Category Archives: VICTA

Lord-Lieutenant marks Doncaster business’s Queen’s awards

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Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Mr Andrew Coombe, The Queen’s personal representative, was on official duty this October as he marked a Doncaster-based business’s achievement of the Queen’s Award.

Directors from the Highfield Group were presented with a crystal bowl and commemorative certificate signed by the Queen and Prime Minister at an official presentation held at the organisation’s offices on 20 October 2016.

And guests, which included civic dignitaries, business leaders and VIPs, were treated to a performance by a choir from New College, Worcester, a school for blind and partially sighted children, on behalf of Highfield’s chosen charity, Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA).

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(L-R) Chris Sprenger (Managing Director), Richard Sprenger (Chairman), Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Mr Andrew Coombe, Jayne Sprenger, Jason Sprenger (Chief Executive).

The Highfield Group, one of the UK’s leading education organisations, was announced as the winner of the award as part of the national celebrations to celebrate HM The Queen’s 90th birthday on 21 April.

Queen’s Award winners are chosen by a panel that includes the Prime Minister and leading figures from government and industry, making it one of the most sought after accolades for British businesses.

Highfield, which has three offices across Doncaster and employs over 200 staff, is the UK and Middle East’s leading suppliers of compliance, apprenticeship and work-based learning qualifications, training materials and e-learning.

It is one of the UK’s largest exam boards, and is actively involved in the development of the UK workforce and productivity, as well as contributing to government plans for three million apprenticeships by 2020.

The organisation, which has its headquarters on Heavens Walk, works with some of the biggest names in international business to help develop their staff, including PepsiCo, Nestle, Marks & Spencer and Superdrug, and each year supports over 2 million learners across the globe to achieve their educational aspirations.

Jason Sprenger, Highfield Chief Executive, said, ‘This is a great achievement for Highfield, and I was honoured to welcome Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and accept the certificate and crystal bowl on behalf of the business and everyone here who has worked so hard to achieve it’.

Representatives from Highfield received the award in person from Her Majesty at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 14 July 2016, with this further presentation held to celebrate the achievement alongside colleagues, customers and partners.

For more information on Highfield, go to www.highfieldabc.com For regular updates, go to https://twitter.com/HighfieldABC and www.facebook.com/HighfieldABC

For more on the Queen’s Award, go to www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise/overview

Highfield staff gear up for London Marathon 2016

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This Sunday marks the 35 th annual London Marathon.

Our Managing Director Christian Sprenger, IT Director Ashley Reddy and Becky Ashley will be lacing up their trainers to run a gruelling 26.2 miles in aid of our chosen charity VICTA, alongside Olympic athletes Dame Kelly Holmes and Iwan Thomas.

This fantastic charity provides equipment and services and hosts events that help blind and partially sighted children and young people to develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

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Becky and Chris at the Chesterfield Marathon – trying to get some miles in preparation for the 26.2 challenge!

Chris has now been dubbed by all of us at Highfield as ‘marathon man’ as this weekend will be his 3 rd appearance at the event (we’ll keep you informed if he can beat last year’s finish time of 3 hours 29 minutes!), however for our IT Director Ashley and marketing manager Becky, it will be their first time competing.

After signing up for the challenge back in May last year, they have all embarked on rigorous training regimes and Chris has regularly been seen testing his endurance on lunch breaks! We’ve summarised Ashley’s training in numbers below using information gathered from his fitness device.

London Marathon Infographic2

As this went to press, the Highfield heroes have received over £1,500 in sponsorship so far for the London Marathon, and we certainly put the fun in fundraising at our Christmas party, which saw our wonderful team donate over £1,000 in just one night!

To support them on their adventure this weekend, please click here

Successful jump for Team Skyfall raises £1200

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After a successful jump by our team in Dubai in June, it was the turn of Team Skyfall here in the UK last weekend!

FB_IMG_1436707839627 Taking place on 11 July 2015 at Hibaldstow Airfield in North Lincolnshire, the skydive saw Highfield team members Amiee Saul (Corporate Customer Service Manager), Sean Asquith (Print Manager), Claire James (Corporate Account Manager) and Holly McLean (Quality Administrative Assistant) take the plunge from 15,000 feet – nearly two miles up – to raise money for Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA).

FB_IMG_1436707850379 Since 2013, Highfield has been helping to support the charity, which works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

FB_IMG_1436707877058 Claire James said, ‘What a fantastic experience! This was a great opportunity to not only challenge ourselves but also to raise funds and awareness for such a worthy cause as part of Team Skyfall.  We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us and kindly donated to VICTA. Now there’s photographic evidence that the task was carried out it’s not too late to donate! Feel free to laugh at my embarrassing freefall pictures!’

FB_IMG_1436635992038 So far Team Skyfall has raised nearly £1200, but you can still donate to VICTA by clicking here .

FB_IMG_1436635969734 Well done Team Skyfall!

