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2023-08-31-accounts

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Charity Registration Number: 1115884 Company Registration Number: 5891198

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

CONTENTS PAGE
Reference and administrative details 1
Governors’ report 2 – 12
Report of the auditors 13 – 15
Statement of financial activities 16
Balance sheet 17
Cash flow statement 18
Notes to the accounts 19 - 30

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Governors and Directors: S E Arkle
N J Ford (Chair of Governors)
P A Hornby
A R Marchand
N J Nettleton
I I H Ormerod
S D E Parsons TD
H C W Robinson DL
L H Singer
Major General P G Williams
R H Wills
T R Shepherd
E W Bryant
Headmaster: R Jones
Secretary:
 R K Elliott-Jones
Registered office: Rendcomb College
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 7HA
Solicitors: Charles Russell Speechlys
5 Fleet Street Place
London
EC4M 7RD
Auditors: Haysmacintyre LLP
10 Queen Street Place
London
EC4R 1AG
Investment Managers: Cazenove Capital Management Limited
1 London Wall Place
London
EC2Y 5AU
Bankers: Lloyds TSB Bank plc
14 Castle Street
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 IQJ
Company Registration Number: 5891198
Charity Registration Number: 1115884

1

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Governors present their report for the year ended 31 August 2023, together with the audited financial statements for the year which comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities”, effective 1 January 2019 (FRS102) - Second Edition.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Legal and charitable status

The College was constituted as a separate company limited by guarantee on 31 July 2006 (Company Registration No. 5891198) and as a separate charity on 22 August 2006 (Charity Registration No. 1115884) and commenced trading on 1 September 2006.

Governors and advisers

Details of the Governors, who are trustees of the charity, key officers and advisors, are shown on page 1. A qualifying third party indemnity provision for the benefit of directors was in force during the financial year.

Governing document

The College is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 31 July 2006 and amended on 21 August 2006.

Organisational structure

The Members of the College are the Trustees of Rendcomb College Foundation. Accordingly, the Foundation is treated as a connected charity to the College. Rendcomb Services Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rendcomb College and the registered office address is Rendcomb College, Rendcomb, Cirencester GL7 7HA. The Governors of the College are responsible for the general policy of the College. The Governors have convened a number of committees and working groups to address more detailed issues as follows:

Development Committee (currently in abeyance) Education and Personnel Committee Finance and General Purposes Committee

The day to day management of the College is delegated to the Head (Robert Jones) and the Bursar (Rowan ElliottJones). They are also supported by their Senior Leadership Team (Gavin Roberts, Jonnie Howorth, Nick Cox, David Illingworth and Christine Williams) and together this group are the key management personnel. Remuneration is set by the Board, with the objective of providing appropriate incentives to encourage enhanced performance and of rewarding fairly and responsibly individual contributions to the College’s success. The appropriateness and relevance of the remuneration is reviewed annually, including reference to comparisons with other independent schools where publicly available via benchmarking data, to ensure that the College remains sensitive to the broader issues of pay and employment conditions elsewhere.

Recruitment, induction and training of Governors

Typically Governors serve two to three terms, i.e. six to nine years although this can be extended through mutual consent and often is. Governors are recruited who have the appropriate skills to benefit the College. The induction of Governors involves the provision of information concerning the College, details of their role as set out in the Governors’ handbook, Charity Commission guidance on the role of Trustees and visits to the College to meet senior management. Training is provided to Trustees and Governors based on identified needs. The Governors have the opportunity to attend training courses run by AGBIS. Ongoing Governor contact is facilitated through the Governor of the Month programme and regular visits to the College.

Investment powers

The College’s portfolio of securities is managed by Cazenove & Co. who act with delegated authority under the terms of a discretionary agreement.

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RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

OBJECTS, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Objects

The object for which the College is established is to advance education for the public benefit including the provision and maintenance of a boarding and day school or schools for boys and girls in the United Kingdom.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to develop thoughtful , adventurous and academically ambitious young people who are life-long learners. We aim to prepare them with the character and skills to succeed in the ever-changing world after school. Our pupils have the freedom to experience, explore and enquire about the world around them. We aim to encourage independence and tolerance in a safe, caring community and magnificent natural environment.

To achieve this we will:

STRATEGIC REPORT

The Academic Year 2022-2023 is the year that things really got back to normal at Rendcomb College and the Community has experienced a busy and successful programme of academics, sports, concerts and performances. This prosperous year culminated in success at the SoGlos Lifestyle Awards where Rendcomb College won Independent School of the Year 2023.

Academic:

This year’s cohort achieved particularly well in their A Levels under the backdrop of tougher marking, and are the first set of results achieved under two normally taught academic years since 2019. What is even more impressive is that this is a cohort for whom A-Levels were the first set of invigilated public exams that they had sat, having had two years of home-schooling and teacher assessed grades. 41% of pupils achieved A - A and 65% achieved A - B. In comparison to 2019’s results, academic standing has increased at the school. BTEC results were also strong with Business and Business Diploma pupils achieving 8 Distinctions, 2 Merits and 1 Distinction*.

Head of College Rob Jones commented, “This is a very good set of results for Rendcomb College. The hard work the pupils have put in over the past two years has really paid off and they are rightly justified in feeling extremely proud of themselves, as am I of them. I think it says a lot that 83% of our pupils achieved their first choice of University place.”

Rob continues, “Rendcomb College has changed quite a bit over the past five years with us really focusing on our values of Thoughtful, Adventurous and Ambitious. It is great to see this hard work paying off in establishing ourselves as a leading Gloucestershire Independent School, and enabling our fabulous pupils to go out into the world and do great things.”

Pupils have headed off to prestigious Universities such as Oxford to study Law with Grades A A A and A EPQ, Durham to study a MChem with A A A, and Medicine at Kent and Medway with A B. We also had a student leave to study Law at Cambridge following a post-results application following their impressive A A A and A EPQ in 2022.

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RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Rendcomb College’s GCSE success continued in 2023, with 45% of pupils achieving 9 - 7, an increase of 11% on 2019’s results, and an impressive 65% achieving 9 - 6, an increase of 10% on 2019’s results. After two years of disrupted schooling, this cohort showed resilience and passion for their subjects. They performed very well academically despite the high marking boundaries this year. All of the College’s students are to be congratulated on their hard work and dedication.

The Maths department had success in the UKMT Challenges. At Senior Level, Rendcomb secured one Gold, one Silver and twelve Bronze awards. In the Intermediate Challenge, there were three Golds, four Silvers and three Bronzes. In the Junior section, there were one Silver and five Bronze awards. In addition, four pupils took part in the Pink Kangaroo follow-on round (for intermediate) and two took part in the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo, with three Merits achieved in total.

The Biology department had outstanding success in Olympiads. One student in Year 13 achieved a Gold Award, placing them in the top 5% of competitors. At this level, Rendcomb College pupils also achieved one Silver, one Bronze and two Highly Commended Awards. At the Intermediate Level, pupils attained three Silvers and one Bronze and in the Biology Challenge, entered by Year 11 students, one Silver, four Bronze and seven Highly Commended were accomplished. A Level Biology students, along with their Geography counterparts, went to South Wales on a fieldtrip working on succession and biodiversity.

The Chemistry department had a busy and productive year. In February, the Year 13 students entered the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad with one student attaining a Gold Award, again placing them in the top 5% of competitors, and another receiving a Silver Award. The Year 12 Chemists entered the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge in June and, between them, received one Gold Award and three Bronzes. The Chemistry department ran Perfume Chemistry outreach activities with our own Junior School and with a local State Primary.

Physicists held their own with the Year 12s receiving an impressive host of awards in the British Physics Olympiad. Again, one Gold Award was obtained, along with four Silver and one Bronze. Not to be outdone, the Year 11s achieved three Gold Awards and seven Silvers in the Intermediate Challenge.

Success continued within the computing department with a Year 10 Team getting to the last round of the Perse Coding Challenge. In Year 8, a group entered a Raspberry Pi competition which required an invention that encouraged the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. They received a commendation for their teamwork and for the code they had written, which was to build a device that measured air quality to educate about the impact of fossil fuels. Year 13 students organised and ran a whole school gaming tournament on the new gaming PCs which were purchased as part of the College’s investment in ICT equipment this financial year.

The English Department continued their valuable work to promote reading across the College with their annual Big Book Quiz, Senior School trip to the Cheltenham Literature Festival and their Reading on the Stairs event for World Book Day and National Poetry Day. As every year, there were visiting lecturers and this year Professor David Roberts lectured on the importance of Shakespeare in today’s society. A Level students attended the Literary House Party in Oxford and a visiting theatre troupe performed Macbeth for Years 5 to 13 and there was a whole school essay competition.

The College continues to identify and support more able students in a variety of ways. Two age-differentiated groups meet to develop communication skills and a thirst for knowledge that equips them to make competitive applications to top universities, as well as building a life-long love of learning. Students in Years 7 – 10 attend the Bitner-Glindzicz group, named after a distinguished geneticist OR, while Years 11 – 13 attend the Suffolk group, named after an OR who was a Director of the National Theatre. In the last year, the two groups have learnt debating skills, theory of knowledge and explored super curricular themes such as classical languages, exotic stellar objects and the ethics of fast fashion. The gifted and talented groups form an important part of the College’s Oxbridge preparation pathway that saw our Oxbridge hopefuls appointed a mentor and given authentic external interview experiences with carefully selected external experts. It was pleasing that two students secured places to read Law at Oxbridge in 2023. In addition, a Medvet society met to offer specialised support for students wishing to pursue careers in medicine and veterinary science. The group discussed issues such as the state of the National Health Service and ethics. We are grateful to our network of Old Rendcombian families who have generously supported the Medvet programme. Last year, that included

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GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

talks from recent ORs who are both now practicing doctors. Both OR and current families have also provided work experience. In the last year, one pupil attended a Cheltenham based medical practice and another regularly attended a veterinary practice in Cirencester. We were pleased to send a student to medical school in 2023 and, in due course, we look forward to them returning to share their experiences with the next generation of Medvets.

Music and Drama:

The Music Department has continued to flourish and has aimed to support the highest standard of performance whilst engaging pupils at all levels and ages. The weekly Coffee Concerts, which take place during Thursday break times, have proven to be a focal point for the College community. Across the last academic year, there were often up to 100 pupils and staff attending to support performers. Performers greatly enjoyed the informal and supportive atmosphere of the concerts with pupils throughout the College performing; beginners featuring as regularly as the most advanced pupils. The termly Pupils’ Concerts continued to engage with parents and the wider community, especially with the Remembrance Concert in the Chapel, the large scale Carol Service in Cirencester (the first with an audience since 2019) and the Summer Concert, which was a testament to the high standards of the department, and featured orchestral works by Haydn, Handel and Mozart, and the highly ambitious performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The department is proud to have no musical bias and is happy to support music making of any genre or style – the annual Rock Concert on the lawns outside Old Rec being as important as any of the more ‘traditional’ performances.

The department was once again delighted to welcome the English Touring Opera with a performance of their eco-opera ‘The Wish Gatherer’, to which over 250 local primary school children were invited. The department held a steel pan day for Gifted & Talented pupils, provided by a leading practitioner, and supported the annual MAD week with a wide range of practical workshops, many supporting the College’s wider EDI aims.

Academically, the department introduced a new carousel scheme for pupils in Year 3 to study the trumpet and the violin. In Year 7, the new carousel scheme affords those not studying two MFLs the opportunity to learn an orchestral instrument and to complete the Trinity College Bronze Arts Award (Level 1). Over 25 pupils had the chance to learn the clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone and cello over the year. In 2023/4, the scheme will be widened to include all Year 7 pupils. The Gold Arts Award was also offered to Sixth Form pupils and has been a successful addition to the Sixth Form academic offering. The introduction of the RSL VQ in the Sixth Form, in addition to the traditional A level, has further heightened participation and engagement of pupils at post GCSE level. This is a significant USP for the department and the College and has undoubtedly aided retention as well as heightening our reputation in the local area. So far, the majority of pupils who have followed this pathway are now engaged in training or further education, which could help lead to professional musical careers. Former pupils are currently engaged in post-graduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music, or pursuing auditions at the most prestigious music colleges in London. Over 200 individual singing and instrumental lessons were taught weekly by thirteen dedicated Visiting Music Teachers who are fully grounded in and supportive of the department’s holistic, practical and inclusive approach to musical education.

The Drama department had a fantastically creative and productive year, with Years 10 - 13 tackling Brecht’s ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ and Years 7 - 9 producing Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’. The senior production was a truly ensemble affair with the cast and crew of thirty developing their own band, who then wrote and performed an original score and songs for the show. Pupils were able to create and master puppetry and work both on stage and off as actors, musicians, lighting technicians, stage management, backstage crew, wardrobe and hair and makeup technicians. The outcome was a unique and creative interpretation of a theatrical classic and was extremely well received.

‘The Canterbury Tales’, with its cast and crew of fifty, showcased physicality, ensemble work and required precise timing from its young cast to make the comedy come to life. The core cast of ‘alchemists’ acted as emcees for the show and ushered in and out each of Chaucer’s tales with panache and excellent audience engagement. Pupils had the opportunity to work as actors, stage management, lighting technicians, backstage crew and with props and costume and hair and makeup to bring the show to life.

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RENDCOMB COLLEGE GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

In Academic Drama, the department staged seven different plays over both GCSE and A Level examinations, from devised work to scripted texts culminating in accomplished and highly graded work. LAMDA also created its own highly regarded examination work with eleven out of twelve pupils achieving distinctions in their level 2-5 LAMDA exams, in Solo and Duo Acting, Public Speaking and Musical Theatre categories.

Last year was also a bumper year for theatre visits within the Drama Department, with exam classes visiting The Rose Theatre in Kingston to watch Bertolt Brecht’s ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ and the National Theatre in London, to watch Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’. This was followed by the whole of the lower school supporting our excellent local theatre, The Barn, with 100 staff and students going to watch their incredibly creative, home-grown production of ‘Robin Hood’. This resulted in a flurry of creative responses from all years as they took inspiration from watching, analysing and evaluating the work of professionals to develop their own ideas in lessons.

Sporting Achievements:

Our Director of Sport thanked students at the end of the Academic Year for “Creating an environment where they are able to flourish, be successful, develop and have a positive experience”. He continued with, “Their desire to learn and be the best they can be in training and fixtures has been outstanding”.

The Sports and Coaching Team spent the year leading from the front and delivered high quality, energetic and enjoyable sessions that students both benefitted from and enjoyed. Their passion, attention to detail and commitment to Rendcomb Sport is appreciated by all at Rendcomb.

As a College, over 300 fixtures were played in the last year by 100 different teams. This successful programme was sustained by the commitment, effort and enjoyment of sport by both students and staff alike. Those 300 matches were played across thirteen sports, some of which had been introduced to complement Rendcomb’s already busy sporting programme. Rugby, cricket, hockey, lacrosse and tennis continued to be the College’s main offerings but were complimented with the addition of football, netball, clay pigeon shooting, rugby sevens, chess and golf. This gave all levels and abilities the opportunity to get involved. Rendcomb hosted both the Jonny Wilkinson Cup (Rugby) and the Lacrosse Small Schools Tournament in 2022-2023. Teams represented Rendcomb College at the National Schools Lacrosse Championships (U18), Small Schools’ Lacrosse Tournament (U18), The Hockey County Cups (U14 &U15) and the Hockey South-West Regionals (U18 Boys)

A number of individuals have achieved outstanding performances, including a Year 12 student who represented Team GB in the IDO World Tap Dance Championships in Croatia, coming 13[th] in their solo, a Year 11 student was selected to be part of a team of six representing Team GB at the IWWF World Under 17 Waterski Championships, placing 25[th] in the Under 17 Tricks category, three Rendcomb siblings were selected to represent Team England at the Dance World Cup in Portugal, and a talented Year 11 hockey player had an incredible experience at the England Hockey Talent Academy this Summer.

