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Training Sessions

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The Stoney Hills Ring
Why Learning the Ropes?
Training sessions
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An Introduction to
Change–Ringing
Fun with bells
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What training sessions does the school offer?

Level 1 - Bell Handling

A taster lesson, followed by course of 6 to 8 individual lessons, each lasting about 60-90 minutes can be arranged with one of our teachers on an ad-hoc basis. Please e-mail us at alresford@bellringing.co.uk These sessions can be held at any of the towers participating n the hub and at a mutually convenient time. Our preference is to fit in a least two lessons per week to start with, to get you up and running quickly.

     

Levels 2 & 3 - Foundation skills and Introduction to change ringing

From this stage onwards a ringer will be able to join a local band and attend their regular weekly practice sessions (see locations), although bell handling lessons may continue in parallel for a while, to perfect technique.

      

Levels 4 & 5 - Change Ringing

These are catered for in certain band’s regular weekly practice sessions.

The school also helps arrange extra ad-hoc training sessions and quarter peal attempts to help ringers gain additional practice and progress through these levels (see performances page for some of our activities).

      

Beyond Level 5 - More advanced methods

The school also arranges ad-hoc training sessions and quarter peal attempts at the towers participating in the school to help ringers extend their method repertoire.

This includes participating in the Learning the Ropes Plus scheme.

     

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme

We can support people aged 14 or above from Perins school who wish to take up bellringing under the DofE scheme. Bellringing is recognised as a musical skill by DofE, but it takes many hours of the teachers and band members time to train a new bell-ringer, so we would expect you to choose this skill as a minimum six month option and commit to supporting your local team.

A DofE Award is a world-renowned mark of achievement, widely recognised by university admissions tutors and employers. Bell-ringing offers the opportunity to develop a wealth of soft skills and attributes such as the ability to learn new skills, meeting new challenges, demonstrating commitment, building confidence and self-esteem and the ability to work with others. This can be included in CV’s and UCAS statements to complement academic achievements.

Bellringers from 154 towers in Hampshire are encouraged to join the Winchester & Portsmouth Guild. The Guild organises a regular programme of events and also runs a young ringers group, which meet on a monthly basis and which participates in a national ringing competition against other young ringers bands.

     

Our simulator

We have a computer simulator on all the bells at New Alresford and at Old Alresford and on two of the bells on the Stoney Hills Ring.  People can practice ringing in time with the computer, which acts as a perfect band and allows people to make mistakes without embarrassing themselves in front of others. At new and Old Alresford it also enables us to hold practice sessions without making a noise outside the tower.