More skydive pics from Dubai…

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As you’ll know from our last post , our team out in Dubai took to the skies this June to raise money for VICTA – and now we have the rest of the pics!

Taking place on 18 June 2015 in Dubai, the jump saw international director Rebecca Sprenger, office manager Helen Greenhow and systems and audits manager Rodolfo Madrid skydive from 15,000 feet back to terra firma.

VICTA works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

Another Highfield team, Team Skyfall, will be performing their own skydive 15,000 feet above Hibaldstow Airfield in North Lincolnshire in July, also for VICTA.

Dubai office takes to the skies for VICTA

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Our team out in Dubai took to the skies this June – and then skydived back down again – to raise money for VICTA .

26 The jump, which took place on 18 June 2015 in Dubai, saw international director Rebecca Sprenger, office manager Helen Greenhow and systems and audits manager Rodolfo Madrid take up the challenge and put their fears aside as they braved sweltering temperatures and last-minute nerves.

3 VICTA works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

5 Since 2013, Highfield and its team have been taking part in numerous initiatives to raise money for VICTA, with some staff even contributing their time to assist in their events.

8 Rebecca Sprenger said, ‘Even though we are all the way over here in Dubai, there is still a really close relationship between us, the UK office and the rest of the Highfield team – wherever we are based. And we certainly aren’t ones to duck a challenge, so when there was the opportunity for HABC MEA to stand up and be counted for VICTA, we jumped at the challenge. Or in our case, jumped out of a plane!

10 One of my roles as International Director is to ensure that both the UK and Middle East offices work in harmony together to deliver the quality, value, service and integrity synonymous with the Highfield brand globally. This was a great way to bring the team together as one, achieve something that none of us will ever forget and raise money for a wonderful cause.

15 And now that we’ve done it, Team Skyfall back in the UK can’t back out now!’

17 Another Highfield team, Team Skyfall, will be performing their own skydive 15,000 feet above Hibaldstow Airfield in North Lincolnshire in July, also for VICTA.

18 For more information or to make a donation, click here

23 No pressure, Team Skyfall….

Team Skyfall reach for the skies in charity mission

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VICTA Highfield’s very own ‘Team Skyfall’ will be taking their fundraising activities to quite literally a new level –namely 15,000 feet – as they jump out of a plane to raise money for VICTA .

Taking place on 11 July at Hibaldstow Airfield, North Lincolnshire, the jump will see Highfield team members Claire James, Amiee Saul, Sean Asquith and Holly McLean taking the plunge (harnessed to instructors) from over 2 miles up before freefalling to 5000 feet at 120 mph.

VICTA works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

Claire James said, ‘Along with the rest of Team Skyfall, I’m really looking forward to completing this once-in-a-lifetime challenge with the opportunity to not only raise funds, but also awareness of the charity. Behind the bravado we’re all a little apprehensive – throwing yourself from an aircraft at 15,000ft isn’t an everyday occurrence after all! However we hope it’ll be a memorable experience for all involved’.

If you would like to contribute to Team Skyfall, just click here

Highfield’s marathon challenge for VICTA

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Three of Highfield’s staff put on their running shoes and took on one of the world’s toughest challenges for charity this spring – the Virgin Money London Marathon .

Chris Sprenger, Managing Director, Ben Cressey, Director of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeships, and Dominic Binks, Director of Business Development completed the gruelling 26 miles and 385 yards to raise money for Highfield’s chosen charity – Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA) .

Marathon Runners

Chris (left), and Dominic (right).

Held on 26 April 2015, the Virgin Money London Marathon is one of the biggest mass participation sports events in the world. And for Chris and Ben, it was the second time they had completed the marathon for VICTA, having taken part in 2014.

Reform Club

After the marathon – Dominic (left), Chris (centre) and Ben (right).

As well as raising thousands over £3000 for the charity – which works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information – there were personal bests for the runners.

Chris completed the course in just three hours 29 minutes, with Dominic and Ben coming in at four hours and six minutes and four hours and 28 minutes respectively.

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Chris’s Virgin Money London Marathon Medal

To date, Highfield has raised over £13,000 for VICTA. However, the team is not resting on its laurels, and has already signed up for next year’s marathon on 25 April 2016.

Highfield will be holding a number of events through 2015 and 2016 to raise money for VICTA, including a skydive. If you would like to contribute, please click Virgin Money Giving

PRESS RELEASE: Man Utd legend kicks off Highfield conference in winning style

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Directors Denis A Doncaster education firm kicked off its biggest ever conference earlier this month – with an assist from football legend Denis Irwin.

The former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland star was guest of honour and star speaker at a pre-conference charity dinner hosted by the Highfield Group to launch its conference , held at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, on 13 November 2014.

The conference, which was headline sponsored by Marks & Spencer and ProTrainings , brought together nearly 600 delegates from across the training and education sector in the UK to discuss the latest changes to vocational learning and apprenticeships.

