## **Chair’s Report to Beeston u3a Annual General Meeting 7 May 2026** 

## **Membership** 

As we start the new financial year it is pleasing to report that at the beginning of April 2026 Beeston u3a has 1,334 members: an increase of 13% on the previous year. Numbers will fall temporarily as the inevitable resignations are processed at the beginning of the new year, but the trend is still a significant rise. As some u3as nationally are reporting declining numbers it is encouraging to see that our figures here are healthy and increasing. That of course is down to the hard work and commitment of all of our members, volunteers and trustees. The richness and variety of activities which we collectively offer continues to attract new members. Roberta Pearson stepped into big shoes when she took over as membership secretary from Alison Wilson a year ago. We are very grateful to her for the way in which she has effectively processed and managed this growth in membership. 

## **Committee Matters** 

Since I was elected as the new chair of Beeston u3a a year ago I have been supported by a dedicated, experienced and hard working committee who have held my hand and guided me through a steep learning curve. It has been a very humbling experience for me to witness the depth of commitment, experience and knowledge exhibited by the team.  I am grateful to them for making my induction a truly positive experience. In particular, Pauline Duke and Karen Attwood have been instrumental in advising and mentoring me as I get up to speed. 

The committee has been strengthened by the presence of three new members this year: Julia Tabreham, Mary Steiner and Lynda Child; all of whom have made a significant contribution to the work of the team already. 

Our financial position is sound thanks to the vigilance of our treasurers Richard Taylor and Lindsay Litton, and we have been able to maintain the present membership fee yet again without an increase. We are in the healthy position of being able to support our interest groups through loans and grants when required. Full details are included in the treasurer’s report. 

. 

## **Interest Groups** 

In the past year we have welcomed new groups in Archaeology, Cinema Visits, Board Games, Dance, Flower Arranging, Military History, Pickleball, Psychology & Sociology, Table Tennis and Travel Interest. We are currently offering 107 groups. Sadly, we have lost a few groups as well, but some hopefully just temporarily while they reorganise. 

Following the successful launch of these groups, we are keen to expand our range further. If you have any ideas for new groups please share them with our Groups Coordinators who will assess interest and help to bring new activities to life. Mary, Susan and Brendan are a very dedicated and knowledgeable team who put a lot of work into supporting our groups. I feel privileged to be part of their team. 

It was good to see so many people attend the Group Leaders’ Lunch in January. Their dedication and commitment in setting up and managing our interest groups is of course the core of our whole organisation. During the session they made some 



constructive suggestions for future developments and improvements which we are now working on. We are grateful for their input. 

## **Celebrating Success** 

Our groups offer a wonderful diversity of activities, which we are proud to showcase in our newsletters and on our website. To continue celebrating this richness, I would like to encourage all groups to submit articles and photographs highlighting their achievements. Dee May has transformed our newsletter and monthly notices into excellent, informative resources which have become powerful tools for sharing group successes and keeping everyone updated on the many activities available. She can’t do it without your contributions. Keep them rolling in! 

Remember you are also very welcome to submit photos and articles to our Facebook team for even wider exposure. Just email your contributions to Grainne and Sandra, our Facebook coordinators, at  facebook@beestonu3a.org.uk. I’d like to encourage you to check out our Facebook page. It is a great way of promoting our activities to the wider public as well as to our own members. The team do an excellent job in keeping it up to date but they are dependent on your contributions. 

## **Volunteers** 

Our u3a is stronger thanks to the many volunteers taking on extra roles to enhance our activities. We love highlighting their hard work in our newsletters and notices. Between  them  they  provide  comprehensive  support,  including  hospitality  and reception, catering, setting up for open meetings, acting as buddies for new members, organising visits and events, managing the audio visual technology, maintaining our Facebook page and lots of other essential tasks. Their dedication ensures our meetings and events run seamlessly. Please do let them know how much they are appreciated. 

Please also think of ways in which you can help. Volunteers are the backbone of our u3a. If you have some spare time and would like to contribute to enriching the experience of fellow members, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Lynda, at volunteer@beestonu3a.org.uk. She can discuss current opportunities where your support would make a real difference. 

Two new volunteers, Nic and Mark Davey, have stepped up recently to share the role of Publicity Coordinators when Karen Attwood comes to the end of her term of office in May 2026. Nic and Mark are already well known for their other u3a activities (including the leadership of the Travel Interest Group). I am really grateful to them for taking on this extra role. 

## **Events and Visits** 

Over the past year Beeston u3a has offered a wide range of different events and visits including the Annual Quiz, two wine tasting evenings and the Ceilidh Evening. Visits have been arranged to a range of local places of interest including the Nottingham Caves, the historic Lace Market area, the Mary Potter Museum, and Nottingham Council House. In addition, individual interest groups have organised their own events such as the History Group’s visit to the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and their forthcoming visit to the Richard III Visitors’ Centre and the tomb of Richard III in Leicester Cathedral. 



