This weekend saw the return of the EBED Teacher’s Conference, held this year in Milton Keynes.

Based on feedback received from the 2017 Teachers Convention, the theme for the event was Recruitment and Advertising where the weekend was full of talks, case studies, presentations, workshops and Q&A sessions.

The highlight of the weekend was the inaugural EBED Teacher of the Year Award which was given by EBED Chairman Andy Margetts to Chris Lohan (pictured), much deserved for her hard work and dedication. Video of the award presentation.

Chris said “After a horrendous journey along the dreaded M25, I was greeted with such warmth and smiley faces from all – Lisa, Donna and Claire – that that memory quickly faded and I went on to enjoy a very pleasant few days indeed – not only pleasant but also extremely well organised and structured. I’m sure every teacher there gained a great deal from all the sessions. They were all so varied in content – ranging from the workshop introducing the Teacher Educators, offering much practical advice on a number of questions, to the exciting initiative at Stirling University researching the social world of bridge, and Tim Anderson’s description of his important development role – to name but a few.
Of course for me, the fortunate recipient of the new Teaching Award, it was an especially happy occasion and I received many congratulations both on the day and now from my students who have received the news and are so delighted for me. However, I believe congratulations should also go to all the EBED staff who, in my view, are doing a fantastic job - clearly illustrated by the amount of thought and planning that had gone into this gathering of bridge teachers.
I will look forward to the next one!”

The event was an overall success. There was a great turnout and lots of information shared and gained.

A few of the comments from other attendees of the event:

"fantastic, really helpful", "lots of good information", "inspirational speeches", "innovative workshops", "long overdue and much needed", “a very useful and enjoyable weekend”