Activities:

The school has embraced a proactive approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in the year 2022-2023, led by a fantastic EDI team of student ambassadors. Some highlights of the year were Dr. Claire Harvey addressing the whole school on what is bias and the psychology behind ‘in and out’ groups. We hosted Floyd Steadman who delivered an inspirational speech about his experiences as a sportsman and as an educational leader and his experiences of racism in both. We have updated our KS3 curriculum to include a focus on ‘empowerment’ and have raised awareness about prejudice across the whole school curriculum.

The Rendcomb award was launched to Year 7, recognising pupils’ achievements beyond the classroom and focussing on developing character through our Rendcomb virtues. Pupils set themselves personal challenges (for example, one pupil challenged themselves to learn basic Mandarin) as well as undertaking activities that took them out of their comfort zone. The award acknowledged the wide range of creative and wellbeing activities that pupils already do, both in and out of school, and encouraged them to try new things – perhaps choosing an activity that they wouldn’t normally try, or joining a school committee. Pupils completed charity runs, held cake sales, took part in coffee concerts and tried yoga. Wider reading and presenting projects on themes of their choices to tutor groups encouraged reflection and

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GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

critical thinking, with topics ranging from robotics to astrology and British Sign Language. In order to complete the award, each pupil recorded their achievements and participation across six categories reflecting our 'Thoughtful, Adventurous, Ambitious' virtues. There were three levels; Bronze, Silver and Gold, with Year 8 also now able to work towards 'Platinum' which also recognises leadership and critical thinking. Pupils rose to the challenge and it was fantastic to see the wide range of character-forming activities they chose, the new things that they tried and the sharing with their peers. Two pupils achieved the Gold Award having made an impressive contribution to the life of the school in their first year.

Our community links programme sent Year 12 students into local state primary schools (North Cerney, Stratton, Powells) as well as our own Junior School, care homes (Paternoster, Hunters) and a state secondary school (Henley Bank). Students developed their empathy and understanding of others through the weekly experience and offered services to the community. At the end of the year, we spent a day with one of our community partners engaged in a service project which involved clearing garden areas, painting, weeding and spending time interacting with residents.

In March 2023, Rendcomb hosted a beyond Cop21 Symposium, welcoming students from local state secondary schools Kingshill, Sir Thomas Rich’s, Balcarras, Leckhampton, Churchdown and Henley Bank. Built around the UN’s sustainable development goals, the day encouraged students to understand rights and responsibilities around climate change, thinking critically about the topic and developing curiosity. They enjoyed a lecture from Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO of Whale and Dolphin Conservation and visited an exhibition of local businesses and organisations involved in sustainability, ranging from butterfly and hedgehog conservation to reducing packaging and sustainable clothing. In workshops, they explored topics in smaller groups, working with their peers to develop creative ideas and deepen their understanding of issues such as electric/hydrogen vehicles and the importance of whale poo for mitigating climate change! They made individual and group pledges, considering how they could make a difference. The day finished with the making of a video to send to the next school hosting a symposium in Tbilisi, Georgia, giving words of encouragement and sharing their enthusiasm about what they’d learned.

The College continued to run a popular and successful Duke of Edinburgh programme and in the academic Year 20222023, eight students completed their Gold Award, seven students completed their Silver Award and seventeen pupils completed their Bronze Award. An impressive total of seven expeditions were run to Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Brecon Beacons with Rendcomb staff volunteering their own time to make this possible.

The Green Car challenge, a joint venture between Rendcomb College and local state secondary Henley Bank High School to build an electric sports car to race, continued throughout 2022-2023. We look forward to seeing the end result.

Junior School:

This past year has seen the Junior School continue to grow and we reached a record number of pupils during the Summer term.

Academically, this was another very strong year with standardised assessments indicating that pupils had made strong progress across all areas of the curriculum. A significant majority of the Year 6 cohort transferred to the Senior School and pupils were successful in being offered academic scholarships as well as scholarships in sport and music. In addition, one pupil was awarded the Rendcomb Scholarship and another was successful in gaining a grammar school place.

An adaptive and innovative approach enabled pupils to enjoy a rich and varied curriculum. Further breadth was added to the teaching of Languages with KS2 pupils having the opportunity to learn some French, German, Spanish and Latin. Pupils enjoyed taking part in a STEM challenge LEGO robotics workshop, with one pupil achieving notable success in a national computer coding competition organised by Oxford University. There were new initiatives in EYFS and KS1 as pupils began working on a new phonics scheme and the timetable was adapted to create a much more refined balance of teaching time within these areas of the school.

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RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

The Co-Curricular programme continued to develop with the addition of new activities such as Table Tennis, Chat & Chill at KS2 and STEM and Yoga activities at KS1. Ever-popular activities such as Forest School, Art Club and Cookery continued to be well attended.

Speech & Drama pupils enjoyed great success in LAMDA examinations and gained several notable awards when representing the school at the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts. Junior School musicians achieved successes in their Associated Board exams in a range of instruments.

Community spirit remains a major strength of the school. The Rendcomb family continued to extend its support to the wider community and, over the course of this past year, the Junior School raised funds for and supported a number of charities in a variety of ways.

World Book Day celebrations included many original costume creations and a School Council suggestion of a ‘Book Swap’ idea was also a successful innovation which helped to mark the day.

Sport remains a key part of Rendcomb life with pupils enjoying representing the school in competitive fixtures throughout the sporting year. U9 boys once again enjoyed success at a local football tournament and there was individual and team equestrian success for three Junior School pupils. Another Junior School pupil was victorious at the IAPS Fencing Championships and achieved further success in the British National Fencing Championship. Additionally, a Year 4 pupil was successful in being retained as part of the academy setup at Forest Green Rovers football club.

Work to develop the playground area was completed with the new addition of a MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area). This new facility provides us with a much improved area for use during break times and an extra resource which can be utilised for the teaching of PE and Games and hosting competitive fixtures.

All Year 3 pupils were given the opportunity to try brass and string instruments during their Music lessons. In addition to their standard Music curriculum, Year 2 pupils participated in an African Drumming workshop, Year 4 experienced Gum Boot Dancing and Year 5 took part in a Steel Drumming session.

The Junior School production of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Super Stan’ was performed over two nights in the Griffin Theatre to a combined audience total of over 350 people.

A variety of educational visits took place across the school year with pupils enjoying trips to Warwick Castle, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Butterfly World, LEGO Discovery World, Cadbury World and Oxford Story Museum. Outdoor education experiences took place at South Cerney Lakes and Gloucester Ski Slope and Year 6 pupils enjoyed a residential visit to Kilve Court Outdoor Education Centre in February.

The Junior School production of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Super Stan’ performed over two nights in the Griffin Theatre to a combined audience total of over 350 people.

A variety of educational visits took place across the school year with pupils enjoying trips to: Warwick Castle; Cotswold Wildlife Park; Butterfly World; LEGO Discovery World; Cadbury World and Oxford Story Museum. Outdoor education experiences took place at South Cerney Lakes and Gloucester Ski Slope with Year 6 pupils enjoying a residential visit to Kilve Court Outdoor Education Centre in February.

Admissions and Marketing

It is fair to say that the last few years were challenging from an admissions point of view, particularly in light of the huge reduction in overseas boarders, a direct result of the global pandemic. That being said, the decision was made in 2020 to continue to invest in marketing, which has very much improved Rendcomb College’s visibility both overseas and for the local market, resulting in numbers coming back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23.

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GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

The mix of international pupils is now more diverse without such a heavy reliance on China. The decision to allow 1 - 2 term stays has also meant that we continue to keep the boarding houses at a good level of capacity. Pupil recruitment lead to bumper open mornings during the period, with sixty families attending the open morning in September, thirty families in November and forty families attending in March. This lead to a sizeable intake into Year 7 for September 2023, which has been increased to a 3-form entry of fifty four pupils.

Marketing activity continued to develop digital avenues, with 80% of advertising now being done in the digital space. New films were produced, as well as a mandarin language film, to help promote the school with overseas agents in the East. Sponsorship of local events continued, including the NSEA Show Jumping at Rectory Farm, with around 600 competitors during the event and around 2,000 visitors, as well as inclusions in The Cotswold Show and Everyman Theatre programmes.

Marketing supported commercial activities, including the opening of the Village Shop, advertising productions and promoting the Summer School during the summer holidays.

The highlight of the marketing year culminated in Rendcomb College winning the SoGlos Independent School of the Year – a local award recognising the best that Gloucestershire has to offer, firmly establishing us as one of Gloucestershire’s Leading Independent schools.

Development & Property

The Estates Team had an extremely busy year as always, maintaining and updating the grade 2* listed Mansion House and surrounding school buildings. The Residential portfolio was improved with notable enhancements made to two of the properties. Roofing work continued on both the Mansion House and Stable Block. The Staff Common Room was refurbished as part of the College’s well-being programme and a staff quiet space was set-up for reflection away from the bustle of College life. Work was continued on the College’s sustainability schedule with LED lights being rolled out across the College and insulation being installed in appropriate spaces.

The College received investment from the Foundation which enabled control to be taken of the Rendcomb Village Post Office and Stores. The Estates Team completed the substantial renovation to the property in the summer months and work continues on the associated residential property. Investment was also received for the much needed Multi Use Games Area in the Junior School and to speed up the College’s ICT Improvement Programme.

Commercial Events

Commercial Activities were renewed in earnest in 2022 - 2023 with the focus on building on existing activities and planning and executing new commercial endeavours. In the summer, a successful recruitment campaign was run to appoint a Commercial Sales and Operations Manager to start in October 2023. During the year, a residential property, currently used for the Sixth Form Independent Living Programme during the winter months, was opened as a very successful and busy Airbnb during the spring and summer of 2023. The summer was spent renovating the Rendcomb Post and Office and Stores, now under control of the College, and this opened in September 2023 with plans underway to open another Airbnb in the associated residential property.

Two successful summer lets went ahead. Project International utilised the site for a busy 4 week programme whereby we welcomed a total of 200 international students from all over the world. This was followed by the return of the Riverside Players who spent 2 weeks rehearsing, set-building and costume making, culminating in an excellent outdoor production of the ‘Scarlett Pimpernel’ against the spectacular backdrop of the College.

Multiple bookings were made for the Griffin Theatre to take place during 2023 - 2024, starting with a local state secondary using it for their annual production during October half-term of 2024. The College looks forward to welcoming many more local schools and clubs to use the facilities in the up-coming academic year.

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RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Public benefit

The Governors have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission in accordance with section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 in ensuring that the College’s objectives are for the public benefit.

College support for fees

The school has the ability to offer the Noel Wills Scholarship, a means-tested award which is awarded to a State Primary School pupil annually entering the college at the age of 11. This is an entirely free place for the duration of a pupil’s time at the school. In addition, the College has an extensive Scholarships and Bursaries Policy which is designed with the intention that funding goes to families most in need, in keeping with the Founder’s intentions. To support this aim, the services of Bursary Administration Limited are used to undertake home visits and in-depth analysis of financial situations. Within this financial year, bursary support amounting to 6% of total fee income has been granted to pupils attending Rendcomb. The Sinclair Bursary Fund money provided by Rendcomb College Foundation to the College is also used to fund support to families, as are funds raised by The Friends of Rendcomb trustees.

Our Noel Wills and Centenary Scholars performed exceptionally well in their A Levels, achieving AAA, AAA and A EPQ and AAA and A* EPQ respectively. They have been a credit to Rendcomb’s scholarship and bursary programme during their time at College, being extremely active in the school community and representing the College at numerous events. They have now headed off to study Law at Oxford, Chemistry at Durham and Psychology at the University of Bath.

Charitable and Outreach work

This year, Rendcomb College has been able to increase its level of outreach work and numerous local state schools have been invited to attend events at the College. The Community Links project which runs in Year 12 has gone from strength to strength involving local state primary and secondary schools, as well as two local care homes. The Cop21 Symposium was a huge success and we welcomed students from 6 different secondary schools in the surrounding areas to join our own students to understand rights and responsibilities around climate change. Individual departments have run outreach projects, such as the Chemistry and Music departments, whereby they have invited local schools to participate in workshops with our students. We continue to make the Griffin Theatre available to local schools and we have loaned our minibus and driver to Coberley C of E Primary School.

Multiple members of staff volunteer their time at a variety of settings. 2 members of SLT were Chair of Governors at local maintained schools in 2022 - 2023, allowing for excellent cross-fertilisation of ideas and expertise between the sectors. Other volunteer roles include leaders at both Girl Guide and Cubs Groups, a voluntary teacher at Gloucestershire Action for Refugees & Asylum Seekers, a safeguarding consultant at England Lacrosse, Treasurer at a local swim club and several additional governor roles. It is a testament to our staff and the overarching ethos that so many are prepared to donate their time in this way.

Charity plays a major part in the College’s fundraising, supporting local, national and overseas charities. We have undertaken internal events on key dates, such as the Macmillan Coffee Morning, and held numerous Mufti days to support charities such as Children In Need, Red Nose Day, the British Red Cross Earthquake Appeal, Ocean Protection Appeal and Pancreatic Cancer UK. Support has been given to other charitable organisations such as the Friends of Rendcomb to support their own charitable work.

Rendcomb undertakes the grass cutting of St Peter’s Church, Rendcomb, and also provides the cleaning, heating and general day to day maintenance of the church building. The College makes land available for the siting of the village recycling and charity collection bins. During poor weather, the school salts and clears the roads in the village and the doctors’ surgery car park.

10

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Public benefit (continued)

Parents of our pupils often make significant sacrifices to pay the fees. During the year, the school educated UK based children at negligible cost to the state, providing a tangible, indirect benefit to public finances in the region of £1.2m. Similarly, unlike schools in the maintained sector, Rendcomb College pays irrecoverable VAT on most of its purchases of goods and services.

In summary, the College continues to fulfil its aims admirably and intends to do so in future years. Further details about the College can be found on the website www.rendcombcollege.org.uk.

Financial review

Details of incoming and outgoing resources in the year are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 11.

Fees income net of bursaries, scholarships and allowances increased from £6,536,163 in 2022 to £7,170,722. Other educational income increased by 9.8% to £649,799 and donations totalled £738,372 compared with £377,565 in the prior year. The Foundation donated £728,700 to the College in 2023 (2022: £346,000) of which £243,219 was received under the generous terms of the Martin Wills Bequest. The College invested funds in key projects and maintenance of the Estate such as the installation of the Multi Use Games Area for the Junior School and the ICT refresh programme. Significant improvements to 2 residential properties and the Post Office were made.

The College’s net surplus/expenditure before investment loss/gain was £26,361 (2021: loss of £193,548). After taking account of the increase in value of investments, the funds of the College at 31 August 2023 fell from £368,727 to £329,578.

Reserves policy and going concern

The College’s unrestricted funds at 31 August 2023 stood at £272,770 of which £1,187,388 represents designated funds to be utilised as part of the provision of bursaries and school improvements. There is currently a deficit of £914,618 on the general funds. At the 31 August 2023 there is also a restricted fund balance of £56,808 to be used in the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

We have continued to see difficult trading conditions in our long-term international market and as such the policy that the College should seek to generate a surplus of income over expenditure each year has not been able to be met. The Governors look to balance the required improvements and enhancements to the estate within the overall running of the school’s finances. Reserves may be restricted for bursary, scholarship, development or other purpose if this is a specific request of a donor. It therefore remains the policy of the Governors to seek to build up reserves out of operating surpluses, subject to the demands for future expenditure to support the school.

The school is viewed as a viable business. It has no debt, and has the backing of funds held within the Foundation for emergency use should this be required. The Foundation has reiterated its support for the College over the course of the year and has taken steps to ensure that funds are available should they be needed. The numbers now joining the school, and the advance registrations for place, indicate that the demand for places is growing significantly from both domestic and international parents.

Risk management

The Governors ensure that the major risks to which the College is exposed are reviewed termly and that systems are in place to mitigate or minimise such risks. The Governors are satisfied that the risks identified are being managed effectively and to the greatest extent possible. The risk management process is managed firstly by the Finance and General Purposes sub-committee and subsequently by the full Governing Body.

Investment performance

The College’s portfolio of securities is managed by Cazenove & Co. who act with delegated authority under the terms of a discretionary agreement. The Governors receive quarterly reports from Cazenove and consider performance in 2022-2023 to be satisfactory. The investment policy produces a predictable level of income for a low-medium risk portfolio invested in equities, cash and fixed interest stocks and provides additional income for the College.

