Tutored by Roger Booth, this first course to be held at New Alresford will be module 1 of the ART Training scheme – teaching bell handling.

St John the Baptist, Alresford (8)

Suitable for new and experienced teachers alike, the day course is a mixture of theory presentations and practical exercises, breaking down the skills of bell handling into small, manageable steps, starting with the bell in the ‘down’ position. By carefully observing each movement as the new learner starts to develop their technique, teachers can quickly spot any handling issues and resolve these at an early stage rather than allowing them to develop into unhelpful habits.

Theory presentations will take place in the John Pearson hall next to the Church, and practical exercises will be in the tower, with teachers working in pairs, taking turns to be either the new ringer or teacher helping them learn a new skill and giving useful feedback.

Roger Booth – Course Tutor

Following the day course, delegates are encourage to go and put everything into practice by teaching a new learner using the Learning the Ropes programme. Delegates will be given access to the SmART Ringer system so that they can add their ringers and request certificates for them as they progress, review the day course materials and access a wide variety of resources for use when teaching in the tower.

Alongside teaching a new ringer, teachers can document their lesson plans in a teacher log book, reviewing lessons and planning future ones to help the individual ringer with their next steps towards bell handling. Once the teacher log book is complete, they can arrange for a visiting ART assessor to come along and watch them teaching handling, and assuming this is a positive visit, they would then be eligible for accreditation with ART and membership of the organisation.

The course at New Alresford costs £20, payable to ART. Places can be requested using this form:

If course delegates would like to take advantage of lunch on the day plus refreshments throughout the day, this is charged at £7.50, payable on the day  to the local organiser.

Parking near the Church is limited, but there is a large car park at the station which is just a few minutes walk away, costing £1.50 to park all day.