Tensor in the Community

A large marquee in the grounds of Hail Weston House was the beautiful venue for the St Andrew’s Summer Ball in June 2007, when 110 people danced the night away after being fed with a super Hog Roast. Commented the Headmistress Mrs Jean Marsland, All this was due to the generosity of Tensor plc, who had offered to the school, a year ago, to host the Ball, as part of the School’s Development Fund Raising efforts. The Development Fund, set up three years ago, raises money to support future development plans of the school. So far over £24,000 has been raised which helped pay for a modern ICT suite in the Junior School. The fund is now targeting to raise £30,000 to enable a complete refurbishment of the science laboratory. Despite weather that had all the characteristics of an Asian monsoon, everyone had a really great time, dancing to a jazz band and a top line disco. The guests were treated to a superb firework display that surprised and astonished everyone, even though being watched from under umbrellas! Chairman of the Governors, Ken Sanders, said during the event, in thanking the directors of Tensor plc We are not just thanking Tensor for the use of this lovely venue, but also for the time and hard work their staff put into helping to make this event so successful, and thereby give our Development Fund such a boost! St Andrew’s School 78 Kimbolton Road Bedford MK40 2PA 01234 267272 website: www.standrewsschoolbedford.com

The St. Neots Choral Society performs three concerts a year including a family carol concert every Christmas. All members and venues are local to St. Neots. Formed as the Longsands Choral Society, changing its name in 1976, this 90 strong choir has been in existence under the musical direction of Reginald Searle for 30 years. Tensor have sponsored the Choral Society for many years and Reginald had this to say It’s not always easy getting support from local companies and we are very appreciative of the patronage of Tensor. In 1983 they even funded a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which was a great success. Our players and soloists for the two big concerts, Christmas and Easter, always come from London and hence it’s a generous act by Tensor to help with our funding. Tensor have not only sponsored the works of the Society but have also hosted fund raising events. Tensor have hosted Firework parties in their grounds to help raise much needed funds and also a summer Garden Party, which was enjoyed by many. remarked Reginald. To find out more details about the St. Neots Choral Society please visit their website at www.stneotschoral.org.uk

The Piglets Preschool of Great Staughton has been established for just over 30 years, and consists of mostly village children, aged two and a half to four and a half. The voluntary preschool is open only during mornings and tries to keep fees low, in order to attract sufficient numbers of children. Tensor has donated a new computer to the preschool. Head teacher Mrs Gill Broome said, We are a voluntary preschool with little money for peripherals to spare, especially for brand new computers. You can imagine our excitement to be told that Tensor were going to donate one to us. In the past donated computers were very old and didn’t last very long! She went on to say, The Tensor technician set it up in no time and it’s now a very popular area of learning. With this new computer, all of our software is installed. Thank you for your very generous donation of a new computer, it was a lovely surprise. The children love using computers and now more than one child can play at a time. It also means that there is a computer teachers can use for administration, whilst the children are playing on theirs. Thank you again for your kindness, it is very much appreciated.

We all know that these days, schools often find it hard to finance even some of the most basic requirements for learning such as reading and writing materials; so when Vanessa Parker of Crosshall Nursery School contacted Tensor we were pleased we were able to help with a donation. Vanessa explained The money will be used to buy some of the many books that are required. These will be a mixture of hard backed and soft backed books, some with protective covers. Vanessa and her team are also running fund raising events to boost the school coffers. Donations from other firms and businesses in the area would also be most welcome. Crosshall Nursery School opened 7 years ago and currently has 32 pupils. Concluding Vanessa said to the Tensor reporter The school is very grateful – a big “Thank you Tensor” from all the children Crosshall Day Nursery, The Infant School, Great North Road, Eaton Ford, St Neots, Cambridgeshire. Crosshall Day Nursery, The Infant School, Great North Road, Eaton Ford, St Neots, Cambridgeshire

The community orchestra of St Neots serves the area of South-West Cambridgeshire and Eastern Bedfordshire. They were founded in 1989 with the mission to enable local musicians to have fun playing in an orchestra and to perform public concerts of popular works several times a year for local music lovers. Their conductor is Reginald Searle, who graduated from the Royal School of Music in 1963. He has now retired and this has allowed him to concentrate on writing more music. St Neots Sinfonia has premiered several of his works. They perform public concerts, generally four times a year. Typically two of the concerts are orchestral concerts, one is a concert in partnership with the St Neots Choral Society, and one is a family Christmas concert. They generally perform well known popular classical works, but try to include one new or unusual piece in each concert. Tensor are one of our patrons and we are very appreciative of companies like them who are willing to help us with our funding said Reginald Searle. To find out more details about the St. Neots Choral Society please visit their website at www.stneotschoral.org.uk.

Nautical training has been at the heart of The Marine Society & Sea Cadets, the UK’s most enduring maritime charity, since its foundation in 1756. Currently, they have just one power-training vessel as the TS Earl of Romney had to be decommissioned, leaving only the TS John Jerwood. In celebration of the charity’s 250th anniversary in 2006, a £2.6 million fundraising appeal was launched to build the TS Jack Petchey, a sister ship to the TS John Jerwood. She will take two years to build and be of a similar design to the TS John Jerwood, though with 16 cadet berths rather than 12. Sea Cadets normally go onboard on a Saturday and become the working crew of the ship until the following Friday. Over an anticipated 25-year lifespan, the TS Jack Petchey will be home to 16,000 young people and 3,000 adult volunteers who will experience the challenges and excitement of offshore training, while also learning skills such as engineering, electronic communication and chart systems, cook steward, the need to be vigilant and keep watch, the value of living in a tidy and disciplined environment and the need to employ sound social and communic ation skills when working in a team. Chief Executive of The Marine Society & Sea Cadets, Mike Cornish, said: The success of this fundraising appeal will enable us to expand our activities and provide opportunities for more boys and girls to experience life at sea. Mike went on to explain that living and working together onboard a ship was a long-established and proven means of developing teamwork and mutual responsibility within young people. It offers excitement and adventure in a well-s upervised environment, training cadets in managing risk and sea sense. The Marine Society &amp Sea Cadets 202 Lambeth Road London SE1 7JW Website: www.ms-sc.org