11

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Risks are identified as being Strategic, Regulatory, Governance, External, Operational, Personnel, Environmental, Technological, Academic or Financial; control measures are clearly identified where risk factors suggest a higher level of risk. The College has a well-developed Emergency Plan in place which has undergone external review and critique as well as internal testing. In common with many other smaller independent Colleges the major risks are around pupil numbers and the ongoing financial viability of the College; strategic work is therefore undertaken to mitigate these risks by measures including efficient and targeted marketing and promotional activity, and key decisions such as numbers of international pupils. Mitigating actions were put in place to answer some of the risks that were identified from the pandemic, including staffing in some areas.The school takes all aspects of Safeguarding very seriously and has clear and well managed policies around this and all other areas of compliance.

Plans for future periods

It is expected that there will be a modest growth in overall pupil numbers in the coming years, whilst still maintaining the school’s family-feel and caring ethos. The work that has been started on updating and refreshing key areas of the school site will continue, with more significant projects being considered as need arises.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Governors (who are also directors of Rendcomb College Limited for the purposes of Company Law) are responsible for preparing the Governors' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Governors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Governors are required to:

The Governors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time of the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In accordance with company law, as the charitable company’s directors, we certify that:

The Governors’ Report, which incorporates the Strategic Report, was authorised for issue and approved by the Governors On 7 December 2023 and is signed on their behalf by:

………………………………. Mr Nicholas Ford – Chairman

12

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Rendcomb College for the year ended 31 August 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Governor’s Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

13

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE (continued)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Governors Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report).

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 9, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the independent school regulations, safeguarding regulations, health and safety requirements, GDPR, employment law and charity law , and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as such as the Charities Act 2011 and consider other factors such as payroll tax.

14

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE (continued)

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to the improper recognition of revenue and management bias in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Adam Halsey (Senior Statutory Auditor) 10 Queen Street Place
For and on behalf of Haysmacintyre LLP, Statutory Auditor London
EC4R 1AG

Date:

15

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Including Income and Expenditure Account)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

General Designated Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
Note £ £ £ £ £
INCOME FROM:
Charitable activities
School fees receivable 3 7,170,722 - - 7,170,722 6,536,163
Other educational income 4 649,799 - - 649,799 591,780
Trading activities 5 212,026 - - 212,026 216,674
Investments
Investment income 6 42,764 - - 42,764 41,339
Bank and other interest 6 5,595 - - 5,595 95
Voluntary services
Grants and donations 7 738,372 - - 738,372 377,565
--------------------- ----------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total income 8,819,278 - - 8,819,278 7,763,616
--------------------- ---------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
Trading costs 8 65,741 - - 65,741 80,099
Charitable activities
Education 8 8,727,176 - - 8,727,176 7,877,065
-------------------- ------------------ -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total expenditure 8 8,792,917 - - 8,792,917 7,957,164
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Net
income/(expenditure)		 before 26,361 - - 26,361 (193,548)
investment losses and transfers
Gains/(losses) on investment assets - (65,510) - (65,510) (52,525)
Transfers 1,815 (1815) - - -
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Net movement in funds 28,176 (67,325) - (39,149) (246,073)
Fund balances at 1 September 2022 (942,794) 1,254,713 56,808 368,727 614,800
------------------- ---------------------- ------------------ --------------------- ---------------------
Fund balances at 31 August 2023 15,16 (914,618) 1,187,388 56,808 329,578 368,727
========= ========== ======== ========== ===========

All the activities included above were continuing during the year. The notes on pages 19 to 30 form part of these financial statements. The Statement of Financial Activities for the comparative period has been presented in note 23.

16

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

Company Number: 5891198

BALANCE SHEET

AT 31 AUGUST 2023

2023 2022
Note £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 10 446,979 270,250
Investments 11 999,383 1,064,893
-------------------- --------------------
1,446,362 1,335,143
-------------------- --------------------
Current assets
Debtors 12 245,259 366,690
Due from Rendcomb College Foundation 200,000 -
Short term deposits 13 10,708 10,653
Cash at bank and in hand 13 973,830 1,084,127
--------------------- ---------------------
1,429,797 1,461,470
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 (2,546,581) (2,427,886)
--------------------- ---------------------
Net current liabilities (1,116,784) (966,415)
--------------------- ---------------------
Net assets 329,578 368,727
=========== ===========
Represented by:
Funds
Designated Funds 15 1,187,388 1,254,713
General Funds 15 (914,618) (942,794)
Restricted Funds 15 56,808 56,808
--------------------- ---------------------
329,578 368,727
=========== ===========

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Governors on 7 December 2023 and were signed below on their behalf by:

…………………………….. Mr Nicholas Ford - Chairman

The notes on pages 19 to 30 form part of these financial statements.

17

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

CASHFLOW STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

2023 2022
Note £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources before investment gains 26,361 (193,549)
Investment income (42,764) (41,339)
Interest received (5,595) (95)
Depreciation charge 93,029 104,269
Profit on sale of assets (600) (13,302)
Increase in debtors (78,569) 14,780
Increase in creditors 118,695 583,503
------------------- -------------------
Net cash used in operating activities 110,557 454,267
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (269,758) (134,887)
Proceeds on sale of tangible fixed assets 600 13,302
Investment income 48,359 41,434
-------------------- --------------------
Net cash used in investing activities (220,799) 80,150
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (110,242) 374,117
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 1,094,780 720,663
-------------------- --------------------
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 13 984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents At 31 August At 31 August
2023 2022
£ £
Cash at bank 973,830 1,084,127
Short term deposits 10,708 10,653
-------------------- --------------------
13 984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========

The analysis of net debt is not required as no debt held by the College.

18

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Rendcomb College is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and registered with the Charity Commission. The address of its registered office is Rendcomb College, Cirencester, Gloucester, GL7 7HA. The members of the company are the Governors. In the event of the charitable company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charitable company.

Rendcomb College was incorporated on 31 July 2006 (company number 05891198) and registered as a charity on 22 August 2006 (charity number: 1115884)

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A summary of the more important accounting policies, which have been applied consistently, is set out below.

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) FRS 102 – ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2019)’ Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019.

The accounts are drawn up on the historical cost basis of accounting, as modified by the revaluation of investments.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the accounting policies, Governors are required to make judgements, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The Governors do not believe that there are any areas subject to significant accounting estimation or judgement and no assumptions concerning the future or estimation uncertainty affecting assets or liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

2.1 Consolidation

Rendcomb College has taken the exemption from preparing consolidated financial statements as its subsidiary, Rendcomb College Services Limited is wholly owned and consolidated financial statements are prepared by the ultimate controlling party, Rendcomb College Foundation, for the year ended 31 August 2023.

2.2 Going Concern

The Governors consider that there are no material uncertainties regarding the charities ability to continue as a going concern, on the basis that it has committed and ongoing financial support from its parent undertaking, Rendcomb Foundation.

2.3 School fees

Fees receivable and charges for services and use of premises are accounted for in the year in which the service is provided. Fees receivable are stated after deducting allowances, scholarships and other remissions granted by the College, but include contributions received from restricted funds for scholarships, bursaries and other grants.

2.4 Investment income

Investment income from dividends, bank balances and fixed interest securities is accounted for on an accruals basis.

2.5 Donations income

Donations receivable for the general purposes of the College are credited to unrestricted funds. Donations for purposes restricted by the wishes of the donor are taken to “restricted funds” where these wishes are legally binding on the Governors. Donations that are identified by the Governors for particular purposes are shown as designated funds.

19

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

2.6 Grant income

Grant income relates to the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Grant (CJRG) and is recognised under the accruals basis in line with staff costs.

2.7 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. It is allocated between categories on the basis of actual costs.

Cost of charitable activities includes expenditure associated with the running of the College and include both direct and support costs.

Support costs represent indirect costs relating to raising funds and the charity’s charitable activities. Support costs, including governance costs, are allocated to activities on bases that represent the Governors’ best estimate of actual use.

Governance costs comprise the costs of running the charity, including auditors’ remuneration and expenses reimbursed to Governors attending meetings.

2.8 Fixed assets

Fixed assets for use by the charity are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straightline basis over the estimated useful life of an asset at the following rates:

Equipment and motor vehicles 20 – 25%

2.9 Investments

Investment in subsidiary is stated at cost less provision for impairment.

Listed investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date.

Realised gains and losses on investments represent the difference between sale proceeds and opening market value (or cost at date of purchase if later). Unrealised gains and losses represent the change in market value of the investment portfolio in the year.

Unrealised gains and losses arising on revaluation of investments are credited or charged to the Statement of Financial Activities and allocated to the appropriate fund according to the “ownership” of the underlying assets.

2.10 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

2.11 Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments, including trade and other debtors, creditors and investments in non-puttable ordinary shares are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. Cash is measured at fair value through the profit or loss.

2.12 Creditors and provision

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

20

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

2.13 Fund accounting

Restricted funds are funds which have been received for specific purposes as indicated by the donor.

Unrestricted funds are funds whose use is wholly at the discretion of the Governors.

Designated funds, such as the Foundation Fund, are funds which are identified for particular purposes by the Governors.

2.14 Pensions

The College contributes to the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (APTIS) which is a defined contribution pension scheme which can be used by all ISBA member schools for their teaching staff. ) It is set up as part of Aviva’s “Master Trust” — a trust-based pension arrangement managed by independent professional trustees. It is available for ISBA members and such other organisations as are admitted by mutual agreement. The College also operates a money purchase scheme for non-teaching staff. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred.

2.15 Operating leases

Rentals payable are charged on a time basis over the lease term, even if the payments are not made on such a basis. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are similarly spread on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

2.16 Foreign currency translation

The charities functional and presentation currency is pound sterling. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

3. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – FEES RECEIVABLE 2023 2022
£ £
Fees receivable consist of:
School fees 8,212,425 7,704,466
Less total bursaries, scholarships and allowances (1,041,703) (1,168,303)
--------------------- ---------------------
7,170,722 6,536,163
Add back:
Bursaries funded by Martin Wills Bequest - -
Bursaries funded by Francis Dutton Bequest - -
-------------------- --------------------
Total school fees received 7,170,722 6,536,163
========== ==========

Means tested scholarships, bursaries and other awards totalling £491,760 (2022: £457,399) were paid to 41 pupils (2022: 48). Within this, 1 pupil (2022: nil) was in receipt of the Francis Dutton Scholarship.

21

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

4. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – OTHER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – OTHER INCOME INCOME 2023 2022
£ £
Additional courses 467,785 408,040
School transport 70,945 48,873
Additional accommodation 53,226 67,387
Ancillary income 57,843 67,480
------------------ ------------------
649,799 591,780
========= =========
5. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES 2023 2022
£ £
Trading income
Functions 129,912 131,382
Rental income 82,114 85,292
------------------ ------------------
212,026 216,674
========= =========
Rental income relates to properties which are owned by Rendcomb College Foundation, for which the rent is
payable to the College in accordance with the relevant agreements.
6. INVESTMENT INCOME 2023 2022
£ £
Income from investment portfolio 42,764 41,339
Interest 5,595 95
----------------- -----------------
48,359 41,434
======== ========
7. GRANTS AND DONATIONS Total Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Donations to the College:
Rendcomb College Foundation 728,700 - - 728,700 346,000
Donations – general 9,67 - - 9,672 -
Rural payment - - - - 31,565
----------------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ----------------------
738,372 - - 738,372 377,565
========= ======== ========= =========== ===========
GRANTS AND DONATIONS (2022)
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2022 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Donations to the College:
Rendcomb College Foundation 346,000 - - 346,000 974,320
Rural payment 31,565 - - 31,565 25,777
Grants:
Furlough income - - - - 267,958
----------------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ----------------------
377,565 - - 377,565 1,268,055
========= ========= ========= =========== ===========

22

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

8a. TOTAL EXPENDITURE Total Total
Staff costs Depreciation Other 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Raising funds
Trading costs - - 65,741 65,741 80,099
Charitable activities
Education and grant making
Teaching 3,919,811 38,316 262,698 4,220,825 4,002,368
Welfare 352,925 18,433 1,122,095 1,493,453 1,319,007
Premises 252,747 52,770 1,060,913 1,366,430 1,053,766
Marketing - - 134,074 134,074 104,227
Administration 510,490 777 1,001,126 1,512,393 1,397,697
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 110,295 3,580,907 8,727,176 7,877,065
-------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 110,295 3,646,648 8,792,917 7,957,164
========== ========== ========== ========== ===========
TOTAL EXPENDITURE (2022) Total Total
Staff costs Depreciation Other 2022 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Raising funds
Trading costs - - 80,099 80,099 6,567
Charitable activities
Education and grant making
Teaching 3,705,779 24,859 271,730 4,002,368 3,839,238
Welfare 359,149 23,518 936,340 1,319,007 1,116,384
Premises 226,044 55,614 772,108 1,053,766 1,049,660
Marketing - - 104,227 104,227 83,460
Administration 522,143 278 875,276 1,397,697 1,381,558
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
4,813,115 104,269 2,959,681 7,877,065 7,470,300
-------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
4,813,115 104,269 3,039,780 7,957,164 7,476,867
========== ========== ========== ========== ===========
2023 2022
8b. Governance included in other costs: £ £
Remuneration paid to auditor for audit services 15,100 13,150
Remuneration paid to auditor for other services 1,950 1,765
Reimbursement of personal expenses to Governors – travel costs 189 306
---------------- --------------
17,239 15,221
======== =======

No Governors were remunerated during the year. Travel expenses were reimbursed to £189 (2022: £306).

23

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

9. STAFF COSTS 2023 2022
£ £
Wages and salaries 4,199,351 4,004,229
Social security costs 394,415 381,079
Pension contributions (note 20) 438,494 415,130
Termination payments 3,713 12,677
--------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 4,813,115
=========== ===========
2023 2022
The average monthly number of employees in the year was: No. No.
Teaching:
Full time 51 50
Part time 63 54
Welfare 19 19
Premises 10 7
Administration 19 16
---------- ----------
162 146
===== =====
Aggregate employee benefits paid to key management personnel during the year were £615,827 (2022: £570,225).
Number of higher paid employees in bands of 2023
2022
60,000 - 69,999 2 -
70,000 - 79,999 1 1
140,000 – 149,999 - 1
150,000 – 159,999 1 -

24

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Equipment and Multi-use Total
motor vehicles Games area £
£ £
Cost
At 1 September 2022 2,895,791 - 2,895,791
Additions 129,147 140,611 269,758
Disposals - - -
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
At 31 August 2023 3,024,938 140,611 3,165,549
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
Depreciation
At 1 September 2022 2,625,541 - 2,625,541
Charge for the year 93,029 - 93,029
Eliminated on disposal - - -
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
At 31 August 2023 2,718,570 - 2,718,570
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
Net Book Value
31 August 2023 306,368 140,611 446,979
========= ========== =========
31 August 2022 270,250 - 270,250
========= ========== =========

The College has use of the properties owned by the Foundation, consisting of:-

25

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

11. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Listed Cash Total
investments
£ £ £
Market value at 1 September 2022 1,054,126 10,767 1,064,893
Additions - 1,241 1,241
Disposals (1,500) - (1,500)
Loss (65,251) - (65,251)
---------------------- ---------------------- ----------------------
Market value at 31 August 2023 987,375 12,008 999,383
=========== =========== ===========

The historic cost of investments held is £959,656 (2022: £959,656). Investments are in global equities and funds, with the exception of a £1 investment in the subsidiary company.

The College owns the entire share capital of Rendcomb Services Limited of £1. The aggregate share capital and reserves of the company as at 31 August 2023 and profit for the year then ended was as follows:

Aggregate of share
capital & reserves Profit
£ £
Rendcomb Services Limited (1,180) 978
======= =======
12. DEBTORS 2023 2022
£ £
Fees 68,955 209,823
Prepayments and accrued income 154,272 147,890
Due from Rendcomb Services Limited (Note 21) 8,722 8,722
Other debtors 13,310 255
------------------ ------------------
245,259 366,690
========= =========
13. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 2023 2022
£ £
Short term deposits 10,708 10,653
Cash at bank 973,830 1,084,127
-------------------- --------------------
984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========

Short term deposits comprise temporary deposits of surplus funds with Lloyds Bank plc.

