teaching before, whilst sharing ideas with, and drawing on experience from, many who are already teaching within their own towers.

Details of all our courses are sent out through District Secretaries to be passed on to Tower Secretaries; they can always be found on the Guild website, through the win-port list, or direct from the Education Committee.

Financially whilst our 2018 end-of-year figure is lower than last year, some £300 has already been paid towards 2019 costs, and we remain in a stable position.

Last but not least The Education Committee would like to pay tribute to the silent army of ringers who generously give their time, talents and energy to volunteer as helpers on Education Days. They are so welcome, so valuable, and so much appreciated; we could not manage without them. Thank you all very much.

Christine Knights-Whittome