For the event held on 29th April, the only request was for St Clements minor. An enthusiastic but small group (of two) attended at The Gordon Halls Centre, Eckington. Although it was a full day, the students made good progress and within a couple of weeks one had achieved her first Quarter Peal and on further visits to the Centre the other has successfully rung touches in the method. For the event held on 20th October, the only request was for Bob Doubles (at Etwall which went ahead with just two pupils who also benefited from the low number of candidates). The lack of demand is disappointing, and we have concluded that basic training may best be accommodated with locally arranged events.

Although not directly organised by the Committee, 3 ITTS (Integrated Teacher Training Scheme) courses took place within the Derby DA which have proved popular. These courses are intended to deliver a new generation of ringing teachers, supported by experienced teachers. The delegates on each course include ringers who have never taught anyone to ring but would like to try, ringers who have ended up teaching because no one else was available (and have had little or no support in their teaching) and ringers who are already teaching well but want to look at new developments and share tips of what works well with each other. Particularly experienced teachers are invited to be mentors; so far in the Derby DA we have had 10 Mentors and 23 Teachers attend the Module 1 Bell Handling course. If you would like to find out more about ITTS, visit www.ringingteachers.co.uk or contact Gill Hughes.

Andrew Hall