26

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

14. CREDITORS – due in less than one year CREDITORS – due in less than one year CREDITORS – due in less than one year 2023 2022
£ £
Trade creditors 259,436 246,477
Accruals 57,685 46,869
Registration and guarantee fees 579,619 555,132
Fees received in advance of Michaelmas Term 1,501,262 1,447,737
Other creditors 40,037 23,130
Other tax and social security 108,542 108,542
---------------------- ----------------------
2,546,581 2,427,886
=========== ===========
15. FUND MOVEMENTS
1 September Investment
31		 August
2022 Income Expenditure Transfers Loss 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund (942,794) 8,819,278 (8,792,917) 1,815 - (914,618)
Designated Funds
Foundation Fund 1,201,548 - - - (65,510)
1,136,038
Francis Dutton Bequest 53,165 - - (1,815) - 51,350
Restricted Funds:
Longitude grant 6,808 - - - - 6,808
Centenary fund 50,000 - - - - 50,000
--------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ------------------
---------------------
368,727 8,819,278 (8,792,917) - (65,510) 329,578
=========== ========== =========== ======== =========
===========

The Foundation Fund consists of the investment portfolio transferred by Rendcomb College Foundation. The current intention is to retain the Fund and use the income generated to help fund the activities of the College.

The Francis Dutton Bequest is utilised for music scholarships; no such scholarships were identified during the year.

The Longitude grant consists of funds awarded at the Longitude Explorer Challenge and is being used to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

The Centenary fund consists of amounts received for the Centenary celebration.

FUND MOVEMENTS (2022)

1 September Investment 31 August
2021 Income Expenditure Transfers Gains 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund (749,246) 7,763,616 (7,957,164) - - (942,794)
Designated Funds
Foundation Fund 1,254,073 - - - (52,525) 1,201,548
Francis Dutton Bequest 53,165 - - - - 53,165
Restricted Funds:
Longitude grant 6,808 - - - - 6,808
Centenary fund 50,000 - - - - 50,000
--------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ------------------ ---------------------
614,800 7,763,616 (7,957,164) - (52,525) 368,727
=========== ========== =========== ======== ========= ===========

27

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

15. FUND MOVEMENTS (continued)

The Foundation Fund consists of the investment portfolio transferred by Rendcomb College Foundation. The current intention is to retain the Fund and use the income generated to help fund the activities of the College.

The Francis Dutton Bequest is utilised for scholarships, resources expended include the transfer of £nil (2022: £nil) in respect of scholarships funded during the year by the Francis Dutton Bequest.

The Longitude grant consists of funds awarded at the Longitude Explorer Challenge and is being used to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

The Astroturf fund consists of amounts received for the replacement of the astroturf surface. These amounts were expended in the year.

16. NET ASSETS BY FUND

NET ASSETS BY FUND
Tangible fixed Investments Net current Total
assets assets/(liabilities)
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds - 999,384 188,004 1,187,388
General Funds 446,979 - (1,361,597) (914,618)
Restricted - - 56,808 56,808
------------------- -------------------- ------------------ --------------------
446,979 999,384 (1,116,785) 329,578
========= ========== ========= ==========
Comparative split of
net assets by fund
Tangible fixed Investments Net
current		 Total
assets assets/(liabilities)
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds - 1,064,894 189,819 1,254,713
General Funds 270,250 - (1,213,044) (942,794)
Restricted - - 56,808 56,808
------------------- -------------------- ------------------ --------------------
270,250 1,064,894 (966,417) 368,727
========= ========== ========= ==========

17. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

At the balance sheet date there were £nil capital commitments (2022: £nil.)

18. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 2023 2022
£ £
Cash and cash equivalents 984,538 1,094,780
Financial assets measured at amortised cost 290,987 218,800
--------------------- ---------------------
1,275,525 1,313,580
=========== ===========
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost (2,546,581) (2,427,888)
=========== ===========

Financial assets measured at amortised cost include fee debtors, other debtors and accrued income.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost include fees in advance, trade creditors, accruals, registration fees and other creditors.

28

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

19. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

At 31 August 2023, the College had annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as set out below:

2023 2022
Fixtures & Fixtures &
Vehicles fittings Vehicles Fittings
£ £ £ £
Operating leases which expire:
Within one year 2,022 53,577 2,022 53,954
In one to two years - - - 10,046
In two to five years 6,467 - - -
------------- ---------------- ------------- ----------------
8,489 53,577 2,022 64,000
======= ======= ======= ========

Total costs incurred in the year in respect of rental charges for assets held under operating lease of £78,125 (2022: £74,081)

20. PENSION COSTS

(a) Teaching Staff

The School participates in the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (APTIS) which is a defined contribution pension scheme which can be used by all ISBA member schools for their teaching staff. It is set up as part of Aviva’s “Master Trust” — a trust-based pension arrangement managed by independent professional trustees. It is available for ISBA members and such other organisations as are admitted by mutual agreement. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to Aviva of £481,862 (2022: £425,526) and at the yearend £nil (2022: £nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

b) Non-teaching staff

The College operates a money purchase scheme for non-teaching staff. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the College. At the year end there were 66 (2022: 59) members of the money purchase scheme. Employer’s contributions totalled £106,813 (2022: £104,727) during the year and at the year-end £Nil (2022: £Nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

21. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Rendcomb College is a connected charity with Rendcomb College Foundation as the Trustees of the Foundation are the members of the College. During the year the Foundation donated £728,700 (2022: £346,000) to the College. At 31 August 2023 the balance receivable from the Foundation was £200,000 (2022: £nil).

During the year the College purchased services of £220,391 (2022: £215,967) from Rendcomb Services Limited and at the year end was owed a net receivable balance of £36,507 (2022: £8,722 net creditor balance). Rendcomb Services Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rendcomb College.

During the year two Governors (2022: five) had two children (2022: ten children) enrolled at the College, and fees charged were at the full rate.

During the year £13,625 was donated by the Friends of Rendcomb for two scholarships.

29

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

22. CONTROLLING PARTY

Rendcomb College Foundation is the immediate parent undertaking of Rendcomb College. Consolidated accounts are prepared by Rendcomb College Foundation, registered Charity number 311713. The consolidated accounts are available from the Charity Commission.

23. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (2022)

General Designated Restricted Total
Funds Funds Funds 2022
Note £ £ £
INCOME FROM:
Charitable activities
School fees receivable 3 6,536,163 - - 6,536,163
Other educational income 4 591,780 - - 591,780
Trading activities 5 216,674 - - 216,674
Investments
Investment income 6 41,339 - - 41,339
Bank and other interest 6 95 - - 95
Voluntary services
Grants and donations 7 377,565 - - 377,565
--------------------- ----------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total income 7,763,616 - - 7,763,616
--------------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
Trading costs 8 80,099 - - 80,099
Charitable activities
Education 8 7,877,065 - - 7,877,065
-------------------- ------------------ -------------------- ---------------------
Total expenditure 8 7,957,164 - - 7,957,164
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- ---------------------
Net expenditure before investment (193,548) - - (193,548)
gains
Gains/(losses) on investment assets: - (52,525) - (52,525)
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- ---------------------
Net movement in funds (193,548) (52,525) - (246,073)
Fund balances at 1 September 2021 (749,246) 1,307,238 56,808 614,800
------------------- ---------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Fund balances at 31 August 2022 15,16 (942,794) 1,254,713 56,808 368,727
========= ========== ======== ==========

30

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Charity Registration Number: 1115884 Company Registration Number: 5891198

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

CONTENTS PAGE
Reference and administrative details 1
Governors’ report 2 – 12
Report of the auditors 13 – 15
Statement of financial activities 16
Balance sheet 17
Cash flow statement 18
Notes to the accounts 19 - 30

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Governors and Directors: S E Arkle
N J Ford (Chair of Governors)
P A Hornby
A R Marchand
N J Nettleton
I I H Ormerod
S D E Parsons TD
H C W Robinson DL
L H Singer
Major General P G Williams
R H Wills
T R Shepherd
E W Bryant
Headmaster: R Jones
Secretary:
 R K Elliott-Jones
Registered office: Rendcomb College
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 7HA
Solicitors: Charles Russell Speechlys
5 Fleet Street Place
London
EC4M 7RD
Auditors: Haysmacintyre LLP
10 Queen Street Place
London
EC4R 1AG
Investment Managers: Cazenove Capital Management Limited
1 London Wall Place
London
EC2Y 5AU
Bankers: Lloyds TSB Bank plc
14 Castle Street
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 IQJ
Company Registration Number: 5891198
Charity Registration Number: 1115884

1

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Governors present their report for the year ended 31 August 2023, together with the audited financial statements for the year which comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities”, effective 1 January 2019 (FRS102) - Second Edition.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Legal and charitable status

The College was constituted as a separate company limited by guarantee on 31 July 2006 (Company Registration No. 5891198) and as a separate charity on 22 August 2006 (Charity Registration No. 1115884) and commenced trading on 1 September 2006.

Governors and advisers

Details of the Governors, who are trustees of the charity, key officers and advisors, are shown on page 1. A qualifying third party indemnity provision for the benefit of directors was in force during the financial year.

Governing document

The College is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 31 July 2006 and amended on 21 August 2006.

Organisational structure

The Members of the College are the Trustees of Rendcomb College Foundation. Accordingly, the Foundation is treated as a connected charity to the College. Rendcomb Services Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rendcomb College and the registered office address is Rendcomb College, Rendcomb, Cirencester GL7 7HA. The Governors of the College are responsible for the general policy of the College. The Governors have convened a number of committees and working groups to address more detailed issues as follows:

Development Committee (currently in abeyance) Education and Personnel Committee Finance and General Purposes Committee

The day to day management of the College is delegated to the Head (Robert Jones) and the Bursar (Rowan ElliottJones). They are also supported by their Senior Leadership Team (Gavin Roberts, Jonnie Howorth, Nick Cox, David Illingworth and Christine Williams) and together this group are the key management personnel. Remuneration is set by the Board, with the objective of providing appropriate incentives to encourage enhanced performance and of rewarding fairly and responsibly individual contributions to the College’s success. The appropriateness and relevance of the remuneration is reviewed annually, including reference to comparisons with other independent schools where publicly available via benchmarking data, to ensure that the College remains sensitive to the broader issues of pay and employment conditions elsewhere.

Recruitment, induction and training of Governors

Typically Governors serve two to three terms, i.e. six to nine years although this can be extended through mutual consent and often is. Governors are recruited who have the appropriate skills to benefit the College. The induction of Governors involves the provision of information concerning the College, details of their role as set out in the Governors’ handbook, Charity Commission guidance on the role of Trustees and visits to the College to meet senior management. Training is provided to Trustees and Governors based on identified needs. The Governors have the opportunity to attend training courses run by AGBIS. Ongoing Governor contact is facilitated through the Governor of the Month programme and regular visits to the College.

Investment powers

The College’s portfolio of securities is managed by Cazenove & Co. who act with delegated authority under the terms of a discretionary agreement.

2

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

OBJECTS, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Objects

The object for which the College is established is to advance education for the public benefit including the provision and maintenance of a boarding and day school or schools for boys and girls in the United Kingdom.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to develop thoughtful , adventurous and academically ambitious young people who are life-long learners. We aim to prepare them with the character and skills to succeed in the ever-changing world after school. Our pupils have the freedom to experience, explore and enquire about the world around them. We aim to encourage independence and tolerance in a safe, caring community and magnificent natural environment.

To achieve this we will:

STRATEGIC REPORT

The Academic Year 2022-2023 is the year that things really got back to normal at Rendcomb College and the Community has experienced a busy and successful programme of academics, sports, concerts and performances. This prosperous year culminated in success at the SoGlos Lifestyle Awards where Rendcomb College won Independent School of the Year 2023.

Academic:

This year’s cohort achieved particularly well in their A Levels under the backdrop of tougher marking, and are the first set of results achieved under two normally taught academic years since 2019. What is even more impressive is that this is a cohort for whom A-Levels were the first set of invigilated public exams that they had sat, having had two years of home-schooling and teacher assessed grades. 41% of pupils achieved A - A and 65% achieved A - B. In comparison to 2019’s results, academic standing has increased at the school. BTEC results were also strong with Business and Business Diploma pupils achieving 8 Distinctions, 2 Merits and 1 Distinction*.

Head of College Rob Jones commented, “This is a very good set of results for Rendcomb College. The hard work the pupils have put in over the past two years has really paid off and they are rightly justified in feeling extremely proud of themselves, as am I of them. I think it says a lot that 83% of our pupils achieved their first choice of University place.”

Rob continues, “Rendcomb College has changed quite a bit over the past five years with us really focusing on our values of Thoughtful, Adventurous and Ambitious. It is great to see this hard work paying off in establishing ourselves as a leading Gloucestershire Independent School, and enabling our fabulous pupils to go out into the world and do great things.”

Pupils have headed off to prestigious Universities such as Oxford to study Law with Grades A A A and A EPQ, Durham to study a MChem with A A A, and Medicine at Kent and Medway with A B. We also had a student leave to study Law at Cambridge following a post-results application following their impressive A A A and A EPQ in 2022.

3

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Rendcomb College’s GCSE success continued in 2023, with 45% of pupils achieving 9 - 7, an increase of 11% on 2019’s results, and an impressive 65% achieving 9 - 6, an increase of 10% on 2019’s results. After two years of disrupted schooling, this cohort showed resilience and passion for their subjects. They performed very well academically despite the high marking boundaries this year. All of the College’s students are to be congratulated on their hard work and dedication.

The Maths department had success in the UKMT Challenges. At Senior Level, Rendcomb secured one Gold, one Silver and twelve Bronze awards. In the Intermediate Challenge, there were three Golds, four Silvers and three Bronzes. In the Junior section, there were one Silver and five Bronze awards. In addition, four pupils took part in the Pink Kangaroo follow-on round (for intermediate) and two took part in the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo, with three Merits achieved in total.

The Biology department had outstanding success in Olympiads. One student in Year 13 achieved a Gold Award, placing them in the top 5% of competitors. At this level, Rendcomb College pupils also achieved one Silver, one Bronze and two Highly Commended Awards. At the Intermediate Level, pupils attained three Silvers and one Bronze and in the Biology Challenge, entered by Year 11 students, one Silver, four Bronze and seven Highly Commended were accomplished. A Level Biology students, along with their Geography counterparts, went to South Wales on a fieldtrip working on succession and biodiversity.

The Chemistry department had a busy and productive year. In February, the Year 13 students entered the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad with one student attaining a Gold Award, again placing them in the top 5% of competitors, and another receiving a Silver Award. The Year 12 Chemists entered the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge in June and, between them, received one Gold Award and three Bronzes. The Chemistry department ran Perfume Chemistry outreach activities with our own Junior School and with a local State Primary.

Physicists held their own with the Year 12s receiving an impressive host of awards in the British Physics Olympiad. Again, one Gold Award was obtained, along with four Silver and one Bronze. Not to be outdone, the Year 11s achieved three Gold Awards and seven Silvers in the Intermediate Challenge.

Success continued within the computing department with a Year 10 Team getting to the last round of the Perse Coding Challenge. In Year 8, a group entered a Raspberry Pi competition which required an invention that encouraged the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. They received a commendation for their teamwork and for the code they had written, which was to build a device that measured air quality to educate about the impact of fossil fuels. Year 13 students organised and ran a whole school gaming tournament on the new gaming PCs which were purchased as part of the College’s investment in ICT equipment this financial year.

The English Department continued their valuable work to promote reading across the College with their annual Big Book Quiz, Senior School trip to the Cheltenham Literature Festival and their Reading on the Stairs event for World Book Day and National Poetry Day. As every year, there were visiting lecturers and this year Professor David Roberts lectured on the importance of Shakespeare in today’s society. A Level students attended the Literary House Party in Oxford and a visiting theatre troupe performed Macbeth for Years 5 to 13 and there was a whole school essay competition.