The PCCGB comprises serving and retired police officers whose work supports young people through education, sport & leisure and good citizenship. Tensor has sponsored the educational program, “Barney and Echo – a friendship made”. Through the provision of booklets, all based on a theme surrounding exclusive characters ‘Barney and Echo’, it seeks to educate children and their careers on numerous subjects relating to the promotion of life skills, increasing self-esteem and the development of motivation in young people. The booklet contains key points surrounding bullying and vandalism and addresses a difficult and sensitive subject area which has formed part of the schools curriculum. Commented the Founder of PCCGB, Barry T. Jones. M.B.E., “I am most grateful and delighted that Tensor has been able to support the publication and distribution of our Barney and Echo booklet.” He went on to say, “Without the generous help of such companies, we would be unable to provide access of such material to children in the community; for this we thank you.” PC Club The Police Community Clubs GB PO Box 715 Lightwater Surrey GU18 5HH Website: www.policecommunityclubs.org

Next month, Jonathan DJanogly will be dusting off his walking boots and limbering up to spend a week walking the Great Wall of China (or at least some of it) for charity and Tensor have sponsored him. My understanding is that this will involve the equivalent of some 40 plus hours of exercise on a step machine! Albeit with some wonderful views thrown in. They plan to visit the para Olympics to support our team after the trip. They shall be traveling with a political organisation called Westminster Challenge that involves people in the political world in raising money for charity. Leaders of all main Parties have given their support. He have chosen two local charities to support. The first being the St Neots Abuse Project (SNAP – www.snapdomesticviolence.org.uk which provides a helpline and an emergency safehouse for victims of domestic violence. The second is Carers UK Huntingdonshire www.carersuk.org/Home, which provides vital advice and support to carers who are usually unpaid and who often feel isolated, weary and worthless. Please do support their efforts to help these good causes. You can donate online at www.bmycharity.com/V2/JonathanDjanogly

Tensor is helping Brampton Spartans F.C. under-16’s kick off the new season in style after becoming the proud sponsor of their strips. Brampton under 16’s team play in the Cambridge and District Colts League. This season they will have played 5 games and sit forth from the top of the table with some great wins including a 4-1 and 5-1!  Clive Gatford the team coach said “The players were thrilled with the new kit! I would like to express my personal thanks, and those of the players, to Tensor for their sponsorship of the new playing kit for Brampton Spartans F.C. under 16 team.” Tensor’s Chief Executive, Ashley Smith, said, “At Tensor we believe in team building and teamwork, so we are pleased to be able to sponsor Brampton Spartans, which provides a local amenity for young people. We hope the new strips will spur on the lads so that they have a great season.”

The sponsored quiz took place in Hail Weston Village Hall on 22nd November.  Over 50 local people took part and we raised exactly £600 for the 30th Anniversary Appeal of the National Children’s Orchestra.The NCO runs five separate age banded orchestras for the most musically talented children in the UK. It is run so that the opportunities are open to all children irrespective of their social or financial background.Further details can be found at the NCO website.

The black-tie event for this year’s awards took place on Friday November 7, 2008 at the Burgess Hall in St Ives. The evening was compèred by BBC TV Look East presenter Stewart White. Tensor won the Innovation Award, sponsored by the Greater Cambridge Partnership for their sub dermal fingerprint technology. Tensor PLC has developed a fingerprint-reading system that can detect whorls, arches and loops through the oil, coal dust or other contaminants that defeat conventional fingerprint-recognition technology. The judges said the company had “demonstrated a new and innovative product that is already having a positive impact on the organisation in terms of new business obtained, as well as a reduction in manufacturing costs. Their approach to innovation has been driven throughout the organisation with an ethos of research and development which remains a top priority for the organisation.”

Tensor is helping Priory Parkside Colt’s F.C. under-16’s kick off the new season in style after becoming the proud sponsor of their strips. Priory Parkside Colt’s football club was formed in 1978 and is one of the largest youth football clubs in Cambridgeshire. It is a charter standard community club and provides youth football from the ages of 7 to 17 for boys and girls. The under 7, 8,9,10 and mini 11 age group play in the Huntingdon Mini Soccer league. This league is non competitive and played under the FA guidelines that mini soccer should emphasise fun. The girl’s team play in the S-Tech Cambridge girl’s league. The under 11’s through to the oldest age group Under 17’s play in the Cambridge & District Colts League. All the teams play at Priory Park in St Neots and the club is affiliated to the Huntingdonshire FA. Gary Smith Manager of the U12B Priory Parkside Colts said “We hope to repay Tensors’ sponsorship by winning as many games as possible” Priory U12B was formed from the mini soccer school run on a Saturday morning at Priory Park where the boys enjoyed playing football together. Most of the boys have been together since 2005 with four new lads joining this year. Last season the boys had a very successful time winning 17 league matches drawing 2 and only loosing 3 so the Boys came third in the league. So they have been promoted to A division for this season. During the summer months we have played in tournaments three times going through to the semi finals but at priory parksides own tournament we were the 2009 winners all the way.