Back from her recent BBC TV appearance on Test the Nation, Sylvia Herbert reveals some of the mystery behind MENSA.

MENSA is not just an organisation for highly intelligent people but a social organisation with a membership nationally of 27,000.

It was when Sylvia Herbert, a public relations officer for Severn Waste Services in Evesham, discovered the social side of Mensa 10 years ago that she took a closer interest in the organisation.

She took a home test and then another at Aston University and was well pleased to find she had an IQ that qualified her to join the organisation representing the top two per cent of the population. Since then she has never looked back.

"First of all I took part in some of the social events and read the magazine and gradually got drawn into voluntary work for the society," she explained. "Although Mensa is a Limited Company with a professional office, a lot of the work around the country is done by members voluntarily."

Something is organised for members every weekend, from meeting in a pub to jumping from a plane, and something goes on in London every day of the week.

"When you are a society and the only thing in common you have is a high IQ, then you have a completely diverse range of people, children, adults, men, women, professional people and blue collar workers," Mrs Herbert said. "It is a totally round table society with all members equal. Therefore we don't have the same interests and so set up special interest groups which we call SIGs."

Two of Mrs Herbert's SIGs are Party, as in having a good time, and Ram, rambling and mountaineering.

Mrs Herbert has been a board member of Mensa for the past four years and has just been returned unopposed for another three-year term. That work includes all the responsibilities of a company director such as setting policy, monitoring the activities of the office and making sure board policies were followed.

"It is a responsibility but a hugely interesting and self developing experience, exposing me to all sorts of things at a level I might not have done in any other way," she said.

Mrs Herbert has also been elected to the International Board - one of only two British representatives along with the chairman - and has attended board meetings in Singapore, Budapest and Zagreb.

It is time consuming and quite demanding work but on top of all her other responsibilities she was press officer for Mensa for two years and responsible for setting up that position in-house. She was also responsible for publications and has edited a monthly newsletter for Mensa members in the West Midlands for three or four years.

Her position with Mensa took her for the second year to an important part in the BBC's Test the Nation programme where she was on the panel with the test's creator Dr Colin Cooper of Queens University of Belfast.

"This year was not any easier," she said. "It is difficult working on television though the crew members were tremendous. I have been getting a good feed back from members so I am pleased about that."