The College continues to identify and support more able students in a variety of ways. Two age-differentiated groups meet to develop communication skills and a thirst for knowledge that equips them to make competitive applications to top universities, as well as building a life-long love of learning. Students in Years 7 – 10 attend the Bitner-Glindzicz group, named after a distinguished geneticist OR, while Years 11 – 13 attend the Suffolk group, named after an OR who was a Director of the National Theatre. In the last year, the two groups have learnt debating skills, theory of knowledge and explored super curricular themes such as classical languages, exotic stellar objects and the ethics of fast fashion. The gifted and talented groups form an important part of the College’s Oxbridge preparation pathway that saw our Oxbridge hopefuls appointed a mentor and given authentic external interview experiences with carefully selected external experts. It was pleasing that two students secured places to read Law at Oxbridge in 2023. In addition, a Medvet society met to offer specialised support for students wishing to pursue careers in medicine and veterinary science. The group discussed issues such as the state of the National Health Service and ethics. We are grateful to our network of Old Rendcombian families who have generously supported the Medvet programme. Last year, that included

4

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

talks from recent ORs who are both now practicing doctors. Both OR and current families have also provided work experience. In the last year, one pupil attended a Cheltenham based medical practice and another regularly attended a veterinary practice in Cirencester. We were pleased to send a student to medical school in 2023 and, in due course, we look forward to them returning to share their experiences with the next generation of Medvets.

Music and Drama:

The Music Department has continued to flourish and has aimed to support the highest standard of performance whilst engaging pupils at all levels and ages. The weekly Coffee Concerts, which take place during Thursday break times, have proven to be a focal point for the College community. Across the last academic year, there were often up to 100 pupils and staff attending to support performers. Performers greatly enjoyed the informal and supportive atmosphere of the concerts with pupils throughout the College performing; beginners featuring as regularly as the most advanced pupils. The termly Pupils’ Concerts continued to engage with parents and the wider community, especially with the Remembrance Concert in the Chapel, the large scale Carol Service in Cirencester (the first with an audience since 2019) and the Summer Concert, which was a testament to the high standards of the department, and featured orchestral works by Haydn, Handel and Mozart, and the highly ambitious performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The department is proud to have no musical bias and is happy to support music making of any genre or style – the annual Rock Concert on the lawns outside Old Rec being as important as any of the more ‘traditional’ performances.

The department was once again delighted to welcome the English Touring Opera with a performance of their eco-opera ‘The Wish Gatherer’, to which over 250 local primary school children were invited. The department held a steel pan day for Gifted & Talented pupils, provided by a leading practitioner, and supported the annual MAD week with a wide range of practical workshops, many supporting the College’s wider EDI aims.

Academically, the department introduced a new carousel scheme for pupils in Year 3 to study the trumpet and the violin. In Year 7, the new carousel scheme affords those not studying two MFLs the opportunity to learn an orchestral instrument and to complete the Trinity College Bronze Arts Award (Level 1). Over 25 pupils had the chance to learn the clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone and cello over the year. In 2023/4, the scheme will be widened to include all Year 7 pupils. The Gold Arts Award was also offered to Sixth Form pupils and has been a successful addition to the Sixth Form academic offering. The introduction of the RSL VQ in the Sixth Form, in addition to the traditional A level, has further heightened participation and engagement of pupils at post GCSE level. This is a significant USP for the department and the College and has undoubtedly aided retention as well as heightening our reputation in the local area. So far, the majority of pupils who have followed this pathway are now engaged in training or further education, which could help lead to professional musical careers. Former pupils are currently engaged in post-graduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music, or pursuing auditions at the most prestigious music colleges in London. Over 200 individual singing and instrumental lessons were taught weekly by thirteen dedicated Visiting Music Teachers who are fully grounded in and supportive of the department’s holistic, practical and inclusive approach to musical education.

The Drama department had a fantastically creative and productive year, with Years 10 - 13 tackling Brecht’s ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ and Years 7 - 9 producing Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’. The senior production was a truly ensemble affair with the cast and crew of thirty developing their own band, who then wrote and performed an original score and songs for the show. Pupils were able to create and master puppetry and work both on stage and off as actors, musicians, lighting technicians, stage management, backstage crew, wardrobe and hair and makeup technicians. The outcome was a unique and creative interpretation of a theatrical classic and was extremely well received.

‘The Canterbury Tales’, with its cast and crew of fifty, showcased physicality, ensemble work and required precise timing from its young cast to make the comedy come to life. The core cast of ‘alchemists’ acted as emcees for the show and ushered in and out each of Chaucer’s tales with panache and excellent audience engagement. Pupils had the opportunity to work as actors, stage management, lighting technicians, backstage crew and with props and costume and hair and makeup to bring the show to life.

5

RENDCOMB COLLEGE GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

In Academic Drama, the department staged seven different plays over both GCSE and A Level examinations, from devised work to scripted texts culminating in accomplished and highly graded work. LAMDA also created its own highly regarded examination work with eleven out of twelve pupils achieving distinctions in their level 2-5 LAMDA exams, in Solo and Duo Acting, Public Speaking and Musical Theatre categories.

Last year was also a bumper year for theatre visits within the Drama Department, with exam classes visiting The Rose Theatre in Kingston to watch Bertolt Brecht’s ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ and the National Theatre in London, to watch Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’. This was followed by the whole of the lower school supporting our excellent local theatre, The Barn, with 100 staff and students going to watch their incredibly creative, home-grown production of ‘Robin Hood’. This resulted in a flurry of creative responses from all years as they took inspiration from watching, analysing and evaluating the work of professionals to develop their own ideas in lessons.

Sporting Achievements:

Our Director of Sport thanked students at the end of the Academic Year for “Creating an environment where they are able to flourish, be successful, develop and have a positive experience”. He continued with, “Their desire to learn and be the best they can be in training and fixtures has been outstanding”.

The Sports and Coaching Team spent the year leading from the front and delivered high quality, energetic and enjoyable sessions that students both benefitted from and enjoyed. Their passion, attention to detail and commitment to Rendcomb Sport is appreciated by all at Rendcomb.

As a College, over 300 fixtures were played in the last year by 100 different teams. This successful programme was sustained by the commitment, effort and enjoyment of sport by both students and staff alike. Those 300 matches were played across thirteen sports, some of which had been introduced to complement Rendcomb’s already busy sporting programme. Rugby, cricket, hockey, lacrosse and tennis continued to be the College’s main offerings but were complimented with the addition of football, netball, clay pigeon shooting, rugby sevens, chess and golf. This gave all levels and abilities the opportunity to get involved. Rendcomb hosted both the Jonny Wilkinson Cup (Rugby) and the Lacrosse Small Schools Tournament in 2022-2023. Teams represented Rendcomb College at the National Schools Lacrosse Championships (U18), Small Schools’ Lacrosse Tournament (U18), The Hockey County Cups (U14 &U15) and the Hockey South-West Regionals (U18 Boys)

A number of individuals have achieved outstanding performances, including a Year 12 student who represented Team GB in the IDO World Tap Dance Championships in Croatia, coming 13[th] in their solo, a Year 11 student was selected to be part of a team of six representing Team GB at the IWWF World Under 17 Waterski Championships, placing 25[th] in the Under 17 Tricks category, three Rendcomb siblings were selected to represent Team England at the Dance World Cup in Portugal, and a talented Year 11 hockey player had an incredible experience at the England Hockey Talent Academy this Summer.

Activities:

The school has embraced a proactive approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in the year 2022-2023, led by a fantastic EDI team of student ambassadors. Some highlights of the year were Dr. Claire Harvey addressing the whole school on what is bias and the psychology behind ‘in and out’ groups. We hosted Floyd Steadman who delivered an inspirational speech about his experiences as a sportsman and as an educational leader and his experiences of racism in both. We have updated our KS3 curriculum to include a focus on ‘empowerment’ and have raised awareness about prejudice across the whole school curriculum.

The Rendcomb award was launched to Year 7, recognising pupils’ achievements beyond the classroom and focussing on developing character through our Rendcomb virtues. Pupils set themselves personal challenges (for example, one pupil challenged themselves to learn basic Mandarin) as well as undertaking activities that took them out of their comfort zone. The award acknowledged the wide range of creative and wellbeing activities that pupils already do, both in and out of school, and encouraged them to try new things – perhaps choosing an activity that they wouldn’t normally try, or joining a school committee. Pupils completed charity runs, held cake sales, took part in coffee concerts and tried yoga. Wider reading and presenting projects on themes of their choices to tutor groups encouraged reflection and

6

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

critical thinking, with topics ranging from robotics to astrology and British Sign Language. In order to complete the award, each pupil recorded their achievements and participation across six categories reflecting our 'Thoughtful, Adventurous, Ambitious' virtues. There were three levels; Bronze, Silver and Gold, with Year 8 also now able to work towards 'Platinum' which also recognises leadership and critical thinking. Pupils rose to the challenge and it was fantastic to see the wide range of character-forming activities they chose, the new things that they tried and the sharing with their peers. Two pupils achieved the Gold Award having made an impressive contribution to the life of the school in their first year.

Our community links programme sent Year 12 students into local state primary schools (North Cerney, Stratton, Powells) as well as our own Junior School, care homes (Paternoster, Hunters) and a state secondary school (Henley Bank). Students developed their empathy and understanding of others through the weekly experience and offered services to the community. At the end of the year, we spent a day with one of our community partners engaged in a service project which involved clearing garden areas, painting, weeding and spending time interacting with residents.

In March 2023, Rendcomb hosted a beyond Cop21 Symposium, welcoming students from local state secondary schools Kingshill, Sir Thomas Rich’s, Balcarras, Leckhampton, Churchdown and Henley Bank. Built around the UN’s sustainable development goals, the day encouraged students to understand rights and responsibilities around climate change, thinking critically about the topic and developing curiosity. They enjoyed a lecture from Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO of Whale and Dolphin Conservation and visited an exhibition of local businesses and organisations involved in sustainability, ranging from butterfly and hedgehog conservation to reducing packaging and sustainable clothing. In workshops, they explored topics in smaller groups, working with their peers to develop creative ideas and deepen their understanding of issues such as electric/hydrogen vehicles and the importance of whale poo for mitigating climate change! They made individual and group pledges, considering how they could make a difference. The day finished with the making of a video to send to the next school hosting a symposium in Tbilisi, Georgia, giving words of encouragement and sharing their enthusiasm about what they’d learned.

The College continued to run a popular and successful Duke of Edinburgh programme and in the academic Year 20222023, eight students completed their Gold Award, seven students completed their Silver Award and seventeen pupils completed their Bronze Award. An impressive total of seven expeditions were run to Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Brecon Beacons with Rendcomb staff volunteering their own time to make this possible.

The Green Car challenge, a joint venture between Rendcomb College and local state secondary Henley Bank High School to build an electric sports car to race, continued throughout 2022-2023. We look forward to seeing the end result.

Junior School:

This past year has seen the Junior School continue to grow and we reached a record number of pupils during the Summer term.

Academically, this was another very strong year with standardised assessments indicating that pupils had made strong progress across all areas of the curriculum. A significant majority of the Year 6 cohort transferred to the Senior School and pupils were successful in being offered academic scholarships as well as scholarships in sport and music. In addition, one pupil was awarded the Rendcomb Scholarship and another was successful in gaining a grammar school place.

An adaptive and innovative approach enabled pupils to enjoy a rich and varied curriculum. Further breadth was added to the teaching of Languages with KS2 pupils having the opportunity to learn some French, German, Spanish and Latin. Pupils enjoyed taking part in a STEM challenge LEGO robotics workshop, with one pupil achieving notable success in a national computer coding competition organised by Oxford University. There were new initiatives in EYFS and KS1 as pupils began working on a new phonics scheme and the timetable was adapted to create a much more refined balance of teaching time within these areas of the school.

7

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

The Co-Curricular programme continued to develop with the addition of new activities such as Table Tennis, Chat & Chill at KS2 and STEM and Yoga activities at KS1. Ever-popular activities such as Forest School, Art Club and Cookery continued to be well attended.

Speech & Drama pupils enjoyed great success in LAMDA examinations and gained several notable awards when representing the school at the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts. Junior School musicians achieved successes in their Associated Board exams in a range of instruments.

Community spirit remains a major strength of the school. The Rendcomb family continued to extend its support to the wider community and, over the course of this past year, the Junior School raised funds for and supported a number of charities in a variety of ways.

World Book Day celebrations included many original costume creations and a School Council suggestion of a ‘Book Swap’ idea was also a successful innovation which helped to mark the day.

Sport remains a key part of Rendcomb life with pupils enjoying representing the school in competitive fixtures throughout the sporting year. U9 boys once again enjoyed success at a local football tournament and there was individual and team equestrian success for three Junior School pupils. Another Junior School pupil was victorious at the IAPS Fencing Championships and achieved further success in the British National Fencing Championship. Additionally, a Year 4 pupil was successful in being retained as part of the academy setup at Forest Green Rovers football club.

Work to develop the playground area was completed with the new addition of a MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area). This new facility provides us with a much improved area for use during break times and an extra resource which can be utilised for the teaching of PE and Games and hosting competitive fixtures.

All Year 3 pupils were given the opportunity to try brass and string instruments during their Music lessons. In addition to their standard Music curriculum, Year 2 pupils participated in an African Drumming workshop, Year 4 experienced Gum Boot Dancing and Year 5 took part in a Steel Drumming session.

The Junior School production of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Super Stan’ was performed over two nights in the Griffin Theatre to a combined audience total of over 350 people.

A variety of educational visits took place across the school year with pupils enjoying trips to Warwick Castle, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Butterfly World, LEGO Discovery World, Cadbury World and Oxford Story Museum. Outdoor education experiences took place at South Cerney Lakes and Gloucester Ski Slope and Year 6 pupils enjoyed a residential visit to Kilve Court Outdoor Education Centre in February.

The Junior School production of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Super Stan’ performed over two nights in the Griffin Theatre to a combined audience total of over 350 people.

A variety of educational visits took place across the school year with pupils enjoying trips to: Warwick Castle; Cotswold Wildlife Park; Butterfly World; LEGO Discovery World; Cadbury World and Oxford Story Museum. Outdoor education experiences took place at South Cerney Lakes and Gloucester Ski Slope with Year 6 pupils enjoying a residential visit to Kilve Court Outdoor Education Centre in February.

Admissions and Marketing

It is fair to say that the last few years were challenging from an admissions point of view, particularly in light of the huge reduction in overseas boarders, a direct result of the global pandemic. That being said, the decision was made in 2020 to continue to invest in marketing, which has very much improved Rendcomb College’s visibility both overseas and for the local market, resulting in numbers coming back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23.

8

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

The mix of international pupils is now more diverse without such a heavy reliance on China. The decision to allow 1 - 2 term stays has also meant that we continue to keep the boarding houses at a good level of capacity. Pupil recruitment lead to bumper open mornings during the period, with sixty families attending the open morning in September, thirty families in November and forty families attending in March. This lead to a sizeable intake into Year 7 for September 2023, which has been increased to a 3-form entry of fifty four pupils.

Marketing activity continued to develop digital avenues, with 80% of advertising now being done in the digital space. New films were produced, as well as a mandarin language film, to help promote the school with overseas agents in the East. Sponsorship of local events continued, including the NSEA Show Jumping at Rectory Farm, with around 600 competitors during the event and around 2,000 visitors, as well as inclusions in The Cotswold Show and Everyman Theatre programmes.

Marketing supported commercial activities, including the opening of the Village Shop, advertising productions and promoting the Summer School during the summer holidays.

The highlight of the marketing year culminated in Rendcomb College winning the SoGlos Independent School of the Year – a local award recognising the best that Gloucestershire has to offer, firmly establishing us as one of Gloucestershire’s Leading Independent schools.

Development & Property

The Estates Team had an extremely busy year as always, maintaining and updating the grade 2* listed Mansion House and surrounding school buildings. The Residential portfolio was improved with notable enhancements made to two of the properties. Roofing work continued on both the Mansion House and Stable Block. The Staff Common Room was refurbished as part of the College’s well-being programme and a staff quiet space was set-up for reflection away from the bustle of College life. Work was continued on the College’s sustainability schedule with LED lights being rolled out across the College and insulation being installed in appropriate spaces.

