Trustee Mostque Koyes visited the school recently to talk to staff and students in the department about the growth of the subject which has now progressed to GCSE level.

Head of Department Trudie Squires explained that the electronics that they are delivering in the school would not have been possible without the funding from connolly which has allowed the department to buy equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters and programmable robots. She said, “Additional funding from connolly has been used to raise students’ awareness of plastic sustainability/environmental issues and has enabled us to purchase equipment to use in next year’s curriculum.”

Trudie joined the school in 2019 joined the school and introduced engineering into the KS3 curriculum and ensured that the curriculum in years 7,8 and 9 were good foundations for Engineering Design in KS4. In 2020 there was one class of Engineering Design students of 16 and she was the only teacher.

From this term there are three women engineering teachers and three groups of engineering girls in year 10 and 2 in year 11 from September. There are now 100 girls in KS4 studying engineering design.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Challney Girls School”, said Mostaque. “It was great to see for myself the development of this important subject and how connolly has played its part in them providing this wonderful opportunity for pupils at the school. Well done to all involved and we look forward to its continued success.”

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connolly is a major charity In Bedfordshire that has given more than £13 million to local organisations and causes that support young and older people in the county.

Mick began at connolly Homes in 1975 as a trainee and worked his way up through the company, and as Managing Director became a trusted friend and advisor to the company’s founder, Michael connolly, as well as an inspirational leader.

When Michael connolly left the shares of his business to the charity he founded, connolly, it was Mick who took the reins and lead the Foundation through its early years, introducing the grants and bursaries for which the Foundation has become well known. He leaves the Foundation with a clear understanding of the legacy and wishes of Michael connolly.

Mick will continue to advise the group on property matters. Simon White steps in as Chair of the Foundation and David Oldham steps up as Chief Executive of the Foundation and Director of connolly Homes.

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The Bedford Blues Foundation worked with Power2Inspire, a charity whose mission is to embed inclusive sport in the sport, education and the community, to host the Powerhouse Games bringing together pupils from schools across the town.

The games are incredible sports days designed to be accessible and fun for everyone, old and young, with disabilities and none, sporty and not. It is a multi-team event playing inclusive and adaptive sports, usually for about 2-3 hours with professional sports people. 

Participants are encouraged to test their beliefs about ability and disability and what it is to be different, to learn to respect other people’s differences, and to challenge their assumptions of what they can and cannot do.

Tom Harwood of the Bedford Blues Foundation said, “It was fantastic to host the first Powerhouse Games at Goldington Road, Power2Inspire should be incredibly proud of the work they are doing to create inclusive opportunities through sport. To see children and adults participate together, from all backgrounds and abilities was inspirational. We are looking forward to building on this partnership and hopefully running more Powerhouse games!”

connolly, is a funding partner of the Bedford Blues Foundation.

For more information visit www.power2inspire.org.uk and www.bedfordbluesfoundation.org.uk.

For further information contact Michele Smith on 07921 927 881.

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The “Sharnbrook Villager Community Bus is a non-profit making organisation run and operated by volunteers. It provides transport to town and village communities throughout North Bedfordshire and surrounding areas including Milton Keynes, Bedford, St Ives and Rushden Lakes via a scheduled timetable. Anyone can use the Villager Bus and bus passes are accepted on all routes.

Julian Armitage Chairman, Villager Bus Sharnbrook said, “The Villager Community Bus is a key service to those living in remote villages in North Bedfordshire. Without the support from charities such as connolly, we would be unable to continue to update the quality of transport as technology changes. We are extremely grateful for its support allowing us to buy a new vehicle complete with air conditioning and WiFi.”

“We are delighted to sponsor this service,” says David Oldham, Chief Operating Officer of connolly. “We recognise the importance of transport for communities, especially for older people, to access services across the area.”

Details of the Sharnbrook Villager Service can be found at www.sharnbrookvillagerminibus.co.uk

For more information about connolly visit www.yieldsgiving.com or follow our pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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connolly Chief Operating Officer David Oldham said: “The Leighton Buzzard campus meets the Foundation’s objective of giving young people the opportunity to build careers. The equipment that we are funding will provide skills that are needed in the county. We are delighted to be part of this facility.”

The campus has been supported by the local MP Andrew Selous who also recognised the need to develop a high-class provision such as the Leighton Buzzard campus within the area.

