FRGS AGM 4.2.2026 Report by the Chair of FRGS
After the last AGM we held our inaugural Burns Night celebration at the end of January 2025, which was a sell out and a fabulous success raising £3,854 for the school. We were fortunate enough to have the school chef provide two of the three course supper, supported by Diane who provided cranachan and the quality of food was first class, commented on widely by a number of attendees. Noticeable thanks must go to parent Robbie Donaldson for his eloquent toast to the haggis and the band that were superb.
Regrettably, the subsequent scheduled Burns Night for January of this year was sadly cancelled due to insufficient numbers, with a lack of a sit-down traditional supper considered a major contributory factor. The support of the school’s kitchen staff and chef are a necessity for this event to be run profitably and to be able to provide a three-course traditional supper and avoid the potential logistical impracticalities in asking a caterer to come and operate in a non-commercial kitchen providing multiple choices across a series of courses whilst catering for a range of allergens. This has been feedback to SLT within school.
Quiz night was a roaring success again held in May 2025. Our usual quiz master was on point, and we saw parents of old as well as new, alongside an increase in student numbers especially at KS4 & 5 with teams of their own competing. The curriculum and Headmasters rounds were particularly well fought over. Domino’s and Gianni pizzas were provided and enjoyed by all. Excess of income over expenditure was £649 (46% of income), compared to the year prior of £681 but 43.1% of income.
FRGS supported the year 11 Prom in June 2025, which was a privilege setting the stage with a transformative black and gold inspired themed hall and entrance. Special thanks to parent Kirsty Voce, Creative Director of Pixiedust Weddings & Events for sponsoring the event with balloon arches, drapes and gold runway on the dancefloor. It was a pleasure working with her and her team and their time, effort and sponsorship of the event was invaluable.
Sports day went ahead in July 2025, and it was a great success. Particular thanks must go to Ele for taking the lead in sourcing stock for this event and both setting it up and overseeing the sales that afternoon with the support of other volunteers. Ele continues to work relentlessly ensuring all drinks/snacks stock is purchased with best value and is in place for all events.
Bingo night was deferred from October and Bollywood scheduled instead which was held in November 2025. This was well attended and supported by the school, raising £1,325. It was an evening that celebrated Indian culture and tradition with its cuisine and Bollywood dancing. Students of the school were included to showcase their singing and dancing talents. Particular thanks must go to Renu for on her vision for this event, organising dancers, entertainment and catering for this event.
FRGS supported the school concert at the Cathedral and the U6 reunion in the last week of term and this raised nearly £1000. Although the majority of our funds comes through FRGS organised events this demonstrates the impact that FRGS can have through supporting school-based events. FRGS has continued to support school-based events this past year ranging from celebration and awards evenings, musical concerts and drama productions.
Although FRGS has continued to support school-based events, those events that are organised by the school and where alcohol has been sold, have now seen school apply for their own temporary alcohol licence, most noticeably the Sports Presentation evening and U6 leavers reunion. This has removed some of the restriction
from FRGS on coming close to the number of licences we can apply for within a year. Noting FRGS can apply for up to 5 licences (up to 2 late applications) in a calendar year, with school being allowed up to 5 within the same period.
Areas to continue to drive forward are the reliability of electronic sum up machines with connectivity issues and ensuring the school has its own working payment device for entry into paid school events, so that it does not rely on us to support this. Ideas on recycling still require moving forwards and the marketing of FRGS needs to be taken to the next level with professional leaflets, and professional advertising/marketing of events, webpage uplift and elevating social media exposure. Portable promotional boards, with targeted fund-raising projects need to be prominent.
Other avenues to secure increase in funds need regular marketing such as Easy fundraising and the 200 Club. Ele runs the 200 club and does a wonderful job, but this requires additional marketing within the school and reminders in the Headmasters letters seeking support for future fund raising. Parents new to the school need to be particularly targeted for subscription.
We are fortunate enough that some parents kindly donate funds to support the school and the work of FRGS. A year 11 parent funded a red carpet for the year 11 prom at school, together with Grantley Hall donating their old red carpet. We also had a generous donation from the same family that funded the predinner drinks at our last ball, that this year donated £500 towards catering costs for Bollywood.
Looking at eligibility of grants is another area that requires looking into to capitalise on all sources of potential income to support the school. Co-op funding is to be explored before July of 2026.
Parents also supported the school with purchasing tickets in our Christmas raffle that raised £2710, compared to its association with the last 1555 Ball of £2,628. Year 7 (1A) sold the most raffle tickets are looking forward to their treat of Domino’s pizzas next week. The money raised from this will support the sourcing of a water drinking fountain that the school council is wanting for the student body. Particular thanks must go to Malcolm for organising the raffle, and to both Malcolm and Sylvia for counting all the raffle tickets, no small task, to find the winning form. The raffle was mainly supported by KS3 students and families and consideration is needed on how to further attract KS4 & KS5 students/families.
Regarding advertising, a note of thanks to Susy for overseeing the FRGS FB media posts and Ruth Savage for reporting on our news from feedback I give her. My close working relationship with admin teams at RGS, both Mrs Kinread and Mrs Drummond, facilitates great support to the FRGS assisting with communication and Bromcom announcements. Their support to the FRGS must be thanked and acknowledged.
The work of the site team, Scott who has sadly left, Andy, Steve, Matthew and Russ all play their part in supporting the work and infrastructure for setting up events and coming in to lock up afterwards. Their help is invaluable to the smooth running and success of events. Euan in IT and sound & light tech support is also critical to support events together with the help of school prefects. Their support on Burns Night and the U6 leavers reunion has been particularly vital.