The College received investment from the Foundation which enabled control to be taken of the Rendcomb Village Post Office and Stores. The Estates Team completed the substantial renovation to the property in the summer months and work continues on the associated residential property. Investment was also received for the much needed Multi Use Games Area in the Junior School and to speed up the College’s ICT Improvement Programme.

Commercial Events

Commercial Activities were renewed in earnest in 2022 - 2023 with the focus on building on existing activities and planning and executing new commercial endeavours. In the summer, a successful recruitment campaign was run to appoint a Commercial Sales and Operations Manager to start in October 2023. During the year, a residential property, currently used for the Sixth Form Independent Living Programme during the winter months, was opened as a very successful and busy Airbnb during the spring and summer of 2023. The summer was spent renovating the Rendcomb Post and Office and Stores, now under control of the College, and this opened in September 2023 with plans underway to open another Airbnb in the associated residential property.

Two successful summer lets went ahead. Project International utilised the site for a busy 4 week programme whereby we welcomed a total of 200 international students from all over the world. This was followed by the return of the Riverside Players who spent 2 weeks rehearsing, set-building and costume making, culminating in an excellent outdoor production of the ‘Scarlett Pimpernel’ against the spectacular backdrop of the College.

Multiple bookings were made for the Griffin Theatre to take place during 2023 - 2024, starting with a local state secondary using it for their annual production during October half-term of 2024. The College looks forward to welcoming many more local schools and clubs to use the facilities in the up-coming academic year.

9

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Public benefit

The Governors have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission in accordance with section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 in ensuring that the College’s objectives are for the public benefit.

College support for fees

The school has the ability to offer the Noel Wills Scholarship, a means-tested award which is awarded to a State Primary School pupil annually entering the college at the age of 11. This is an entirely free place for the duration of a pupil’s time at the school. In addition, the College has an extensive Scholarships and Bursaries Policy which is designed with the intention that funding goes to families most in need, in keeping with the Founder’s intentions. To support this aim, the services of Bursary Administration Limited are used to undertake home visits and in-depth analysis of financial situations. Within this financial year, bursary support amounting to 6% of total fee income has been granted to pupils attending Rendcomb. The Sinclair Bursary Fund money provided by Rendcomb College Foundation to the College is also used to fund support to families, as are funds raised by The Friends of Rendcomb trustees.

Our Noel Wills and Centenary Scholars performed exceptionally well in their A Levels, achieving AAA, AAA and A EPQ and AAA and A* EPQ respectively. They have been a credit to Rendcomb’s scholarship and bursary programme during their time at College, being extremely active in the school community and representing the College at numerous events. They have now headed off to study Law at Oxford, Chemistry at Durham and Psychology at the University of Bath.

Charitable and Outreach work

This year, Rendcomb College has been able to increase its level of outreach work and numerous local state schools have been invited to attend events at the College. The Community Links project which runs in Year 12 has gone from strength to strength involving local state primary and secondary schools, as well as two local care homes. The Cop21 Symposium was a huge success and we welcomed students from 6 different secondary schools in the surrounding areas to join our own students to understand rights and responsibilities around climate change. Individual departments have run outreach projects, such as the Chemistry and Music departments, whereby they have invited local schools to participate in workshops with our students. We continue to make the Griffin Theatre available to local schools and we have loaned our minibus and driver to Coberley C of E Primary School.

Multiple members of staff volunteer their time at a variety of settings. 2 members of SLT were Chair of Governors at local maintained schools in 2022 - 2023, allowing for excellent cross-fertilisation of ideas and expertise between the sectors. Other volunteer roles include leaders at both Girl Guide and Cubs Groups, a voluntary teacher at Gloucestershire Action for Refugees & Asylum Seekers, a safeguarding consultant at England Lacrosse, Treasurer at a local swim club and several additional governor roles. It is a testament to our staff and the overarching ethos that so many are prepared to donate their time in this way.

Charity plays a major part in the College’s fundraising, supporting local, national and overseas charities. We have undertaken internal events on key dates, such as the Macmillan Coffee Morning, and held numerous Mufti days to support charities such as Children In Need, Red Nose Day, the British Red Cross Earthquake Appeal, Ocean Protection Appeal and Pancreatic Cancer UK. Support has been given to other charitable organisations such as the Friends of Rendcomb to support their own charitable work.

Rendcomb undertakes the grass cutting of St Peter’s Church, Rendcomb, and also provides the cleaning, heating and general day to day maintenance of the church building. The College makes land available for the siting of the village recycling and charity collection bins. During poor weather, the school salts and clears the roads in the village and the doctors’ surgery car park.

10

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Public benefit (continued)

Parents of our pupils often make significant sacrifices to pay the fees. During the year, the school educated UK based children at negligible cost to the state, providing a tangible, indirect benefit to public finances in the region of £1.2m. Similarly, unlike schools in the maintained sector, Rendcomb College pays irrecoverable VAT on most of its purchases of goods and services.

In summary, the College continues to fulfil its aims admirably and intends to do so in future years. Further details about the College can be found on the website www.rendcombcollege.org.uk.

Financial review

Details of incoming and outgoing resources in the year are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 11.

Fees income net of bursaries, scholarships and allowances increased from £6,536,163 in 2022 to £7,170,722. Other educational income increased by 9.8% to £649,799 and donations totalled £738,372 compared with £377,565 in the prior year. The Foundation donated £728,700 to the College in 2023 (2022: £346,000) of which £243,219 was received under the generous terms of the Martin Wills Bequest. The College invested funds in key projects and maintenance of the Estate such as the installation of the Multi Use Games Area for the Junior School and the ICT refresh programme. Significant improvements to 2 residential properties and the Post Office were made.

The College’s net surplus/expenditure before investment loss/gain was £26,361 (2021: loss of £193,548). After taking account of the increase in value of investments, the funds of the College at 31 August 2023 fell from £368,727 to £329,578.

Reserves policy and going concern

The College’s unrestricted funds at 31 August 2023 stood at £272,770 of which £1,187,388 represents designated funds to be utilised as part of the provision of bursaries and school improvements. There is currently a deficit of £914,618 on the general funds. At the 31 August 2023 there is also a restricted fund balance of £56,808 to be used in the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

We have continued to see difficult trading conditions in our long-term international market and as such the policy that the College should seek to generate a surplus of income over expenditure each year has not been able to be met. The Governors look to balance the required improvements and enhancements to the estate within the overall running of the school’s finances. Reserves may be restricted for bursary, scholarship, development or other purpose if this is a specific request of a donor. It therefore remains the policy of the Governors to seek to build up reserves out of operating surpluses, subject to the demands for future expenditure to support the school.

The school is viewed as a viable business. It has no debt, and has the backing of funds held within the Foundation for emergency use should this be required. The Foundation has reiterated its support for the College over the course of the year and has taken steps to ensure that funds are available should they be needed. The numbers now joining the school, and the advance registrations for place, indicate that the demand for places is growing significantly from both domestic and international parents.

Risk management

The Governors ensure that the major risks to which the College is exposed are reviewed termly and that systems are in place to mitigate or minimise such risks. The Governors are satisfied that the risks identified are being managed effectively and to the greatest extent possible. The risk management process is managed firstly by the Finance and General Purposes sub-committee and subsequently by the full Governing Body.

Investment performance

The College’s portfolio of securities is managed by Cazenove & Co. who act with delegated authority under the terms of a discretionary agreement. The Governors receive quarterly reports from Cazenove and consider performance in 2022-2023 to be satisfactory. The investment policy produces a predictable level of income for a low-medium risk portfolio invested in equities, cash and fixed interest stocks and provides additional income for the College.

11

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

GOVERNORS’ REPORT (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Risks are identified as being Strategic, Regulatory, Governance, External, Operational, Personnel, Environmental, Technological, Academic or Financial; control measures are clearly identified where risk factors suggest a higher level of risk. The College has a well-developed Emergency Plan in place which has undergone external review and critique as well as internal testing. In common with many other smaller independent Colleges the major risks are around pupil numbers and the ongoing financial viability of the College; strategic work is therefore undertaken to mitigate these risks by measures including efficient and targeted marketing and promotional activity, and key decisions such as numbers of international pupils. Mitigating actions were put in place to answer some of the risks that were identified from the pandemic, including staffing in some areas.The school takes all aspects of Safeguarding very seriously and has clear and well managed policies around this and all other areas of compliance.

Plans for future periods

It is expected that there will be a modest growth in overall pupil numbers in the coming years, whilst still maintaining the school’s family-feel and caring ethos. The work that has been started on updating and refreshing key areas of the school site will continue, with more significant projects being considered as need arises.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Governors (who are also directors of Rendcomb College Limited for the purposes of Company Law) are responsible for preparing the Governors' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Governors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Governors are required to:

The Governors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time of the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In accordance with company law, as the charitable company’s directors, we certify that:

The Governors’ Report, which incorporates the Strategic Report, was authorised for issue and approved by the Governors On 7 December 2023 and is signed on their behalf by:

………………………………. Mr Nicholas Ford – Chairman

12

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Rendcomb College for the year ended 31 August 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Governor’s Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

13

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE (continued)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Governors Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report).

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 9, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the independent school regulations, safeguarding regulations, health and safety requirements, GDPR, employment law and charity law , and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as such as the Charities Act 2011 and consider other factors such as payroll tax.

14

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

RENDCOMB COLLEGE (continued)

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to the improper recognition of revenue and management bias in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Adam Halsey (Senior Statutory Auditor) 10 Queen Street Place
For and on behalf of Haysmacintyre LLP, Statutory Auditor London
EC4R 1AG

Date:

15

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Including Income and Expenditure Account)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

General Designated Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
Note £ £ £ £ £
INCOME FROM:
Charitable activities
School fees receivable 3 7,170,722 - - 7,170,722 6,536,163
Other educational income 4 649,799 - - 649,799 591,780
Trading activities 5 212,026 - - 212,026 216,674
Investments
Investment income 6 42,764 - - 42,764 41,339
Bank and other interest 6 5,595 - - 5,595 95
Voluntary services
Grants and donations 7 738,372 - - 738,372 377,565
--------------------- ----------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total income 8,819,278 - - 8,819,278 7,763,616
--------------------- ---------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
Trading costs 8 65,741 - - 65,741 80,099
Charitable activities
Education 8 8,727,176 - - 8,727,176 7,877,065
-------------------- ------------------ -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total expenditure 8 8,792,917 - - 8,792,917 7,957,164
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Net
income/(expenditure)		 before 26,361 - - 26,361 (193,548)
investment losses and transfers
Gains/(losses) on investment assets - (65,510) - (65,510) (52,525)
Transfers 1,815 (1815) - - -
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Net movement in funds 28,176 (67,325) - (39,149) (246,073)
Fund balances at 1 September 2022 (942,794) 1,254,713 56,808 368,727 614,800
------------------- ---------------------- ------------------ --------------------- ---------------------
Fund balances at 31 August 2023 15,16 (914,618) 1,187,388 56,808 329,578 368,727
========= ========== ======== ========== ===========

All the activities included above were continuing during the year. The notes on pages 19 to 30 form part of these financial statements. The Statement of Financial Activities for the comparative period has been presented in note 23.

16

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

Company Number: 5891198

BALANCE SHEET

AT 31 AUGUST 2023

2023 2022
Note £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 10 446,979 270,250
Investments 11 999,383 1,064,893
-------------------- --------------------
1,446,362 1,335,143
-------------------- --------------------
Current assets
Debtors 12 245,259 366,690
Due from Rendcomb College Foundation 200,000 -
Short term deposits 13 10,708 10,653
Cash at bank and in hand 13 973,830 1,084,127
--------------------- ---------------------
1,429,797 1,461,470
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 (2,546,581) (2,427,886)
--------------------- ---------------------
Net current liabilities (1,116,784) (966,415)
--------------------- ---------------------
Net assets 329,578 368,727
=========== ===========
Represented by:
Funds
Designated Funds 15 1,187,388 1,254,713
General Funds 15 (914,618) (942,794)
Restricted Funds 15 56,808 56,808
--------------------- ---------------------
329,578 368,727
=========== ===========

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Governors on 7 December 2023 and were signed below on their behalf by:

…………………………….. Mr Nicholas Ford - Chairman

The notes on pages 19 to 30 form part of these financial statements.

17

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

CASHFLOW STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

2023 2022
Note £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources before investment gains 26,361 (193,549)
Investment income (42,764) (41,339)
Interest received (5,595) (95)
Depreciation charge 93,029 104,269
Profit on sale of assets (600) (13,302)
Increase in debtors (78,569) 14,780
Increase in creditors 118,695 583,503
------------------- -------------------
Net cash used in operating activities 110,557 454,267
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (269,758) (134,887)
Proceeds on sale of tangible fixed assets 600 13,302
Investment income 48,359 41,434
-------------------- --------------------
Net cash used in investing activities (220,799) 80,150
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (110,242) 374,117
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 1,094,780 720,663
-------------------- --------------------
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 13 984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents At 31 August At 31 August
2023 2022
£ £
Cash at bank 973,830 1,084,127
Short term deposits 10,708 10,653
-------------------- --------------------
13 984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========

The analysis of net debt is not required as no debt held by the College.

18

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Rendcomb College is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and registered with the Charity Commission. The address of its registered office is Rendcomb College, Cirencester, Gloucester, GL7 7HA. The members of the company are the Governors. In the event of the charitable company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charitable company.

Rendcomb College was incorporated on 31 July 2006 (company number 05891198) and registered as a charity on 22 August 2006 (charity number: 1115884)

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A summary of the more important accounting policies, which have been applied consistently, is set out below.

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) FRS 102 – ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2019)’ Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019.

The accounts are drawn up on the historical cost basis of accounting, as modified by the revaluation of investments.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the accounting policies, Governors are required to make judgements, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The Governors do not believe that there are any areas subject to significant accounting estimation or judgement and no assumptions concerning the future or estimation uncertainty affecting assets or liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

2.1 Consolidation

Rendcomb College has taken the exemption from preparing consolidated financial statements as its subsidiary, Rendcomb College Services Limited is wholly owned and consolidated financial statements are prepared by the ultimate controlling party, Rendcomb College Foundation, for the year ended 31 August 2023.

2.2 Going Concern

The Governors consider that there are no material uncertainties regarding the charities ability to continue as a going concern, on the basis that it has committed and ongoing financial support from its parent undertaking, Rendcomb Foundation.

2.3 School fees

Fees receivable and charges for services and use of premises are accounted for in the year in which the service is provided. Fees receivable are stated after deducting allowances, scholarships and other remissions granted by the College, but include contributions received from restricted funds for scholarships, bursaries and other grants.

2.4 Investment income

Investment income from dividends, bank balances and fixed interest securities is accounted for on an accruals basis.

2.5 Donations income

Donations receivable for the general purposes of the College are credited to unrestricted funds. Donations for purposes restricted by the wishes of the donor are taken to “restricted funds” where these wishes are legally binding on the Governors. Donations that are identified by the Governors for particular purposes are shown as designated funds.

19

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

2.6 Grant income

Grant income relates to the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Grant (CJRG) and is recognised under the accruals basis in line with staff costs.

2.7 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. It is allocated between categories on the basis of actual costs.

Cost of charitable activities includes expenditure associated with the running of the College and include both direct and support costs.

Support costs represent indirect costs relating to raising funds and the charity’s charitable activities. Support costs, including governance costs, are allocated to activities on bases that represent the Governors’ best estimate of actual use.

Governance costs comprise the costs of running the charity, including auditors’ remuneration and expenses reimbursed to Governors attending meetings.

2.8 Fixed assets

Fixed assets for use by the charity are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straightline basis over the estimated useful life of an asset at the following rates:

Equipment and motor vehicles 20 – 25%

2.9 Investments

Investment in subsidiary is stated at cost less provision for impairment.

Listed investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date.

Realised gains and losses on investments represent the difference between sale proceeds and opening market value (or cost at date of purchase if later). Unrealised gains and losses represent the change in market value of the investment portfolio in the year.

