John Schofield Trust
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025
Charity number: 1061065 England and Wales
SCO52921 Scotland
20206396 Republic of Ireland
Registered address: PO Box 108, Haslemere GU27 9GU
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Contents
Objectives of the John Schofield Trust ................................................................................................ 3 Theory of change ................................................................................................................................ 3 Governance of the Trust ..................................................................................................................... 3 John Schofield Trust/RTS Emerging Young Talent of the Year Award ................................................ 5 The Fellowship .................................................................................................................................... 5 John Schofield Trust mentoring scheme for early career journalists ............................................. 5 University Student Fellowship ........................................................................................................ 7 Masterclasses and networking events ............................................................................................ 8 Fundraising .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Staffing ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Regulatory and Trust policies .............................................................................................................. 9 Income and expenditure ..................................................................................................................... 9 Risk management ............................................................................................................................ 9 Reserves ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Future plans ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Financial report of the trustees ........................................................................................................ 11 Accounting policies ....................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Progress made from future plans outlined in 2023-24 annual report.......................................... 14
Bankers: HSBC 12A North Street Guildford GU1 4AF Independent examiner: Tom Wilcox Counterculture Partnership LLP 23 St Leonards Road Bexhill-on-Sea East Sussex TN40 1HH
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Trustees’ Annual Report
Objectives of the John Schofield Trust
The John Schofield Trust was set up by the friends and family of the journalist John Schofield who was killed in Croatia while working on the BBC’s World Tonight programme in 1995. The Trust exists to promote and advance education, social mobility and diversity in journalism. It does this by supporting early career journalists through mentoring, networking events and skills development.
Theory of change
Governance of the Trust
The John Schofield Trust is governed by a Declaration of Trust dated 1996 which was amended by supplemental deeds dated 6 January 1997, 16 June 2011, 6 October 2017, 21 September 2022 and 12 September 2023. It is managed by a board of trustees, who give their time voluntarily to the Trust. There are regular meetings of the board of trustees and sub-groups set up to advise on different aspects of the Trust’s activities.
The trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and to that end set out in this report the main activities undertaken during the year in pursuit of the Trust’s objectives.
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Trustees
Remaining as of 31/03/2025
Jonathan Paterson (appointed 01/11/24, appointed Chair 20/03/25)
Rob Osborne (appointed 01/11/24) Holly Irwin (appointed 01/11/24) Eileen Murphy (appointed 01/11/24) Fergus Bell (appointed 01/11/24) Ayshah Tull (appointed 01/11/24)
Shaunagh Connaire (appointed 01/11/24) Nick Phipps (appointed 13/12/24)
Markus Ickstadt (Treasurer appointed 03/02/25)
Sunita Bhatti
Susannah Schofield (re-appointed Chair 14/08/24, Chair stepped down 20/03/25, remained on board until 10/06/25)
Departed as of 31/03/2025
Zaiba Malik (Chair stepped down 14/08/24) Jenny Clark (Treasurer until 03/02/25, left board same time)
Julie Randles (stepped down 29/09/24) Dhruti Shah (stepped down 01/09/24) Kate Riley (stepped down 20/03/25)
Louise Hastings (stepped down 13/12/24)
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John Schofield Trust/RTS Emerging Young Talent of the Year Award
In keeping with previous years, we funded a bursary (of £1,500) to accompany the Royal Television Society’s (RTS ) Emerging Young Talent of the Year Award, which the Trust set up in 1996 in memory of John Schofield. With Trust Director Howard Littler having participated in the judging panel, the 2025 winner of the award was Sam Leader, an ITV reporter who was commended for his innovative on the road coverage of the 2024 USA elections, and his investigation on sexual exploitation.
Sam accepted the Trust’s offer of a mentor and this will begin in 2026.
The Fellowship
John Schofield Trust mentoring scheme for early career journalists
Our 2025 application round generated more interest than ever before with applications rising by approximately 50%. The number of applications received from print and multimedia candidates rose, as did applications from candidates based outside London – in line with our strategic focus.
Applicants can either complete an online form or submit their application via video or audio. This is to encourage candidates who prefer this to paper-based applications.
An analysis of the characteristics of our Fellows on the early career scheme demonstrates we are making excellent progress towards our mission of newsrooms being as diverse as the audiences they serve.
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All national average statistics are sourced from the 2023 NCTJ report into diversity in journalism (for clarity: ‘national average’ reflects those in the media sector, not the national population).
Feedback survey 2024-25
In the exit survey for 2024 Fellows:
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98% of respondents said they would recommend the mentoring scheme to others
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84% of respondents reported feeling more confident about their career in journalism, when compared to the start of the programme
In addition to quantitative assessment, the Trust gathered quotes as part of the same survey:
“Being part of the JST has been a game-changer for me. As someone with zero contacts in the industry... Being part of JST has afforded me the confidence to achieve my career aspirations and helped me to become more motivated. I secured freelance work thanks to my mentor, and I now have a full-time journalism role at a major news organisation!”
“It's a brilliant scheme and I would recommend it to anyone. I felt a bit lost before the scheme not knowing who to turn to but my mentor was really useful.”
