The Winchester & Portsmouth Guild youth ringing group is comprised of young ringers up to the age of 18. The upper age mirrors the age limits for youth ringers participating in the Ringing World National Youth Contest, although we have some recent retirees from the group (aged up to 22) who continue to support the younger ringers.
Youth ringing in the Guild remains in a very strong position, with over 40 youth ringers participating in at least one youth event during 2025. Eleven general practices were held in different towers around the Guild, attended each time by between 15 and 20 young ringers. Ringing included rounds / call changes, up to Grandsire Cinques and Surprise Major. It was impressive to see a band of W&P YOUTHS ring some well struck call changes at Winchester Cathedral with no adult help.
We have welcomed several new ringers to the group, some only just handling, but with the support of the more established youth ringers we hope to see them make some great progress in the next few years. These are the ringers of the future, and will be supported by the established youths and adult helpers.
The guild youth ringers entered two competitions during the year. In April, the W&P YOUTHS band travelled to Twyford in Berkshire for SEECON (South East England Contest). We were the only band who rang a method on 8 bells, and came away with fourth place. During the day, the band had the opportunity to ring on the bells at Bray (8, 25 cwt) with a number of our young ringers showing their skills on a heavy tenor.
In July, two W&P YOUTHS band entered the Ringing World National Youth Contest (RWNYC) in Birmingham, along with 38 other bands from across England and Wales. Our 6-bell method band managed to be placed 4th in their section. Our 8-bell method band came a very creditable 2nd (again) to the Yorkshire Tykes (again), with only ½ point separating the two teams. In addition, our band got to ring at St Martin’s in the Bullring, Solihull and Mossley, joining with youth bands from other parts of the country.
As we look forward to 2026, the majority of our ringers are of an age to continue to ring with the group, so we go into the year with a strong (in numbers and ability) and experienced group of youths. We look forward to hosting SEECON in April (being held in New Alresford) and to RWNYC in July (being held in Nottingham for the first time).
We are always looking for new under-18s to come to ring with us. We will be “retiring” a number of our youth band this year as they reach 19 years old, so will be looking to encourage younger ringers to fill their shoes.
Andy Ingram