MP Andrew Selous said: “I warmly welcome the new apprenticeships and training opportunities and new engineering equipment we now have. Many employers are offering well-paid jobs to people with the qualifications which are being provided here, and I’m very pleased that we now have a high-quality offer in the town.”

The Leighton Buzzard campus is ideally situated for employer and apprentices to access, as the campus is located within close proximity to a number of businesses within the engineering and logistics sectors.

For more information about connolly visit www.yieldsgiving.com or follow our pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Note to editors:

Photo Caption: New TBCG Chief Executive Officers Yiannis Koursis OBE speaking at the event.

For further information contact Michele Smith on 07921 927 881.

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connolly has awarded grants to five engineering apprentices who are currently training to restore, maintain and preserve the living and working collection of internationally significant historic aircraft that make up the Shuttleworth Collection.

David Oldham, Chief Operating Officer at the Foundation was delighted to present the grants and meet the apprentices face to face to see and hear about the fantastic work they do to keep this remarkable collection flying, he said “It was a privilege to be able to award these bursaries to help maintain the knowledge needed to keep the historic planes at Shuttleworth flying.  connolly is keen to reward those who seek to develop their knowledge and their careers.”

The Chair of Trustees at the Shuttleworth Collection Tim Routsis said, “We are hugely grateful to connolly for their generous support of our engineering apprentices and trainees, enabling us to develop a pipeline of skills necessary to keep this wonderful collection in the air.”

Shuttleworth is home to more than 50 internationally significant historic aircraft, cars, motorcycles, agricultural vehicles and steam engines. One of the unique aspects of the collection is that they are preserved in working order and display them to the public. The collection is situated at the Shuttleworth Old Warden Aerodrome, one of the few all grass traditional aerodromes left in regular use in the UK.

For more information about connolly visit www.yieldsgiving.com or follow our pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Note to editors:

Caption: David Oldham and Tim Routis pictured with the apprentices.

For further information contact Michele Smith on 07921 927 881.

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Students at Challney School for Girls in Luton are enjoying working with the latest engineering technology thanks to support from a leading local charity.

connolly has given the Design Technology department at the school funding to buy four state of the art 3D printers.  The new equipment has resulted in the students being able to design and create their own models and shapes.  Some even went as far as to create 3D roses which they then sold in the school for charity.

Headteacher Joanne Mylles is delighted with the opportunities and inspiration that the printers have given to the students, she said, “We encourage engineering among our students and these printers really add to what we can offer all students as part of Design Technology, including as a GCSE subject. For me one of the key things is the development of women of the future. Engineering is dominated by men and we need more women in this and other business professions.  This is just one way in which we can support our students to achieve this.”

For more information about connolly visit www.yieldsgiving.com or follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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The Foundation is helping to fund Arkwright Engineering Scholarships which enable students to study and to become qualified in this field.

One such student is Etornam Dzudzor, a 17-year-old from Dunstable who attends Luton Sixth Form College and says the bursary helps scholars in their education and engineering related endeavours.

Etornam said: ‘This scholarship means a lot to me as I have many opportunities available to further my interest in engineering. I was also very interested in the mentoring as I enjoy chatting with someone who “knows their stuff” so to speak, as well as the insight they can give. It also means I could purchase things to help me with learning and my own engineering interest, such as 3D modelling courses or advanced programming for example.”

The scholarship enables students to visit Universities or engineering based institutions and companies to further develop their understanding and interests and potentially future careers. Some scholars are also given expert mentors.

Caption – David Oldham of connolly (left) presents Etornam with his scholarship certificate.

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Malcolm trained as a teacher, spent most his life working with schools, in both the primary and secondary sector, youth work and adult education principally in Kent and London.

Malcolm then moved to Cambridgeshire to become a local authority school inspector for community education

“After a number of years, I moved to work nationally on what was then called the Specialist Schools Trust to develop the community role of these schools,” he said.

“Subsequent to that I became an independent consultant concentrating on the community engagement, 14-19 curriculum and the development of school leadership.

“That led to the setting up in 2013, with other headteachers, an organisation called ‘Schools for Tomorrow, a network of schools in England and internationally, supporting each other to pursue values-based change and a broader understanding of school purpose. This brought me into Bedford as a number of schools in the county have been involved in Schools for Tomorrow.

I believe that the Foundation has an important part to play in helping young people in Bedfordshire and I hopes that my experience and insight will make a positive contribution.”

Malcolm has a doctorate in education leadership, and has jointly written three books on education leadership. He enjoys the countryside, cycling and yoga and is married with three grown up children and six grandchildren.

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