Unrealised gains and losses arising on revaluation of investments are credited or charged to the Statement of Financial Activities and allocated to the appropriate fund according to the “ownership” of the underlying assets.

2.10 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

2.11 Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments, including trade and other debtors, creditors and investments in non-puttable ordinary shares are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. Cash is measured at fair value through the profit or loss.

2.12 Creditors and provision

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

20

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

2.13 Fund accounting

Restricted funds are funds which have been received for specific purposes as indicated by the donor.

Unrestricted funds are funds whose use is wholly at the discretion of the Governors.

Designated funds, such as the Foundation Fund, are funds which are identified for particular purposes by the Governors.

2.14 Pensions

The College contributes to the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (APTIS) which is a defined contribution pension scheme which can be used by all ISBA member schools for their teaching staff. ) It is set up as part of Aviva’s “Master Trust” — a trust-based pension arrangement managed by independent professional trustees. It is available for ISBA members and such other organisations as are admitted by mutual agreement. The College also operates a money purchase scheme for non-teaching staff. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred.

2.15 Operating leases

Rentals payable are charged on a time basis over the lease term, even if the payments are not made on such a basis. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are similarly spread on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

2.16 Foreign currency translation

The charities functional and presentation currency is pound sterling. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

3. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – FEES RECEIVABLE 2023 2022
£ £
Fees receivable consist of:
School fees 8,212,425 7,704,466
Less total bursaries, scholarships and allowances (1,041,703) (1,168,303)
--------------------- ---------------------
7,170,722 6,536,163
Add back:
Bursaries funded by Martin Wills Bequest - -
Bursaries funded by Francis Dutton Bequest - -
-------------------- --------------------
Total school fees received 7,170,722 6,536,163
========== ==========

Means tested scholarships, bursaries and other awards totalling £491,760 (2022: £457,399) were paid to 41 pupils (2022: 48). Within this, 1 pupil (2022: nil) was in receipt of the Francis Dutton Scholarship.

21

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

4. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – OTHER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – OTHER INCOME INCOME 2023 2022
£ £
Additional courses 467,785 408,040
School transport 70,945 48,873
Additional accommodation 53,226 67,387
Ancillary income 57,843 67,480
------------------ ------------------
649,799 591,780
========= =========
5. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES 2023 2022
£ £
Trading income
Functions 129,912 131,382
Rental income 82,114 85,292
------------------ ------------------
212,026 216,674
========= =========
Rental income relates to properties which are owned by Rendcomb College Foundation, for which the rent is
payable to the College in accordance with the relevant agreements.
6. INVESTMENT INCOME 2023 2022
£ £
Income from investment portfolio 42,764 41,339
Interest 5,595 95
----------------- -----------------
48,359 41,434
======== ========
7. GRANTS AND DONATIONS Total Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Donations to the College:
Rendcomb College Foundation 728,700 - - 728,700 346,000
Donations – general 9,67 - - 9,672 -
Rural payment - - - - 31,565
----------------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ----------------------
738,372 - - 738,372 377,565
========= ======== ========= =========== ===========
GRANTS AND DONATIONS (2022)
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2022 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Donations to the College:
Rendcomb College Foundation 346,000 - - 346,000 974,320
Rural payment 31,565 - - 31,565 25,777
Grants:
Furlough income - - - - 267,958
----------------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ----------------------
377,565 - - 377,565 1,268,055
========= ========= ========= =========== ===========

22

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

8a. TOTAL EXPENDITURE Total Total
Staff costs Depreciation Other 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Raising funds
Trading costs - - 65,741 65,741 80,099
Charitable activities
Education and grant making
Teaching 3,919,811 38,316 262,698 4,220,825 4,002,368
Welfare 352,925 18,433 1,122,095 1,493,453 1,319,007
Premises 252,747 52,770 1,060,913 1,366,430 1,053,766
Marketing - - 134,074 134,074 104,227
Administration 510,490 777 1,001,126 1,512,393 1,397,697
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 110,295 3,580,907 8,727,176 7,877,065
-------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 110,295 3,646,648 8,792,917 7,957,164
========== ========== ========== ========== ===========
TOTAL EXPENDITURE (2022) Total Total
Staff costs Depreciation Other 2022 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Raising funds
Trading costs - - 80,099 80,099 6,567
Charitable activities
Education and grant making
Teaching 3,705,779 24,859 271,730 4,002,368 3,839,238
Welfare 359,149 23,518 936,340 1,319,007 1,116,384
Premises 226,044 55,614 772,108 1,053,766 1,049,660
Marketing - - 104,227 104,227 83,460
Administration 522,143 278 875,276 1,397,697 1,381,558
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
4,813,115 104,269 2,959,681 7,877,065 7,470,300
-------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
4,813,115 104,269 3,039,780 7,957,164 7,476,867
========== ========== ========== ========== ===========
2023 2022
8b. Governance included in other costs: £ £
Remuneration paid to auditor for audit services 15,100 13,150
Remuneration paid to auditor for other services 1,950 1,765
Reimbursement of personal expenses to Governors – travel costs 189 306
---------------- --------------
17,239 15,221
======== =======

No Governors were remunerated during the year. Travel expenses were reimbursed to £189 (2022: £306).

23

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

9. STAFF COSTS 2023 2022
£ £
Wages and salaries 4,199,351 4,004,229
Social security costs 394,415 381,079
Pension contributions (note 20) 438,494 415,130
Termination payments 3,713 12,677
--------------------- ---------------------
5,035,973 4,813,115
=========== ===========
2023 2022
The average monthly number of employees in the year was: No. No.
Teaching:
Full time 51 50
Part time 63 54
Welfare 19 19
Premises 10 7
Administration 19 16
---------- ----------
162 146
===== =====
Aggregate employee benefits paid to key management personnel during the year were £615,827 (2022: £570,225).
Number of higher paid employees in bands of 2023
2022
60,000 - 69,999 2 -
70,000 - 79,999 1 1
140,000 – 149,999 - 1
150,000 – 159,999 1 -

24

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Equipment and Multi-use Total
motor vehicles Games area £
£ £
Cost
At 1 September 2022 2,895,791 - 2,895,791
Additions 129,147 140,611 269,758
Disposals - - -
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
At 31 August 2023 3,024,938 140,611 3,165,549
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
Depreciation
At 1 September 2022 2,625,541 - 2,625,541
Charge for the year 93,029 - 93,029
Eliminated on disposal - - -
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
At 31 August 2023 2,718,570 - 2,718,570
-------------------- --------------------- --------------------
Net Book Value
31 August 2023 306,368 140,611 446,979
========= ========== =========
31 August 2022 270,250 - 270,250
========= ========== =========

The College has use of the properties owned by the Foundation, consisting of:-

25

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

11. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Listed Cash Total
investments
£ £ £
Market value at 1 September 2022 1,054,126 10,767 1,064,893
Additions - 1,241 1,241
Disposals (1,500) - (1,500)
Loss (65,251) - (65,251)
---------------------- ---------------------- ----------------------
Market value at 31 August 2023 987,375 12,008 999,383
=========== =========== ===========

The historic cost of investments held is £959,656 (2022: £959,656). Investments are in global equities and funds, with the exception of a £1 investment in the subsidiary company.

The College owns the entire share capital of Rendcomb Services Limited of £1. The aggregate share capital and reserves of the company as at 31 August 2023 and profit for the year then ended was as follows:

Aggregate of share
capital & reserves Profit
£ £
Rendcomb Services Limited (1,180) 978
======= =======
12. DEBTORS 2023 2022
£ £
Fees 68,955 209,823
Prepayments and accrued income 154,272 147,890
Due from Rendcomb Services Limited (Note 21) 8,722 8,722
Other debtors 13,310 255
------------------ ------------------
245,259 366,690
========= =========
13. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 2023 2022
£ £
Short term deposits 10,708 10,653
Cash at bank 973,830 1,084,127
-------------------- --------------------
984,538 1,094,780
========== ==========

Short term deposits comprise temporary deposits of surplus funds with Lloyds Bank plc.

26

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

14. CREDITORS – due in less than one year CREDITORS – due in less than one year CREDITORS – due in less than one year 2023 2022
£ £
Trade creditors 259,436 246,477
Accruals 57,685 46,869
Registration and guarantee fees 579,619 555,132
Fees received in advance of Michaelmas Term 1,501,262 1,447,737
Other creditors 40,037 23,130
Other tax and social security 108,542 108,542
---------------------- ----------------------
2,546,581 2,427,886
=========== ===========
15. FUND MOVEMENTS
1 September Investment
31		 August
2022 Income Expenditure Transfers Loss 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund (942,794) 8,819,278 (8,792,917) 1,815 - (914,618)
Designated Funds
Foundation Fund 1,201,548 - - - (65,510)
1,136,038
Francis Dutton Bequest 53,165 - - (1,815) - 51,350
Restricted Funds:
Longitude grant 6,808 - - - - 6,808
Centenary fund 50,000 - - - - 50,000
--------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ------------------
---------------------
368,727 8,819,278 (8,792,917) - (65,510) 329,578
=========== ========== =========== ======== =========
===========

The Foundation Fund consists of the investment portfolio transferred by Rendcomb College Foundation. The current intention is to retain the Fund and use the income generated to help fund the activities of the College.

The Francis Dutton Bequest is utilised for music scholarships; no such scholarships were identified during the year.

The Longitude grant consists of funds awarded at the Longitude Explorer Challenge and is being used to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

The Centenary fund consists of amounts received for the Centenary celebration.

FUND MOVEMENTS (2022)

1 September Investment 31 August
2021 Income Expenditure Transfers Gains 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund (749,246) 7,763,616 (7,957,164) - - (942,794)
Designated Funds
Foundation Fund 1,254,073 - - - (52,525) 1,201,548
Francis Dutton Bequest 53,165 - - - - 53,165
Restricted Funds:
Longitude grant 6,808 - - - - 6,808
Centenary fund 50,000 - - - - 50,000
--------------------- -------------------- ---------------------- ---------------- ------------------ ---------------------
614,800 7,763,616 (7,957,164) - (52,525) 368,727
=========== ========== =========== ======== ========= ===========

27

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

15. FUND MOVEMENTS (continued)

The Foundation Fund consists of the investment portfolio transferred by Rendcomb College Foundation. The current intention is to retain the Fund and use the income generated to help fund the activities of the College.

The Francis Dutton Bequest is utilised for scholarships, resources expended include the transfer of £nil (2022: £nil) in respect of scholarships funded during the year by the Francis Dutton Bequest.

The Longitude grant consists of funds awarded at the Longitude Explorer Challenge and is being used to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths education within the College.

The Astroturf fund consists of amounts received for the replacement of the astroturf surface. These amounts were expended in the year.

16. NET ASSETS BY FUND

NET ASSETS BY FUND
Tangible fixed Investments Net current Total
assets assets/(liabilities)
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds - 999,384 188,004 1,187,388
General Funds 446,979 - (1,361,597) (914,618)
Restricted - - 56,808 56,808
------------------- -------------------- ------------------ --------------------
446,979 999,384 (1,116,785) 329,578
========= ========== ========= ==========
Comparative split of
net assets by fund
Tangible fixed Investments Net
current		 Total
assets assets/(liabilities)
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds - 1,064,894 189,819 1,254,713
General Funds 270,250 - (1,213,044) (942,794)
Restricted - - 56,808 56,808
------------------- -------------------- ------------------ --------------------
270,250 1,064,894 (966,417) 368,727
========= ========== ========= ==========

17. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

At the balance sheet date there were £nil capital commitments (2022: £nil.)

18. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 2023 2022
£ £
Cash and cash equivalents 984,538 1,094,780
Financial assets measured at amortised cost 290,987 218,800
--------------------- ---------------------
1,275,525 1,313,580
=========== ===========
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost (2,546,581) (2,427,888)
=========== ===========

Financial assets measured at amortised cost include fee debtors, other debtors and accrued income.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost include fees in advance, trade creditors, accruals, registration fees and other creditors.

28

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

19. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

At 31 August 2023, the College had annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as set out below:

2023 2022
Fixtures & Fixtures &
Vehicles fittings Vehicles Fittings
£ £ £ £
Operating leases which expire:
Within one year 2,022 53,577 2,022 53,954
In one to two years - - - 10,046
In two to five years 6,467 - - -
------------- ---------------- ------------- ----------------
8,489 53,577 2,022 64,000
======= ======= ======= ========

Total costs incurred in the year in respect of rental charges for assets held under operating lease of £78,125 (2022: £74,081)

20. PENSION COSTS

(a) Teaching Staff

The School participates in the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (APTIS) which is a defined contribution pension scheme which can be used by all ISBA member schools for their teaching staff. It is set up as part of Aviva’s “Master Trust” — a trust-based pension arrangement managed by independent professional trustees. It is available for ISBA members and such other organisations as are admitted by mutual agreement. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to Aviva of £481,862 (2022: £425,526) and at the yearend £nil (2022: £nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

b) Non-teaching staff

The College operates a money purchase scheme for non-teaching staff. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the College. At the year end there were 66 (2022: 59) members of the money purchase scheme. Employer’s contributions totalled £106,813 (2022: £104,727) during the year and at the year-end £Nil (2022: £Nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

21. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Rendcomb College is a connected charity with Rendcomb College Foundation as the Trustees of the Foundation are the members of the College. During the year the Foundation donated £728,700 (2022: £346,000) to the College. At 31 August 2023 the balance receivable from the Foundation was £200,000 (2022: £nil).

During the year the College purchased services of £220,391 (2022: £215,967) from Rendcomb Services Limited and at the year end was owed a net receivable balance of £36,507 (2022: £8,722 net creditor balance). Rendcomb Services Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rendcomb College.

During the year two Governors (2022: five) had two children (2022: ten children) enrolled at the College, and fees charged were at the full rate.

During the year £13,625 was donated by the Friends of Rendcomb for two scholarships.

29

RENDCOMB COLLEGE

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

22. CONTROLLING PARTY

Rendcomb College Foundation is the immediate parent undertaking of Rendcomb College. Consolidated accounts are prepared by Rendcomb College Foundation, registered Charity number 311713. The consolidated accounts are available from the Charity Commission.

23. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (2022)

General Designated Restricted Total
Funds Funds Funds 2022
Note £ £ £
INCOME FROM:
Charitable activities
School fees receivable 3 6,536,163 - - 6,536,163
Other educational income 4 591,780 - - 591,780
Trading activities 5 216,674 - - 216,674
Investments
Investment income 6 41,339 - - 41,339
Bank and other interest 6 95 - - 95
Voluntary services
Grants and donations 7 377,565 - - 377,565
--------------------- ----------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Total income 7,763,616 - - 7,763,616
--------------------- ---------------- --------------------- ---------------------
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
Trading costs 8 80,099 - - 80,099
Charitable activities
Education 8 7,877,065 - - 7,877,065
-------------------- ------------------ -------------------- ---------------------
Total expenditure 8 7,957,164 - - 7,957,164
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- ---------------------
Net expenditure before investment (193,548) - - (193,548)
gains
Gains/(losses) on investment assets: - (52,525) - (52,525)
-------------------- ----------------- -------------------- ---------------------
Net movement in funds (193,548) (52,525) - (246,073)
Fund balances at 1 September 2021 (749,246) 1,307,238 56,808 614,800
------------------- ---------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Fund balances at 31 August 2022 15,16 (942,794) 1,254,713 56,808 368,727
========= ========== ======== ==========

30

haysmacintyre tosses Rendcomb College Audit Findings Report

For the Year Ended 31 August 2023

Partner/Principal: Adam Halsey; ahalsey@haysmacintyre.com Manager: Jonny Broadley; jbroadley@haysmacintyre.com

Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 1
2. Audit risks identified during audit planning ...................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Accounting and audit matters ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
4. Financial review ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9
6. Emerging issues ........................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

1. Introduction and Executive Summary

This report summarises our key findings in connection with the audit of the financial statements of Rendcomb College (the “College” )and Rendcomb Services Limited (the “Company”) for the year ended 31 August 2023.

We would like to thank Rowan Elliot-Jones, Noria Hussain and the finance team for their assistance during the audit.

