Hexham sees the return of Hexham Gymnastics Club thanks to the hard work and dedication of local Coach Brian Blake. Brian from Bardon Mill has over twenty years experience in Gymnastic Coaching going as far back as 1983. Brian fell into Coaching almost by accident after his children began to take an interest in the sport.

Brian took his coaching skills to Wallsend Girls Gymnastics Club which moved onto the North of Tyne Gymnasium it was during his time there that Brian was coheres in starting a Gymnastics Club in Ponteland which he later went on to run. When Brian moved to the Tyne Valley he provided Coaching at Haydon Bridge Sports College and the Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham where he coached for twelve years along with his wife Gill.  Following on from this Gill moved onto further Coaching Positions but Brian was determined to keep Gymnastics alive in the Town and he spent much time searching for suitable premises all to no avail. Brian and Gill were then accepted to run an out of School Club at Samuel Kings School in Alston which is now home to Alston Gymnastics Club.

Following enquiries from Parents in Hexham Brian decided to persist with his idea of a Gymnastics Club for Hexham which would create competitive teams for Gymnasts as well as encourage and mentor young people and adults to gain Coaching qualifications; it was at this point Brian approached NBSL at the Hexham Business Advice Centre.

Brian and Gill were offered one to one advice sessions with locally based Business Advisor Sylvia Grainger who explained to them exactly what would be needed to make their idea a reality. As a result an action plan was formed specifically tailored to Brian and Gill’s needs. They specifically required help with business skills, business planning and sourcing funding.

Brian said ‘’the support we received from NBSL has been tremendous, Sylvia was fantastic guiding us through free Workshops on Being your own Boss and Manual Book-keeping.  Sylvia assisted us in completing a Business Plan to enable us to apply for funding to purchase Gym Equipment which led to an application being made to North East England Investment Centre which was successful in providing half the finance. On advice from Sylvia we contacted Anne Lawson from Social Enterprise Northumberland who offered help in applying to Sport England which resulted in the award of Small Grant for the remaining Finance we required.’’

 With everything in place the Hexham Gymnastics Club is poised to open in January 2010 and will be based at St Aidens United Reform Church in Hexham. Brian and Gill can be contacted by telephone on 07754189033 or via the Club email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it