“A massive thank you to Sanya, my mentor, and the rest of the staff for making this scheme possible :) it’s been a real benefit.”
University Student Fellowship
After a successful pilot in 2022, we are now partnered with eleven universities and mentor 5-10 (mostly final year undergraduate) journalism students from across the UK and Ireland.
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University of Lancashire
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Edinburgh Napier
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University of Kent
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Liverpool John Moores University
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University of Northampton
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University of Salford
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Cardiff University
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Falmouth University
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De Montfort University
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University of Lincoln
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London College Communications, University of the Arts
Participants were matched with professional journalism mentors for the last six months of their undergraduate degree and the first six months after graduation.
Feedback from the University Student Fellowship
Asked to rate their experience:
- 89% of respondents said they would recommend the scheme to other students
Comments
“[It] helped with my development as my mentor provided guidance for job interviews and next steps into my career.”
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“My mentor helped my professional development by helping me create solid CVs, guidance with applying to internships and networking advice. This has improved my confidence.”
“My mentor help me grow my confidence especially in the face of rejection... She has given me feedback on my pitches, professional work and developmental plan and always steers in the right direction.”
Masterclasses and networking events
The Trust’s masterclasses are an opportunity to stage discussions, share experiences, allow our Fellows to hear career insights from distinguished journalists, and to raise the profile of the Trust. Some of our masterclasses are public-facing whilst others are hosted exclusively for our Fellows. Public-facing masterclasses are posted to our YouTube channel and social media. In planning masterclasses, the Trust is responsive both to the news agenda and suggestions from Fellows.
Over the course of the year we staged events on:
How to find and tell great local stories Reporting the Post Office scandal Becoming a confident public speaker Mental health for journalists Global news reporting
We were also able to meet for a day of masterclasses in London at the BBC’s Broadcasting House, which included a career agony aunt session and a panel of political journalists on reporting general elections.
In addition, we held briefing sessions and online support sessions for mentees and mentors.
Fundraising
We comply with the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 and adhere to the Code of Fundraising Practice.
The Trust took part in The Big Give Christmas Fundraiser 2024 for a fourth year. This is an intense week-long national match-giving fundraising campaign which took place from 3-10 December. This year’s campaign raised money for a series of regional networking events across the UK and Ireland. Pledges came from Knight Ayton, former trustee Kate Riley, current trustee Louise Hastings and our founder Susannah Schofield. The Trust generated social media assets and collected testimonials to support our campaign which raised £16,980, exceeding our goal by £580. The total raised including Gift Aid was £18,493.
Our work continues to be dependent upon the generous support of our current funders: 5 News, BBC News, Channel 4, CNN, PA Media, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, ITV News, Knight Ayton, RTE, Sky News, News UK, DC Thomson and Reach. We also received
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gifts in kind from Sky News (professional camera man), BBC News (use of venue, staffing and catering) and ITV (use of venue).
Each university that we are partnered with makes a contribution per student to our operational costs. Yes
All other fundraising was carried out on a voluntary basis by the trustees.
There have been no complaints relating to our fundraising activities.
We have no other form of income other than funds raised. We do not charge application fees or joining fees to our participants or entry fees for our events. All our mentors and speakers at events are volunteers to whom we are greatly indebted. During 2024-25 the Trust benefited from the work of more than 250 volunteers (trustees, mentors, champions, speakers, campaign support).
Staffing
There were changes in management during the year, with CEO David Stenhouse leaving. Fellowship Manager Howard Littler stepped up to the Director role, and was supported by adhoc part time staff.
Regulatory and Trust policies
We continue to be registered with the ICO and Fundraising Regulator. We adhere to GDPR guidance in managing and keeping our data secure.
In addition to revising existing policies in the course of the year the Trustees adopted new policies on Modern Slavery and Volunteer Selection for Senior Fellows and masterclass participants.
Income and expenditure
The John Schofield Trust had income of £150,083. This included donations from the donors listed above.
The key elements of the Trust’s expenditure in 2024-25 are:
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Staff costs
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Bursary costs
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Event costs (including travel and staff/trustee expenses)
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Legal and professional costs
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Admin costs including software
Trustees are not remunerated for their services but are paid out of pocket expenses.
Risk management
The trustees take their responsibilities for effective risk management seriously. We currently have in excess of three months’ worth of operating costs in cash reserves.
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Fellows are required to sign up to terms and conditions before joining the scheme.
We have Charities Liability Insurance and Trustees Indemnity Cover in place with Hiscox.
Reserves
The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately three months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. The trustees consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to ensure that support and governance costs are covered and to allow other sources of income to be found should this be needed.
The balance held as unrestricted funds at 31 March 2025 was £102,508 (2023/24: £83,662). The reserves policy will be reviewed annually by the trustees.
Future plans
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i. To continue funding the RTS/John Schofield Trust Emerging Talent of the Year Award bursary
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ii. To ensure the early career journalists that we support represent a good regional spread across the UK and Ireland and are not overly concentrated in London.
