Name of Applicant:

Amber Wheaver

Date of birth:

29/05/2008

Email address:

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Home tower:

Mavesyn Ridware

County:

Staffordshire

Consent given:

Parent/Guardian name:

Scott Wheaver

Parent/Guardian email address:

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Application:

For the past year, I have stepped up to the role of Young Leader of the Three Spires Youth Team, part of the Lichfield and Walsall Archdeaconries Society. I find this role very rewarding because I get to help other young ringers, and it is enjoyable to spend time with people my own age, especially as I don’t usually see many young ringers outside our practices. As part of this role, I organise and run the ringing at our monthly practices, which has allowed me to share my knowledge and develop my organisation and time management skills to keep practices running efficiently. I communicate with the team before and during practices about what they would like to ring, making sure everyone rings something that helps them move forward. I regularly encourage young ringers to try new things they wouldn’t normally choose to gently push them out of their comfort zone, helping them build confidence and take the next step in their ringing. I also sent out an article to the wider society membership to increase the visibility of the Three Spires Youth Team, highlighting the activities we run and the opportunities we offer to encourage more engagement from young ringers.

Last year we entered our band into the Ringing World National Youth Contest where I had the opportunity to be the conductor. I am very proud to say that we came first in our class and came joint first overall out of a total of 37 teams competing. As a result, we won the Robert Lewis Trophy for Excellence.

I was recently given the opportunity to run the weekly practice nights at my local tower which similarly involves recognising the needs of each ringer by assessing their ability levels and planning a practice that gives everyone a chance of success to progress. I regularly visit other towers to develop and advance my own ringing skills; this has enabled me to make many connections with the wider world of ringing and has provided me with excellent opportunities and enjoyable days out.

Having the chance to be a Tutor at the Lichfield Ringing Centre on a local ringing course this year has enabled me to build my confidence and leadership skills further by listening, explaining and encouraging progress. It was really nice to see how much the course helped some of the members of my youth team as well as students from other local towers; especially seeing my influence as a tutor had on the progress of my student, another member of my youth team.

If I were to win the Dorothy L Sayers Award, I would like to support my local Lichfield Ringing Centre with some educational materials that would benefit future generations of ringers. I would also like to further progress my own ringing experiences.