David Wayte (Cert Ed, FAoR, CNHC, ITEC) is the Principal and Reflexology Course Lecturer at the Nottingham / Derby, Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester Schools for Jubilee College.

Some of you may have heard me on the radio, and for some of you my name will be totally unknown, so I will take this opportunity to introduce myself, and hope that I will get to meet you in person soon.

I am a fully qualified Lecturer, a Fellow of the Association of Reflexologists and Masseur. I have many years experience in practicing therapies and before founding Jubilee College, I was Department Head of Complementary Therapies at South East Derbyshire College. I am the only Reflexologist in the UK to be made a member of the Royal Society of Medicine and I also run my own Complementary Therapy practice with my wife, Marie.

I originally trained at the Northern School of Reflexology (when it was still an AoR accredited school), but after qualifying there, realised there was still so much more to learn. I then went on to do further training with Loretta Cusworth - one of the UK's foremost Reflexologists and Moshe Kruchik, of Tel Aviv - Israel.

My personal motto is 'strive for excellence'. If you are looking for the highest standard of training and want to become the best therapist that you can be, then my courses are for you. I also believe that, although Reflexology training involves intensive study, learning should be fun. Previous students have stated that they have found learning about the human body compelling and fascinating.

A question I often get asked is 'Why don't I run a Reflexology course that will give a practitioners diploma after a couple of weekends training?' The answer is quite simple. I like to train quality therapists. It is true that you can call yourself a Reflexologist without training at all. I've even seen courses advertised as 'The quickest and easiest course to give you a practitioners diploma'. This kind of course frightens me, since how can you learn all you need to know in such a short amount of time and still practice on the public safely?

I also strongly believe that for students to get the most out of a course and to succeed in their chosen subject, a good interaction between student and teacher is vital. I have spoken with too many students who have dropped out of courses because they just can't get on with their teacher. This is why the first lesson I give is structured as a 'taster lesson'. You can see how you feel before committing yourself to an entire course - if you don't like it, you can walk away without any obligation . How many colleges will offer a deal as good as that?

For me, Reflexology has been and is the most rewarding career I have ever known. I hope that it will become just that for you too.