Welcome to Stretton Focus

Stretton Focus is a community magazine concentrating on issues and events relevant to the people living or working in, or perhaps just visiting, the area surrounding Church Stretton, Little Stretton, All Stretton and Minton – affectionately referred to as “the Strettons”.

From its humble beginnings over 50 years ago the magazine has steadily progressed from being a rudimentary collation of a few black and white pages to become the splendid glossy, colour publication that it is today. At heart it remains the same however as it is still produced and delivered by a changing and evolving group of dedicated, unpaid volunteers.

The structure of the organisation was changed in 2007 when the organisation became a company limited by guarantee.

Although it is, of course, necessary for the company to manage its finances and trade to make a profit in order for it to remain viable, the company’s purpose is not to maximise profits but to serve the community. The company is managed and run entirely by the volunteers and neither they nor the members of the company benefit financially in anyway.

Prudent management of the company has meant that, over a period many years, the company built up a capital reserve. The decision was taken that some of the funds could be given back to the community by way of a grant to assist in the funding of projects designed to be of benefit to the community or part thereof and so the Stretton Focus Community Award Scheme was introduced. Many local projects have benefited from this Scheme and it helped Stretton Focus Limited to win a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2016.

The company is always looking for ways to improve the magazine and widen its scope to provide a better service to its readership. In recent years the introduction of the Student Jounalism Scheme in conjunction with Church Stretton School has enabled three school students each year to try their hands at journalism by producing articles for the magazine. Each year a competition is held to select the student journalists who each receive a modest financial award to help with their future studies.

Please check out the menu of pages above for guidance in how to submit articles for publication or how to apply for an award under the Community Award Scheme. You will also find details of how to get in touch with the company if you feel you would like to become part of the Stretton Focus team.