Whilst the FRGS has continued to raise a super amount of funds for the school, it remains that school bids still need to stretch across a wider range of departments and this will continue to be marketed within school, with easy access to the bidding form on the school staff shared area.
This past year 2024-2025 FRGS has funded: £27,312
Jigsaw mats (Maths) £120; wellbeing suite (PE) £9K, IT equipment (whole school) £9.5k, long jump cover (PE) £1,015, new kiln (Art) £6k, glazes (Art) £677, textiles (DT) £1k.
2025-2026 FRGS has funded:
Drying rack (Art) £131, climbing frame reroute £749, yoga mats (health & well-being) £351 to date. I have been asked to approach Science department, librarian and SEND following discussions that took place at our last meeting about supporting these departments. In the interim, bids received from PE have been deferred for further consideration.
Through consultation I have updated our operational procedures guidance document with comprehensive health and safety and risk assessment documentation as reference for all.
Sylvia’s vision and idea of the tuck shop has been a huge success with her bags of sweets regularly sold out. This has been a welcomed addition to refreshments options at events by both students and parents.
Diane has taken on the lead role of catering within the team, using her expertise in catering and liaising with bakers for events, whilst ensuring compliance with allergen disclosure. Diane made all the cupcakes and statement piece for the year 11 prom and these were stunning. Diane has also now been added as a signatory to the bank account, which will afford a greater degree of flexibility on actioning payments set up by the Treasurer. This will now facilitate Susy being removed as a signatory on the account.
Malcolm continues to do a wonderful job as Treasurer overseeing our accounts and providing detailed accounting, working closely with the school bursar to ensure things are kept up-to-date and timely. His forethought and professionalism are invaluable assets to the committee.
Susy has worked tirelessly overseeing the FRGS email account and ensuring all communication with parents is actioned in her usual professional manner. She has been a wonderful link between FRGS and the parent body in this capacity. Her input to the year 11 prom and sourcing all the banners and accessories with the support of Thomo making decorations turned the school hall into a marvel of delight. As Susy steps down and wishes to become a friend rather than a committee member, it must be stressed that it is in no small part that the success that FRGS has today is down to her passion, tenacity, hard work and desire to support the school over the past 4.5 years. She optimizes the friends and what it stands for.
Thomo must also be thanked for her continued efforts and work on Microsoft forms for events and overseeing temporary alcohol licences for FRGS events, tasks that require expertise and knowledge.
Helen has continued to give of her time and energy to support the FRGS and her and Jonathan’s hospitality at the end of term in appreciation of the work of the FRSG was an unforgettable evening, enjoyed by everyone.
We have seen the retirement of James, a fun and friendly member of our team who always brings a smile to proceedings. Fond memories of James designing our lanyards, setting up the ball, sourcing the band, his love of dimmed lighting, his generosity of time and hospitality at Maunby House will be remembered by many.
We have seen a growing number of wider friends supporting the work of the committee this year and this has been very much appreciated. However, this remains one of our biggest challenges engaging the support from the wider school community to volunteer to help out at events, considering the size of the school.
To secure the sustainability and longevity of FRGS, as existing members children/grandchildren move into post 16 education and beyond, we require more KS3 parents to take on committee roles, allowing for a period of transition and shadowing of roles.
We also need to continue to ensure events organised are well attended by both parents, staff and governors so that fund raising for the school is seen as a priority by the larger community of RGS. This will ensure that we maximise profitability and fund raising for the school to support the school development fund.
The support of the Headmaster and the sharing of his strategic development and developing needs of the school enables us to be proactive in shaping the purpose of our larger fund-raising efforts, giving us clarity and direction on the impact that our fund raising has on the community of RGS.
Lastly as Chair, I wish to thank everyone for all their time, enthusiasm, commitment, energy and hard work over the past year and for their support in the Autumn term when I was dealing with a family bereavement. It continues to be a pleasure working with you all.
Ruth Curtis Chair of FRGS
FRGS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
4 FEBRUARY 2026
TREASURER’S REPORT
Below is a Summary of Receipts and Payments as at the end of the Financial Year ended 31 August 2025 compared with the previous year ended 31 August 2024.
2024/2025 2023/2024 £ £ Balance brought forward - 1 Sept 16,741 28,808 Total Receipts (Income) 27,929 28.934 Total Payments (Expenditure) (36,467) (41,001) Excess Expenditure over Income (8,538) , (12,067) Balance carried forward – 31 Aug 8,203 16,741 Represented by: Current Account 335 532 Deposit Account 6,642 15,034 200 Club 1,226 1,175 Bank Balances at 31 Aug 8,203 16,741
The income generated during the year ended 31 August 2025 came from the 1555 Ball in November, 2024, the 200 Club, Quiz Night, Bingo Night, Burns Night and the provision of refreshments at various school events.
During the year we were able to fund the provision of equipment for the school amounting to £27,312.
Malcolm Gardiner Treasurer
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees
Charity Name Friends of Ripon Grammar School
| On accounts for the year | 31 August 2025 | Charity no | 1109915 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ended | (if any) | |||
| Set out on pages | 1 | |||
| (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) | (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 August 2025 DD / MM / YYYY .
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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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 connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report 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: Jane Brine Date: 13 April 2026 Name: Jane Brine Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: Bursar of Ripon Grammar School 16 Clotherholme Road
1
Oct 2018
IER
Ripon HG4 2 DG
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material 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 .
2
Oct 2018
IER