Our upcoming diary is looking busy! Join us for our 'Not the Fine Wine' evening or sign up for one of our latest excursions: the Mansfield Recycling Centre, the William Booth Birthplace Museum, and a visit to see the legendary Concorde at Manchester Airport. 

If you have any ideas for a one-off event or visit please let us know and the committee will support you in getting it off the ground. Remember that the only things that happen within Beeston u3a are the things that one or more of our members has volunteered to help to organise. Our mantra is ‘ _For the members by the members’_ . 

## **Website Optimisation** 

The committee recently set up a subgroup to explore ways of enhancing the Beeston u3a website. Roger Farmer, our webmaster, has put a lot of work into this and has created a new platform which is user friendly, easily navigable and has strong visual impact. The intention has been to make it as accessible and engaging as possible in order to encourage existing and prospective members to refer to it regularly as a useful information tool. We have reorganised the structure of the site and have included many more pictures to celebrate the richness and variety of our activities. It is still work in progress but take a look and tell us what you think. 

## **Refurbishment of Beeston Methodist Church** 

If all goes according to plan, we will be returning to the main church in time for our Annual General Meeting on 7[th] May. The temporary movement of the monthly open meetings into the hall over the past twelve months has been successful because of the willingness of our members and volunteers to adapt to the changed circumstances. It will be good to have the hall back as a space for members to socialise and for groups and event organisers to promote themselves.  I am particularly grateful to the church team, Karen and Amy, for all the work they have put into supporting us over this period. We could not have managed without them. Please take the time to thank them. 

## **End of an Era** 

Karen Attwood’s term of office as a committee member comes to an end in May. With her departure we lose a very experienced, proactive and effective Publicity Officer and Speaker Seeker. I also lose her indispensable support and guidance as Vice Chair. Her effusive, bubbly and creative approach will be badly missed. Happily, she has not gone away. She will always be there to share her wisdom and advice when needed and will continue to be an active member of the groups she enjoys. Thank you Karen. 

Fortunately, members have once again stepped forward to offer their support. We are grateful to Julia Tabreham for agreeing to succeed Karen as Speaker Seeker, and Julia has already been proactive in setting up a programme of guest speakers for the remainder of the year. In this capacity she will be the master of ceremonies at our monthly open meetings. And as I mentioned, Nic and Mark Davey have stepped in to take over Karen’s publicity role, liaising with Dee May as their committee link. 

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the members of Beeston u3a for your hard work, unwavering support, and continued commitment to our shared goals. I am proud to be part of an organisation which has such a positive impact on our local community. 



Noel Kelly
Chair. Beeston u3a

## **APPENDIX A1** 


## **Charity Name Beeston u3a** 

## **Receipts and pay** 

**For the period from** 

Period start date 1-Apr-25 

## **Section A Receipts and payments** 

## **Unrestricted funds** 

## **Restricted funds** 

**to the nearest      £** 

## **to the nearest £** 

## **A1 Receipts** 

|**A1 Receipts**|||**to the nearest      £**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||||**Restricted funds**<br>**to the nearest £**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|GroupAccounts|||**-**||||**38,160**||
|Social Account|||**-**||||**13,929**||
|Subscriptions|||**19,881**||||**-**||
|Visitors|||**-**||||**-**||
|HMRC Gift Aid|||**2,597**||||**-**||
|Miscellaneous|||**1,048**||||**-**||
|Inierest|||**559**||||**-**||
||||**-**||||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|||**24,085**||||**52,089**||
||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**|||||||||
|**table).**|||||||||
||||**-**||||**-**||
||||**-**||||**-**||
||**_Sub total_**||**-**||||**-**||
||||||||||
||**_Total receipts_**||**24,085**||||**52,089**||
|**A3 Payments**|||||||||
|GroupAccounts|||**-**||||**37,608**||
|Social Account|||**-**||||**15,367**||
|Administration|||**1,829**||||**-**||
|Affiliation Fees|||**4,439**||||**-**||
|Third Age Matters Publication|||**3,492**||||**-**||
|Operating Costs|||**4,264**||||**-**||
|Equipment|||**843**||||**-**||
|Expenses|||**-**||||**-**||
|Miscellaneous|||**325**||||**-**||
||||**-**||||**-**||
||||**-**||||**-**||
||**_Sub total_**||**15,192**||||**52,975**||



|**A4 Asset and investment purchases,**<br>**(see table)**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**||**-**|





|**_Total payments_**<br>**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ **<br>**A5 Transfers between funds**<br>**A6 Cash funds last year end**<br>**_Cash funds this year end_ **|**15,192**|
|---|---|
||**8,893**|
||**-**|
||**42,706**|
||**51,599**|



## **APPENDIX A2** 

## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end** 

**Categories** 

## **Details** 

## **B1 Cash funds** 

HSBC Current Account HSBC Savings Account HSBC Social Account PayPal Account Group Accounts 

## _**Total cash funds**_ 

(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) 



|||**No (if any)**||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**1152882**||
|**ments accounts**|||**CC16a**|
|||Period end date||
||**To**|31-Mar-26||