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iii. To increase the number of in-person masterclasses outside London that enable networking opportunities.
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iv. To ensure the Trust’s work reflects a changing sector, including independent media and digital creators. We will do this through a new strategy that was activated in early 2025.
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Financial report of the trustees
| Receipts and payments for the 12 months to | Receipts and payments for the 12 months to | 31 March | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Receipts | Unrestricted | Total | Unrestricted | Total |
| Donations | £150,083 | £150,083 | £142,860 | £142,860 |
| Gift Aid | £1,677 | £1,677 | ||
| Total Receipts | £150,083 | £150,083 | £144,537 | £144,537 |
| Payments | ||||
| Salaries | £73,500 | £73,500 | £95,791 | £95,791 |
| Employer NI | £0 | £0 | £10,414 | £10,414 |
| Employer Pension | £4,141 | £4,141 | £3,282 | £3,282 |
| Redundancy Costs | £12,321 | £12,321 | ||
| Payroll Costs | £1,112 | £1,112 | £810 | £810 |
| Direct Event Costs | £6,014 | £6,014 | ||
| Travel | £12,534 | £12,534 | £5,478 | £5,478 |
| Staff/Trustee Expenses | £4,813 | £4,813 | £3,787 | £3,787 |
| RTS Bursary | £1,500 | £1,500 | £3,000 | £3,000 |
| Insurance | £695 | £695 | £570 | £570 |
| Audit Examination Fee | £1,860 | £1,860 | £1,269 | £1,269 |
| Other Legal and Professional | £4,430 | £4,430 | ||
| Software Charges | £5,909 | £5,909 | £3,100 | £3,100 |
| Other Overheads | £2,407 | £2,407 | £2,207 | £2,207 |
| £131,237 | £131,237 | £129,708 | £129,708 | |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | £18,846 | £18,846 | £14,829 | £14,829 |
| Assets and Liabilities |
| Assets Cash at Bank Debtors Liabilities Accruals Payroll liabilities Net Assets |
2025 2024 Unrestricted Total Unrestricted Total £100,557 £100,557 £83,662 £83,662 £5,000 £5,000 |
|---|---|
| £105,557 £105,557 £83,662 £83,662 £930 £930 £2,119 £2,119 |
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| £3,049 £3,049 £0 £0 |
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| £102,508 £102,508 £83,662 £83,662 |
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| Opening Reserves | £83,662 | £83,662 | £68,833 | £68,833 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surplus/(Deficit) for the | ||||
| period | £18,846 | £18,846 | £14,829 | £14,829 |
| Closing Reserves | £102,508 | £102,508 | £83,662 | £83,662 |
Signed by
Jonathan Paterson Markus Ickstadt Chair of Trustees Treasurer DATE: 19 December 2025
Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP (FRS102), second edition issued in January 2019)”, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
John Schofield Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.
Going concern
The financial statements are prepared, on a going concern basis, under the historical cost convention.
Funds
The charity maintains a general unrestricted fund which represents funds which are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held in order to finance both working capital and capital investment.
Restricted funds have been provided to the charity for particular purposes, and it is the policy of the board of trustees to carefully monitor the application of those funds in accordance with the restrictions placed upon them.
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Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the Charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Donations are recognised on receipt.
Resources expended
Liabilities are recognised as resources expended when there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Charity to the expenditure. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Taxation
As a registered charity, the company is exempt from income and corporation tax to the extent that its income and gains are applicable to charitable purposes only.
Related Party Transactions
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none)
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Appendix
| Progress made from future plans outlined in 2023-24 annual report |
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| No Plan Progress Note i. To continue funding the RTS/John Schofield Trust Young Talent of the Year Award bursary Achieved - 30thaward-winner named – Sam Leader ii. To increase the number of mentees, especially apprentice journalists, on the mentoring scheme and to expand the mentoring scheme to include journalists from print and multimedia journalists in addition to broadcast Achieved- applications rose by 45% for mentoring in 2025, with applications from print and digital journalists, and from those outside London featuring strongly. Numbers of EC Fellows stayed at the same level, with students increasing. iii. To increase the number of in-person masterclasses outside London In progress- regional masterclasses announced for 2025/6, with four having already happened in Sheffield, Cardiff and Liverpool. iv. To conduct a review of the Journalism Cares pilot programme Achieved- programme was reviewed with feedback from participants and we opted to discontinue beyond the pilot due to the levelof resourceneeded. ~~i~~ |
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees/ members of |
Charity Name John Schofield Trust |
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|---|---|---|---|
| On accounts for the year | 31st March 2025 | Charity no | 1061065 |
| ended | (if any) | ||
| Set out on pages | Above | ||
| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above | |||
| charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 03 / 2025. |
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
| Signed: | Date:20/12/2025 ~~oe~~ |
Date:20/12/2025 ~~oe~~ |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Name: | Tomas Wilcox | ||
| Relevant professional | FCIE | ||
| qualification(s) or body | |||
| (if any): | |||
| Address: | Counterculture Partnership LLP | ||
| 23 St Leonards Road | |||
| Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex TN40 1HH |
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .