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Toe By Toe

toe by toe

4.9(14)

Shipley

Keda spent almost all of her teaching career at one school - Sandal Road Primary School in Baildon, UK. She also almost exclusively taught just one age group, 6-7 year-olds; the age that most children pick up their reading skills. This was to become Keda’s great passion - the teaching of reading. Initially, she was baffled as to why a significant proportion of the children in her classes struggled to pick up basic reading skills. To Keda, they were just as bright as the other children but - for them - reading remained a mysteriously difficult skill. Keda always had a keen and inquisitive mind and this question of why some children had difficulties in learning to read nagged at her. She thought that she had somehow failed these students, so she made an offer to their parents. She asked their permission to teach their children at her home - without charge - at the end of the school day. As a result of this offer, Keda’s house was soon overflowing with struggling readers. Keda even designed an extension to her house to include a custom-built classroom and persuaded her doting husband Albert to build it. For the next 30 years, Keda’s house - literally, just a stone’s throw away from the school where she worked - was full of children. Between 4-5pm every school day she looked for ways to improve their reading skills. Keda's All-Consuming Passion At the time Keda began her research into children’s reading problems, few people had even heard of the term ‘dyslexia’. Keda became fascinated by the condition and her private research soon became an all-consuming obsession. She divided the children into two groups. A control group where conventional methods were used, and her ‘guinea pigs’, where Keda tried anything and everything to see what would work. This painstaking process of trial and error became the genesis of what later came to be known as Toe By Toe. Keda had no idea what was happening in the psychology departments of universities. She simply looked at the reading process and pared it down to the bare essentials necessary to crack the code of this ‘reading thing’. This is also why Toe By Toe is so refreshingly free of jargon and psychological gobbledygook. It certainly wasn’t a ‘quick fix’ process. Only after decades of this meticulous approach did Toe By Toe eventually become the fully functioning system we have now. Keda named the system ‘Toe By Toe’ after a grateful parent commented that she could see how it worked: “Progress by tiny steps – almost one toe at a time…”

Haverstock Fencing Club

haverstock fencing club

4.8(5)

London

Haverstock Fencing Club was formed in 1995 by a committee of epee fencers from London clubs who wanted to establish a centre of excellence in North London. They quickly managed to gain a reputation on two levels, namely as a place for elite fencers to train for the competition circuit, and secondly as a friendly but professional environment for children and adults to learn how to fence. The evidence of their success speaks for itself. Haverstock fencers have a fearsome reputation on the competition circuit, with many current and former national champions training there, male and female. Haverstock has been the dominant force in British epee fencing almost since it was established. Indeed, when top fencers arrive in London from abroad, Haverstock is normally their first port of call. More importantly, Haverstock has always seen itself as a progressive club, open to all, with a particular emphasis on children and the local community. Beginners courses are often oversubscribed and many of those that went through the early courses are now well regarded on the senior circuit. Haverstock coaches take great pride in the ability of their young protégés, and the club has also catered for disabled fencers. Costs are kept low to ensure the sport is open to all. The club has two full-time coaches (with World and European Championship experience) and two part-time coaches, who take care of all newcomers, giving them a solid grounding in the basic skills required, teaching in a fun but challenging way. Haverstock is one of the best equipped clubs in the country, with plenty of kit for beginners to use for free while they decide whether the sport is for them. Training takes place three nights a week, with a mix of group lessons, individual lessons and fitness work to cater for all levels. We also run popular training camps and weekend courses. The Chairman and committee are dedicated to continuing to cater for both the elite competitors who have so enhanced the reputation of the club as well as newcomers to the sport, along with the many children and adults who are now “hooked” on fencing, having had their introduction to it at Haverstock.