## **Endowment funds Total funds** 

**to the nearest £** 

**to the nearest £** 

**Last year** 

**to the nearest £** 

||**-**|**-**||||**38,160**||||**36,505**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**-**|||||**13,929**||||**17,984**||
||**-**|||||**19,881**||||**16,967**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**2,597**||||**2,562**||
||**-**|||||**1,048**||||**3**||
||**-**|||||**559**||||**552**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**76,174**||||**74,573**||
|||||||||||||
|||**-**||||**-**||||**-**||
|||**-**||||**-**||||**-**||
|||**-**||||**-**||||**-**||
|||||||||||||
|||**-**||||**76,174**||||**74,573**||
|||||||||||||
||**-**|||||**37,608**||||**36,644**||
||**-**|||||**15,367**||||**16,617**||
||**-**|||||**1,829**||||**1,994**||
||**-**|||||**4,439**||||**4,183**||
||**-**|||||**3,492**||||**3,226**||
||**-**|||||**4,264**||||**5,881**||
||**-**|||||**843**||||**291**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**325**||||**472**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**68,167**||||**69,308**||



|**-**||**-**||**-**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**-**||**-**||**-**|





|||**-**||||**68,167**||||**69,308**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||||||
||**-**|||||**8,007**||||**5,265**||
||**-**|||||**-**||||**-**||
||**-**|||||**52,115**||||**46,850**||
||**-**|||||**60,122**||||**52,115**||



## **of the period** 

|**of the period**|||
|---|---|---|
|**to nearest £**<br>**41,184**<br>**9,531**<br>**-**<br>**884**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**51,599**<br>OK<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**|**Restricted funds**<br>**to nearest £**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**4,628**<br>**-**<br>**3,895**<br>**-**<br>**8,523**<br>OK|**to nearest £**<br>**Endowment**<br>**funds**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||**-**|
|||OK|





CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's report on the
accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the trustees
8eeston U3A
On accounts for the year 31 March 2026
ended
Charity no | 1152882
(if any) I
Set out on pages
34ts4
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the 8bove
charrty (Ihe Trusf) for the year ended 3110312026
Responsibilities and
basis of report
As the Charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the
accounts in a¢¢ordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011
("the Act.).
I report in ￿spect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have followed all th8 applicable Directions given by the Charity Commlssion
under section 145{5)(b) of the Act.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
8xamlnerfs Statsment corne to my attention in connection with the examination whith gives me
cause to believe that in, any material resped..
the accounting records were not kept in aGcordance wilh section 130
of the Charities Act" or
the accounts did nol accord with thè accounting records-, or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements
concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement
that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter
considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connecti¢)n
with the examination to which attention shoulé be drawn in this report in
order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Date:
2oifq
Namo:
Bernard Whelan
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
NIA
Address:
194 Meadow Road
Beeston, Nottingham
NG9 1JR
IER
Oct 2018

Section B
Disclosure
Only comp18te If the examiner needs to highSight material matters of COn￿M
(see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. diredions and
guidance for examiners).
Glve here brfef detsib of
any items that tha
examlner w18he8 to
disclose.
None
IER
Oct 2018

(HARIIY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
, CHARITY COMMIS￿0￿
FQP ENGlAN0￿WAI(s
Receipts and payments accounts
CC16a
For the F)wiod
To
01-
31-Mar-26
Section A Receipts and payments
Total fund•
L88ty•ar
funds
fvnd6
tOltr• ￿l••t £ M•r••t£ n•v••t£ IDth• IDth•M•mt£
funds
A1 Rrtei
Group
38.1
¥q
36,936
1gW1
19081
V15i*r
HMRC Grft A
2A12
Sub total(Gw income forAR)
A2 A•fjotand InveBtm•nt sale*.18••
tabkn).
24.086
76.174
S2.089
78.174
74￿3
A3P#
ènts
4644
11.617
1&367
4A39
41
3892
Opw¥fjw C4J5ts
E￿￿)men1
326
472
Sub total
14192
52,975
18,167
89.30
A4 Asset and Inv09kn•nt pur¢lwsw.
(*•? tsblel
Sub total
15,192
52,975
68.167
Net ofrnce1p￿PaY￿￿nts)
8,893
O.IX17
A6 Cash fvnd* I￿t yèar end
Cash funds thls year end
42,700
51,599
9N09
8,523
51116
611.122
46.85(1
51116
CCXX R1 a￿¥￿￿ts ISS)
OflOY2W

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestrl¢tsd
Restrictsd
funds
fund¥
Endowmert
fvnds
Bl Cash funds
41.184
$1.$99
•>>￿￿(•))
fund8
fvnd•
fvnds
B3 Inv•stment 081ots
Fund ts whk
B4 Assets r•tslnod for tha
Chartty's own u80
Fund towhlch
B5 Liabilltle•
Sydned by iwo tnjstess on tsh8Nofan
Ihe tN8teg$
Signature
Print N￿e
Rithard Ta
07-Ma
CCXX R1 accounts ISSI
OiKW2026