Speakers and sponsors included names such as ASDA, City of London Corporation, Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust (DCLT), Food Standards Agency (FSA), Laing O’Rourke, MITIE, New Scotland Yard, Security Industry Authority (SIA), Serco, Staples, Superdrug and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).

The dinner, held the evening before, helped to raise funds for Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA) , which supports blind and partially sighted people under the age of 29. Guest of honour Denis Irwin, who was a key part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Manchester United team in the 1990s and early 2000s – making over 500 appearances between 1990 to 2002 – spoke about his career and took questions from the audience.

Jason Sprenger, Highfield Chief Executive, said, ‘It was a great honour to have one of modern football’s true legends and gentlemen as our special guest and to kick our conference off in wining style. We raised over £4500 on the night for VICTA, which is a fantastic achievement, and welcomed nearly 600 delegates to our conference the next day to discuss the numerous changes and issues affecting the training and skills sector. It’s testament to how far we have grown that we were able to attract some of the biggest and most recognisable names in industry to either speak at or sponsor our conference, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback received’.

The Highfield Group, which publishes training books, materials and e-learning solutions, and develops vocational qualifications and apprenticeships, has expanded rapidly to become one of the country’s leading educational companies, employing nearly 250 staff at three sites across Doncaster with a further office in Dubai.

For more information, go to www.highfieldabc.com/conference call 0845 226 0350 or email info@highfieldabc.net

For regular updates, go to https://twitter.com/HighfieldABC and www.facebook.com/HighfieldABC
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The Highfield Group offers hundreds of publications and titles, with over 2 million sales per annum. It has developed over 200 qualifications covering a wide variety of industries including customer service, health and safety, licensing, security, stewarding, retail, logistics, catering and hospitality through its awarding organisation arm, Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance Ltd.
2. The money raised for VICTA will go towards helping the charity in its work to provide equipment, services and events that support blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of assistance andinformation.
3. Denis Irwin’s honours during his playing career include 7 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 4 Charity Shields, 1 UEFA Champions League title, 1 Cup Winner’s Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup, as well as 56 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, including 2 starts at the World Cup USA 1994.

Raising money for VICTA

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VICTA As many of you will know, Highfield’s chosen charity is VICTA – Visually Impaired Children Taking Action .

And we’ve been holding a number of events over the last few months to raise money to help them.

This fantastic charity works to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information.

So far, we’ve raised thousands of pounds through a number of events, including a company fun run, fancy dress days and cake and bakes.

Running the London Marathon
In April, three of our staff took put themselves through the ultimate challenge – running the Virgin Money London Marathon .

Managing Director Chris Sprenger, Business Development Director Ben Cressey and Corporate Business Development Manager completed the gruelling 26 miles (and 385 yards!) course successfully, raising thousands for VICTA.

You can watch the video here:

Ice Bucket Challenge
Not ones to be left out, some of our staff took part in the now famous (or should that be infamous?) Ice Bucket Challenge, with donations going to both VICTA and the ALS Association . Participants included Managing Director Chris Sprenger and International Director Becky Sprenger. Award for loudest scream goes to Corporate Account Manager Rachel Hanson…

Watch here:

Family Weekend
For us, it’s not just about raising money. We’ve even helped VICTA arrange days out for children at Yorkshire Wildlife Park , and participated in one of its family days at Boreatton Park (August 2014).

The VICTA family days bring together blind and partially sighted children, their siblings and parents, providing them with a great opportunity to meet other families and to take part in workshops, access outdoor activities and generally have fun.

And two of our staff, John Morley and Mike Stark, won best dressed volunteers at the Seaside Themed Party with their seagull costumes.

You can see the video here:

For more on VICTA and to get involved in the work they do, click here .

Highfield staff set the pace for blind charity

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The team put themselves through the paces as they completed a 10k run around Lakeside on Sunday 9 March 2014 to raise money for VICTA, which supports blind and partially sighted people under the age of 29.

And for three of the runners it was a dry run for an even greater challenge as they will be competing in the London Marathon on 13 April to raise even more money for the charity.

Chris Sprenger, Highfield Group Managing Director, said,

‘It was a great effort by all the team and I am really pleased that we were able to raise more money on the day, which goes towards the £2000 we have already raised so far. The money will go towards helping VICTA in its work to provide equipment, services and events that help blind and visually impaired children and young people develop socially, emotionally and educationally, as well as offering their parents a vital network of support and information. Myself, Ben Cressey (Director of Apprenticeships and Work-Based Learning) and Diana Hill (Corporate Business Development Manager) will be running the London Marathon next month, and with £2000 already raised, we’re on track to reach our target of £3750’.

The event, which saw 43 members of staff running on the day, also included a barbeque afterwards for friends and family to raise further funds for the charity.

To contribute to the charity, go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ and search for ‘VICTA’.