Year 3 - 1/11/25-31/10/26

STARS celebrated its third anniversary on 1/11/26 and it has been yet another busy year!  We were delighted to be awarded ART (Association of Ringing Teachers) Teaching Hub status for a further year in January 2026.

At STARS  we look to provide development opportunities for the more experienced ringers at our affiliated towers who help support STARS sessions for less experienced ringers as well as working hard to develop the skills of less experienced ringers.  In the past 12 months we achieved the following:

• Our teachers have provided bell handling lessons and handling clinics to 11 ringers.
• We ran 9 courses and 23 targeted practices.
• We arranged 37 QPs, many targeting ‘firsts’ and although we didn’t score them all, QP attempts are always good for practice and consolidation and we always try again. We enabled the following ‘firsts’ through the 30 successful QPs:
  • 4 first quarter peals
  • 1 first as conductor
  • 9 other ‘firsts’ including first on treble to Doubles/Minor, first inside to minor, first on higher numbers, first in method.

We also arranged one peal (successfully scored), which was a first of Minor for 2 of the pealers.

During the year we also awarded the following Learning the Ropes certificates to our own learners:

• Level 1: 3
• Level 2: 4
• Level 3: 2
• Level 5: 1

We have also hosted visits from the local Cub Scouts pack and an NHS Bereavement team who came for a team building activity. We were also delighted that one of our young ringers achieved DofE Bronze and another DofE Gold using ringing as one of their activities for the award.  Some of our young ringers have also featured in the local press: https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/youngsters-urged-to-take-up-bellringing-at-st-annes-parish-church-5606326

In July we hosted the official opening of the Ashley B. Wilson STARS Studio. We are very grateful that Ashley’s family kindly decided that donations in his memory should be used to set up this facility to enhance the teaching of ringing and it was wonderful to welcome Ashley’s family so they could to see what we have set up. As the donations were so generous we hope to also be able to add a training bell in the near future, to help with initial bell handling training.  

To quote just some of the feedback we have received from local ringers in the past year, we are pleased we are making a real difference to local ringing:

• “Brilliant! These sessions area so helpful, not just for improving ringing skills and techniques, but they also help so much with increasing confidence. Thank you so much Monica and Stuart - and the wonderful helpers who gave so much support and advice and rang up and down all morning!!”
• “Thank you to all. This was a really interesting course. Being able to use the Ashley B Wilson STARS Studio was fantastic. It is an excellent facility that offers the opportunity to really extend bell ringing skills. This course made us think about our accuracy in striking and rhythm. Brilliant afternoon - thank you so much to Stuart, Monica and Jake for all your help and support.”
• “Thank you everyone. We are so lucky, you lovely helpers turn up week after week to teach and help us. Your patience and forbearance is extraordinary; your encouragement and support exceptional. I know I speak for all the learners... thank you! We are so grateful.”
• “Great practice. Thank you to everyone. These targeted practices are so useful and the help and support from the helpers is amazing.”
• “Thank you all.... Wonderful teachers and helpers. You always manage to create a safe place for us to learn and improve. A place where we can make mistakes, try again and achieve.... gaining confidence along the way. Fabulous!”

 As always, we owe a huge debt of thanks to the experienced ringers from our affiliated towers and beyond who give up their time to support our courses, targeted practices and QP attempts, we are all very grateful for your help.

We are also grateful to everyone who makes donations when they attend STARS courses and practices. This enables us to cover our running costs and invest in teaching aids. It has also enabled us to make donations to the following:

• St Anne’s Parish Church to help towards running costs and maintenance of the bells we use.
• LACR Bell Restoration Fund - to support other bell projects – such as the current St John’s project in Lytham.
• Association of Ringing Teachers – to support their work.

