On Saturday the 24th March, there will be a Module 1 day course at St Laurence in Thanet, teaching bell handling. The course will be tutored by Roger Booth and is the introduction to the ART Training scheme where teaching skills are developed through practical application in the teacher accreditation process.
Delegates can be experienced teachers of bell handling who wish to extend their skills, gain ideas and support other teachers. It is equally suitable for those who have never taught before, but who wish to teach people to ring safely and effectively.
St Laurence in Thanet
Because the ART Training scheme approach breaks down learning to handle a bell into small, manageable chunks, (starting with the bell down), it is ideal for nervous learners who want to gain confidence and feel more in control. As handling issues are noticed and corrected straight away, these should never develop into unhelpful habits which would later on restrict the new ringer’s ability to progress.
Following the day course, teachers are given access to the SmART Ringer website where they can register their ringers for the Learning the Ropes scheme and award certificates as they progress. Teachers are encouraged to work towards accreditation with ART within a 2 year period, during which time they will teach at least one new person to ring and record this in their teacher’s log book. After a visit from an ART Assessor who confirms their teaching is safe and competent, the teacher would become accredited with ART for teaching handling.
The Ringing Chamber at St Laurence in Thanet
Roger Booth (from Docklands) will be tutoring this course which is being organised locally by Tony Goodman, a ringer from Minster.
Roger Booth – Course Tutor
Course fees are £20 to ART, plus additional local costs to cover teas and coffees / tower donation. There are toilets in the Church and parking nearby.
St Laurence in Thanet has 10 bells, with the tenor weighing 14cwt, these were overhauled in 1997 and are rung from an upstairs ringing room.
Course delegates who would like further information or to request a place on the Thanet course can apply online here