The 2016 ART Awards winners are announced

Tonight, the Association of Ringing Teachers has proudly presented the inaugural ART Awards 2016 – celebrating the very best in ringing achievements and training practices.

Held at the world-famous Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough after the biggest ever ART Conference day, the ART Awards Prize Giving Ceremony was attended by over 60 people – including many of the winners who were able to be there in person.

The ART Awards is a new initiative from the Association of Ringing Teachers, launched last year when nominations opened for tonight’s awards. With the project led by Stephanie Warboys, we have been very impressed by the number and range of applications and the enthusiasm shown by those driving each project.

Stephanie Pattenden, ART’s Independent Educational Standards Committee Chair, was Chief Judge for all the ART Awards, utilising specialist judges in various fields across the ART Awards categories. In judging the Awards, Stephanie was looking out for:

  • Clear and verifiable outcomes, benefits and value added
  • Energy, success and achievement – however you would like to define this!
  • Best practice, innovation and activities of educative value
  • Structured learning, goals and planning
  • Involvement of the wider community/school
  • Examples that others could follow, emulate or adapt to their own circumstances

A significant prize fund was established with the support of The Sarah Beacham Trust and our Award sponsors, John Taylor & Co and AlelSim – to whom we are very grateful. The cash prize pot for the ART Awards 2016 exceeded £2,500 and in addition all those who achieved Learning the Ropes Level 5 will be invited to a centrally-organised weekend event: The Learning the Ropes Masterclass. This will be run in the second half of 2016 by a team of hand-picked, top flight ringers and will be designed to provide opportunities that are not normally available locally. Travel and accommodation will be arranged and paid, for participants based in the mainland UK.

The Sarah Beacham Youth Group Award

WINNER
St Mary’s Brighstone, Isle of Wight

Features that impressed the judges:
Flexibility and responsiveness to the specific development needs of the different age groups and clear planning to address retention.

Highly Commended
Old North Berks Branch of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers
The Edingers

Also nominated: The Wednesday Campanile Group, EDA Young Ringers and The Yardley Hastings, St Andrew Youth Band

The Sarah Beacham School Group Award

WINNER
Denmisch Project, Exeter Cathedral School

Features that impressed the judges:
Sustainability and an innovative approach, using Saxilby simulators in a room specially designed at the school; but also taking steps to integrate into local towers.

Highly Commended
Elizabeth College, Guernsey

Also nominated: Winchester and Portsmouth Guild (St Swithun’s Senior Girls’ School and Winchester College / Caroline Fairley) and St Chad’s, Lichfield / Nether Stowe School Lichfield

ART Award for Innovation in the Effective Use of Technology in Teaching
sponsored by John Taylor & Co

WINNER
The Docklands Ringing Centre

Features that impressed the judges:
Well established and lots of different technological features: simulators, computers, videos and wide screen, good examples of their use.

Highly Commended
Denmisch Project, Exeter Cathedral School
Stretham REC

Also nominated: Church Gresley, Holy Trinity, Weston Training Centre, Landbeach Bell Ringers and Holy Trinity, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury

ART Award for Effective/Innovative use of Social or Other Media

WINNER
The Docklands Ringing Centre

Features that impressed the judges:
A great deal of variety in what is done. Including on-line TV and an experiment with a web site: “meetup.com” for people looking for hobbies.

Also nominated: Church Gresley and www.treblesgoing.org.uk

ART Award for Innovation in Recruitment or Retention
sponsored by AbelSim

WINNER
Clare McArdle and Birmingham School of Bell Ringing

Features that impressed the judges:
The huge scale of the operation and an approach that is new and different, which also makes efforts to ensure that participants are able to integrate into a local tower and not just the School.

Highly Commended
Church Gresley
Peter McBride, Eastern District of the Irish Association of Change Ringers
Denmisch Project, Exeter Cathedral School
The Docklands Ringing Centre
Holy Trinity, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury
Corinne Rule

ART Award for Learning the Ropes + Young Conductor of the Year

WINNER
Rose Horton

Highly Commended
Thomas Monks

ART Award for Learning the Ropes + Outstanding Progress Award

WINNER
Thomas Monks

Highly Commended
Rose Horton

Also nominated: Neil Toussaint, Anne Toussaint, Sam Bolingbroke and Bronwen Laugharne

ART Award for Learning the Ropes Level 5 Achiever of the Year

WINNERS
Rose Horton
Thomas Monks

Also nominated: Neil Toussaint, Andrew Booth, Sam Kellaway, Mark Heritage, Rosie Storrar, Bob Deeley and Albert Williams

A huge congratulations to all of our Winners!

ART will be publishing further details of the winner’s achievements over the coming weeks. We hope you have been inspired to enter next year’s ART Awards!

For further information, please contact

Stephanie Warboys
ART Awards Leader
artawards@ringingteachers.co.uk

Graham Nabb
ART Management Committee
grahamnabb@ringingteachers.co.uk