Year 2 - 1/11/24-31/10/25

STARS celebrated its second anniversary on 1/11/25 and it has been another busy year! At STARS we aren’t just looking to develop new ringers but also looking to provide development opportunities for the more experienced ringers at our affiliated towers who help support STARS sessions for less experienced ringers.  In the past 12 months we achieved the following:

• Our teachers have provided bell handling lessons and handling clinics to 12 ringers
• We ran 11 courses and 24 targeted practices
• We arranged 58 QPs, many targeting ‘firsts’ and although we didn’t score them all, QP attempts are always good for practice and we always try again. We enabled the following ‘firsts’ through the 40 successful QPs:
  • 7 first quarter peals
  • 7 firsts for conductors including first in method, first of Triples, first of spliced.
  • 27 other ‘firsts’ including first on treble, first inside, first on higher numbers, first in method.
• We also arranged one peal (successfully scored), which included 3 first pealers!

 

To quote just some of the feedback we have received from local ringers in the past year, we are pleased we are making a real difference to local ringing:

• “Thank you! It was a great course and I came away with a whole new level of confidence. The helpers were fantastic. Thank you all for your time, commitment and support - you make such a difference.”
• “I just wanted to say huge 'thank you' - not just for last night which was fab, but for all your help and support to us at Goosnargh over the past year. 18 months ago we were ringing rounds and a few call changes. Last night we attempted Plain Bob Doubles as a band! Tom is thrilled! Everyone's confidence has grown so much and we also have a much better understanding of the theory of what we are trying to achieve. Everyone is buzzing today and so motivated to move forward. You have changed bell ringing for us all! Thank you!”
• “I think this course was brilliant and is a really useful foundation course for learners early their bell ringing journey. I think if I had done it earlier I may have been a different ringer now!”
• “Thank you... the work you put in to help learners is fantastic. Your encouragement and support has helped me improve; has motivated me, improved my confidence  and I am so enjoying ringing.”
• “You both offer amazing training. Can’t wait for the next training session. Thank you.”
• “I thought the theory element was excellent. It was all put simply and explained well and it helped so many things fall into place. The 'listening' part was particularly useful. I just wish I had had this course a year ago!”

 

Again, a huge thank you to the experienced ringers from our affiliated towers and beyond who give up their time to support our courses, targeted practices and QP attempts, we are all very grateful for your help.

 

We are looking forward to establishing the Ashley B. Wilson STARS Studio in the next few months, which will enable us to extend our training opportunities even further.

 

Year 1  - 1/11/23-31/10/24

STARS is celebrating its first anniversary on 1/11/24 and what a year it has been! We’ve pulled off a few statistics and even we were amazed by how much we have achieved this year!

• Our teachers have provided 134 hours of bell handling lessons to 10 learners
• We ran 15 courses, providing 71 student places
• We arranged 21 targeted practices, providing 91 learner places
• We arranged 24 QPs targeting ‘firsts’ and although we didn’t score them all, QP attempts are always good for practice, and we always try again. We enabled 14 ‘firsts’ through the successful QPs.• Through our QPs, courses and targeted practices we have helped 35 ringers from our 9 affiliated towers and 16 ringers from 12 other towers to develop their ringing skills further.

 

To quote just some of the feedback we have received from local ringers in the past year, we hope we are making a real difference to local ringing:

• "Thank you to Monica and Stuart for running these courses they both go above and beyond to make the students feel they are in safe hands, which gives me the confidence to push myself a little more each time - wonderful"
• "Really enjoyed this course. The theory covered some elements I hadn't thought about before. It was good to go back to basics on some parts but also be able to try something new. I really appreciated enough time to be able to have a second go at something I got wrong the first time...and to try again, and be able to get it right - Yay! There was a good progression into slightly different and more complex things to ring. I came away with renewed enthusiasm and increased confidence. Great course - Thank you!”
• "You explained everything so clearly and remained perfectly calm when I got in a pickle. This filled me with confidence and meant I progressed much more quickly. It was great to have so much practice."
• “Thank you.....I have really floundering around at the same level for the past two years. I now feel that I am really progressing and I have got the excitement back into my bell ringing. You teachers and helpers are fabulous!”
• "Thanks everyone. The helpers were fab and I really feel like I’ve made great strides today. Monica and Stuart thanks for organising these events they truly make such a difference in improvement and confidence."

 

As always, a huge thank you to the experienced ringers from our affiliated towers and beyond who give up their time to support our courses, targeted practices and QP attempts, we are all very grateful for your help.