The Guild is active in teaching people to learn how to ring and encouraging them to advance their ringing abilities. Apart from the Holy Week event, most training is done at District level.
To find out more about learning to ring and about the training we offer, please contact the Guild Training Officer (Mike Bale) or fill out the form below. If demand is too great for one session we can always run another session later in the year.
People learn in lots of different ways. The courses below are mostly practical sessions in a tower. If you think reading the theory will help you then please navigate the links in the right-hand menu.
Courses that are available from the Guild are as follows… when you have chosen, please fill in the booking form and we will endeavor to get back to you as soon as possible:
| Course | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bell Handling for Beginners | Introduction to learning to ring for the first time. | Evening or half day |
| Bell Handling Surgery | Aimed at ringers who recognise their bell handling could improve, ideally accompanied by their Tower Captain. | Evening or half day |
| Raising & Lowering | Practice in how to raise and lower in peal, and how to lead raising and lowering. | Evening or half day |
| From Rounds to Call Changes | What are Call Changes and how to interpret the calls. Covering “Calling Up or Calling Down, the structure of the change. | Evening or half day |
| From Changes to Plain Hunt | Making the transition from rounds and call changes to Plain Hunt | Evening or half day |
| Learning Your First Method | You’ve learned to Plain Hunt – what next? | Evening or half day |
| Listening Skills | Exercises to encourage people to hear the difference between good and poor striking, and identify unevenness. | Evening or half day |
| Introduction to Bob Calling | Basic understanding of how to read and learn touches, where to make the calls and what to start looking out for | Evening or half day |
| From Bob Calling to Conducting | So you can put bobs in, what happens when others start going wrong. | Evening or half day |
| Tower Officers Guide | Running a practice, simple calling, progressing your band, organise ringers tea, organising and outing, working with the church. | Evening or half day |
| Plan & Run a Recruitment Day | How to plan and run a public recruitment session – within the church, general public, scouts/guides, D of E. | Evening or half day |
| Train the Trainer – Initial Bell Handling to Raising and Lowering | For Ringers wishing to trainer bell handling and control to complete beginners | 3 sessions (evenings or half days) |
| Train the Trainer – Raising & Lowering | How to safely train people to raise and lower a bell. | Evening or half day |
| Kaleidoscope for Conductors | Training Conductors on how to call and gain best benefit from the Kaleidoscope approach, and when to use it. | Evening or half day |
| Kaleidoscope for Novices | An introduction to the Kaleidoscope approach. | Evening or half day |
| Belfry Maintenance | Routine and advanced belfry maintenance – from regular inspection to initiating major work. | Evening or half day |