Report of the 2003 Weekend
27/28 September 2003
The 2003 St Gabriel's Conference, at Wokefield Park on the outskirts of Reading, was a great success. Taking place on the weekend of 27th and 28th September, it was enjoyed by seminar leaders and the 190 delegates alike, providing a great opportunity for teachers to get away for a weekend and enjoy the company of fellow RE Teachers, and exchange ideas and discussion on topics of interest and concern in the RE Teaching world.
The weekend was structured round 5 main seminar sessions, in which leaders ran a total of 45 different seminars on a whole host of topics (see section on 'Seminar Topics'). The seminars were extremely well received by the delegates and the majority commented on the usefulness of the information they had been given, and inspired them to try different teaching methods and introduce new ideas to their classrooms.
In addition to the seminar sessions, Keynote Speeches were delivered by Barbara Wintersgill (HMI), John Keast (former QCA, RE Adviser) and Deborah Weston (Chair PCfRE) and an entertaining closing speech was given by an enthusiastic Graham Langtree (QCA).
Delegates enjoyed meeting people from their own regional area (a cunning seating plan!) over a lovely evening dinner function on Saturday evening, followed by a disco, enjoyed by those who could fit onto the dance floor. The more tired guests retired to the luxury of their hotel rooms or to a quiet(er) drink in the bar.
Sunday morning began with a short Eucharist service and breakfast, and then the final seminars were underway.
Comments From Participants
All in all, the weekend was a very enjoyable occasion for all -
“A great weekend – well worth giving up my time for”
“Informative and FREE – Wow!!”
“An excellent opportunity – lots of good speakers full of
ideas
for me to now put into practice”
“Just wonderful! Well organised and very professionally run. Most enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone!”
“Absolutely fantastic – very inspiring. I wish it could happen more often”
“I feel lucky to have been here”