Our audit approach

Our work was planned and performed in order to issue an audit opinion on the financial statements in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs”) and the terms of our letter of engagement. Our audit approach is a risk-based approach founded on us gaining a thorough understanding of the entity and its business in order to allow us to identify the risks of material misstatement within the financial statements. To do this, we consider both the risk inherent in the financial statements themselves and the control environment in which the entity operates. We then use this assessment to develop an effective and efficient approach to the audit.

Limitations

Our audit procedures, which have been designed to enable us to express an opinion on the financial statements, have included an examination of the transactions and the controls thereon.

Our audit included consideration of internal controls relevant to the preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control or to identify any significant deficiencies in their design or operation.

We have included in this report only those matters that have come to our attention as a result of our normal audit procedures and, consequently, our comments should not be regarded as a comprehensive record of all deficiencies that may exist or improvements that could be made.

Overall conclusion and opinion

At the time of issuing this report we anticipate issuing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements, subject to the conclusion of the following outstanding points:

1

Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

2. Significant audit risks identified during audit planning

We set out below the significant audit risks identified at the planning stage and the conclusions of our audit work:

Significant audit risk area

How we addressed this

Commentary

Presumed risk in revenue recognition

Under ISA 240 there is a presumed risk that revenue may be misstated due to improper revenue recognition. We are required to consider and respond to the risks of improper revenue recognition.

We consider that this risk applies to voluntary income and trading income, including extras, being recognised in the wrong period. The significant risk is rebutted for investment income and school fees due to the predictable, recurring nature of these income streams.

We have undertaken a review of transactions around the Our audit work on revenue did year end to ensure income as being recorded in the correct not identify any material issues. period including reviewing accrued and deferred income.

We have assessed the appropriateness of the recognition policies to confirm they are in line with the requirements of the Charity SORP and FRS 102.

Presumed risk of management override

We are required to consider and respond to the risks arising from management override of controls.

Specifically, the risk over the use of journal entries to mask fraud and the manipulation of management estimates and judgements to materially alter the financial results and position.

We reviewed the accounting estimates and judgements.

We have analysed the journals made in the year and determined the risk criteria for identifying higher risk journals. Subsequently significant, unusual or unexpected journal postings have been investigated and verified.

The results of our planned audit work are considered to be satisfactory in this area.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

We also identified the following additional areas of focus for our audit, which were not deemed to be significant risks:

Area of focus How we addressed this Commentary
Fee income
Fee income is the School’s most significant source of
income.		 We reviewed fee income in total through a rationalisation.
We compared recorded fee income to expectations, taking
into consideration confirmed student numbers and fees.		 The results of our planned
audit work are considered to be
satisfactory in this area.
Accuracy of fund accounting
Given the nature of the funds that you hold there is a risk
relating to the accuracy of fund accounting.		 We confirmed that income, expenditure, and assets have
been correctly allocated to the appropriate fund and
reported in the financial statements.		 The results of our planned
audit work are considered to be
satisfactory in this area.
Accuracy of salary costs
As a significant cost, there are risks relating to the
accuracy of salary costs, including related disclosures.		 We agreed the reconciliation of the payroll records to the
finance system. We confirmed the existence of a sample of
employees. We considered the appropriateness of internal
controls over standing payroll data and the internal controls
over the approval of payroll payments.		 The results of our planned
audit work are considered to be
satisfactory in this area.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Completeness of year end creditor balances, and in particular cut of off capital works at year end

There is an inherent risk relating to the completeness of liabilities.

We obtained supplier confirmations for significant suppliers. We reviewed invoices and payments made after the periodend. We considered the completeness of capital projects through a review of documentation surrounding the yearend.

The results of our planned audit work are considered to be satisfactory in this area.

Going concern – College

The College has been loss making for the last few years and whilst as a group going concern is not an issue there is a risk that the College continues to portray a loss-making position which may be detrimental to the performance of the College and its recruitment of new pupils.

We reviewed correspondence between the College and the The results of our planned Foundation. We also reviewed the cashflow forecast for the audit work are considered to be forthcoming twelve months. satisfactory in this area.

We appreciate that the Foundation and its benefactors have pledged their ongoing support. Our audit focus has been to assess the level of formality of the support and the evidence surrounding how this support ensures the College is sufficiently financially resilient.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

3. Accounting and Audit Matters

3.1 Qualitative aspects of accounting practices and financial reporting

i. Key accounting estimates

Accounting estimates are defined by ISA 540 as monetary amounts for which the measurement, in accordance with the requirements of UK GAAP, is subject to estimation uncertainty. We set out our comments on the key accounting estimates relevant to the current year below.

Significant accounting estimate & detail

Commentary

Depreciation - £93k

Fixed assets for use by the charity are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of an asset at 20-25% for equipment and motor vehicles.

We understand the college has a number of assets still in use that have been fully depreciated. This may indicate that useful lives and associated depreciation rates are not appropriate and these need to be reviewed. We recommend that management review the fixed asset register for any items that have been fully depreciated and identify whether still in use or whether these can be written off.

With the building of a new multi-use games area management need to determine the useful over which to depreciate this asset. We understand this was brought into use in June 2023 and would expect this to be depreciated from this date although not material for the 2022-23 year.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

ii. Going Concern

We are required to consider the College and the Company’s standalone ability to continue as a going concern. At present the College has a general reserve deficit of £915k (2022:£943k) and when you remove fixed assets that figure becomes £1,363k. This is an accumulated position over many years and has been accepted as not being an impediment to the governors and us signing off the going concern assumption on the following basis:

  1. The College fund in designated funds of some £1.2m is available to the Governors;

  2. The business of a school always provides significant cash at the beginning of the term that is then used to fund the costs in delivering education. There is therefore always a large cash and deferred income balance in the accounts meaning liquidity is not an issue;

  3. The investments in fixed assets are low as historically these have been funded for and accounted in the Foundation accounts;

  4. There is a move to general fund profitability on a pre and post depreciation basis;

  5. The foundation is available to provide grant funding to cover any costs not covered by normal income.

This is acceptable on a technical basis but perception wise the readers of the accounts will note that the College accounts that are filed with the Charity Commission show a position that on the face of it is a concern. Parents have more information to hand than they use to in making decisions and with the press coverage of political attention they must be considering whether or not the College is likely to be able to deliver their child’s education over the time span they are at the College. Clearly anyone can ask the College senior leadership for comfort and confirmation however with some schools encouraging parents to pre pay their child’s education to reduce the impact of VAT on fees the due diligence done by the parents will be deeper.

Part of the issue is that although you are like most other schools in re-investing “profits” into the fabric of the College the difference is that the College does not have the assets on its balance sheet to shore up the finances. Schools show large negative free reserves but this is never an issue as the cash generation by the school is positive and any need for financing can easily be attained by leveraging the asset base. The perception is that if the College has a bad year this option is not available and therefore the financial position is more precarious than other schools.

An alternative could be to increase the level of funding to the College to then build up a capital base or release the designation of the College Fund to reduce the negative general fund position.

Net current liabilities of £1.1m and negative general funds of £0.9m are significant indicators of financial challenge to the uneducated reader of the financial statements at a time when there are so many political and economic challenges affecting the UK and more specifically the UK. Getting the right message across is essential and consideration ought to be given about how the current accounts may be interpreted and whether the options available might help present a more positive financial position.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

iii. Trading activities of the School

The College generated £212k of trading income in the year of which £82k related to rentals and £130k to functions. As this may breach the £85k threshold, if such income is subject to VAT, this will trigger the need to register for VAT. We recommend that management review the nature of this income and whether this is within the scope of VAT. For example, letting income is outside the scope where this is a pure let with no additional services being provided. In addition, management should also review this position in relation to any direct tax that may accrue to the College. For example, where income earned is ancillary to the School’s charitable purpose, this could be considered outside the scope although this will depend on the facts in each case. The income from non charitable trading should be no more than £80k in any case.

If management do not consider that its trading activities will significantly grow and any tax impact being minimal then the current arrangement of generating trading income through the College may be considered appropriate. However, if management consider that such income will continue to grow, they may want to review whether there is a more tax efficient structure on which to operate.

iv. Capitalisation thresholds

There is currently no threshold at which assets are capitalised in the accounts. Management should consider an appropriate level that should not be too low and should be based on larger projects. For smaller assets below the threshold we would expect these to be recorded and tracked. Management should review what it is forecast to spend in the future which will help in determining an appropriate threshold.

v. Restricted funds

The College has two restricted funds relating to the Longtitude grant and Century fund. We understand the expenditure associated with these funds happened in prior years and could either be reflected in the current year accounts as a transfer between restricted and general reserves or be dealt with in the 2023/24 accounts where the Governors can approve the release of funds. The amounts are not considered to be material to the readers of the accounts due to the fact that the net assets will not be impacted by any correction.

vi. Misstatements

We did not identify any uncorrected misstatements.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

vii. Letter of representation

International Standards on Auditing require us to obtain written representations from the directors when you approve the financial statements.

The letters contain only standard matters in respect of Rendcomb College Limited and Rendcomb Services Limited as well as a specific representation on the going concern status of both entities.

viii. ISA (UK) 315 Revised Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement

The International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) approved a significant re-write of the standard in September 2019 which came into effect for the year ended 31 August 2023. The effects of the revisions are far-reaching and will require a revised approach to risk assessments. It required a more detailed and evidence-based assessments in which five new inherent risk factors are considered and placed on a “Spectrum of Risk” at the higher end of which lie Significant Risks. For the College the significant risks include fraud in revenue recognition and management override.

The new inherent risk factors we have applied to the planning and execution of the audit for the College include:

The standard require increased documentation and consideration of what “Sufficient and appropriate” evidence must be obtained from risk assessment procedures as the basis for the risk assessment. The revised ISA’s application notes provide more explanatory material on controls relevant to the audit and on the design and implementation required for these controls. A great deal more is required in respect of IT and particularly IT general controls which have also been reviewed as part of the audit planning and fieldwork for the year ended 31 August 2023.

We noted no new control weaknesses and no new significant risk areas from our review of your IT general controls. We were able to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to appropriately consider and conclude on the spectrum of risk required to meet the revised accounting standard.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

4. Financial review

The purpose of this section of the report is to set out the key financial trends and to provide our perspective on the overall financial position.

Statement of Financial Activities

2020 2021 2022 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Income
Fee Income 5,670 5,434 6,536 7,170
Other Income 615 586 593 650
Trading activities 97 131 216 212
Investment Income 37 37 41 49
Donations 623 1,000 378 738
Grants 242 268 - -
Total income 7,177 7,326 7,764 8,819
Expenditure
Trading costs 14 7 80 66
College Operating costs 7,427 7,470 7,877 8,727
Total expenditure 7,441 7,477 7,957 8,793
Operating surplus/(deficit) (264) (151) (194) 26
Investment Gains/(losses) (73) 109 (52) (65)
Net movement in funds (337) (42) (246) (39)

Net fee income has increased by £634k. Although pupil numbers have decreased from 413 to 402 in the year this was offset by an increase in fees and a decrease in bursaries, scholarships and allowances awarded of £126k.

Other income increased mainly due pupils subscribing to additional courses in the year.

The College received donations of £738k, which included a £485k donation from Rendcomb College Foundation and £243k from the Martin wills bequest for ongoing financial support.

Grant income in 2020 and 2021 relates to furlough income received from the Government as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Grant. This was no longer claimed in 2022 with the easing of Covid restrictions.

The College has seen an increase in total costs of £836k which was a result of increasing in teaching costs of £218k, welfare costs of £203k, premise costs of £312k, and admin costs of £114k.

The College continues to make a concerted effort to keep costs down across the board.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

4. Financial review (cont)

Balance Sheet

2020 2021 2022 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Tangible fixed assets 1,310 1,357 1,335 1,446
Current Assets 899 1,161 1,461 1,429
Creditors (1,552) (1,903) (2,427) (2,546)
Net current liabilities (653) (742) (966) (1,117)
Net assets 657 615 369 330
Reserves
General (598) (749) (943) (915)
Designated 1,198 1,307 1,255 1,188
Restricted 57 57 57 57
657 615 369 330

Cash balances have decreased by £111k mainly as a result of the increase in fixed asset additions in the year of £270k which include the construction of the new multi-use games area.

Movements in the designated reserve relate to losses on the investment portfolio in the year whilst the general fund deficit decreased by £20k to £915k for reasons described on previous page.

Negative free reserves is common in an independent school context as surpluses are regularly used to improve the quality of the facilities of the school. The mitigation is the availability of the College Foundation Fund plus the timing of cashflows and the support from the Foundation. Because of the College’s annual net deficit the financial mitigating circumstances are that much more important to Rendcomb College and therefore continued close collaboration with the Foundation is critical until the College is able to return to surpluses.

5. Detailed control points

We are pleased to report that we have not identified any control issues during the course of our work.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

6. Emerging issues

Charity reporting and governance matters

Charity Commission updates its guidance on investing charity money

On 1 August 2023 the Charity Commission published its updated guidance for trustees on investing their charity’s money (C14).

This follows a consultation process that was started by the Commission several years ago but was put on hold while the ‘Butler-Sloss’ High Court case was concluded. The verdict in this case clarified that where trustees are of the reasonable view that particular investments (or classes of investments) potentially conflict with the charitable purposes, the trustees have the discretion to exclude such investments. They should exercise that discretion by reasonably balancing all relevant factors including the likelihood and seriousness of the potential conflict, and the likelihood and seriousness of any potential financial effect from the exclusion of such investments.

The revised guidance is shorter than the previous version of CC14. The other main changes to the guidance are:

  1. Removing confusing terminologies such as ‘ethical’, ‘responsible’ and ‘mixed-motive’ investments.

  2. Reflecting the judgement in the Butler-Sloss case: that trustees have wide discretion when deciding on their investment approach; for example by excluding certain investments based on non-financial considerations when making financial investment decisions, or by making financial investment decisions designed only to secure the best financial return, provided that ultimately they are furthering the charity’s purpose.

  3. The previously separate guidance on social investments is now included within CC14. Social investments are investments made with a view to both achieving your charity’s purposes directly through the investment and making an financial return. The guidance is clear that there are specific trustee duties that apply when making a social investment which are different to those that apply for financial investments.

  4. The guidance includes examples of approaches to investment, as well as examples of issues that trustees may need to consider when making investment decisions, such as the potential reputational impact.

  5. The differences between legal duties of trustees and best practice are clarified, by listing steps that trustees ‘must’ take (legal duties) and those that they ‘should’ do (strongly recommended best practice, but not legal requirements).

The revised guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-investment-matters-a-guide-for-trusteescc14/charities-and-investment-matters-a-guide-for-trustees

Charity Commission consultation on social media guidance

On 18 September the Charity Commission’s published new guidance concerning charities’ use of social media. The guidance addresses both charities’ own use of social media and Trustees’ responsibilities in this regard, and the potential risks surrounding charity employees’ use of social media. The guidance is clear that charities using social media should have a social media policy in place and should ensure that it is followed. A checklist for developing a social media policy has also been created by the commission.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Charity reporting and governance matters

The Commission is clear that employees should be free to use social media in their own right but notes the potential for private posts to be interpreted as the views of the charity, with the risk to the charity’s reputation that this could bring, and the consequent need for charities to consider setting guidelines to govern their employees’ use of media and to set policies concerning how the charity would respond to any negative exposure.

The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-social-media/charities-and-social-media.

Revisions to the Annual Return

In December 2022, the Charity Commission published the outcome of its consultation on changes to the Annual Return, which will take effect for Annual Returns relating to financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2023.

The new Annual Return will include 23 new questions all charities will be required to answer 32 questions, up from a baseline of 16 in previous annual returns. The maximum number of questions that a charity will have to answer is now 52.

The changes to the questions cover the following areas:

  1. Financial governance

  2. Income and operations outside England and Wales

  3. Charity operations and structure

  4. Employees and volunteers

  5. Governance of risk, incidents and safeguarding

  6. Response to major external change

The detailed consultation outcome, including all of the new and revised questions, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/charity-commission-revisions-to-the-annual-return-2023-25/annual-return-2023-consultation#annexes

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Financial Reporting Financial reporting framework

UK GAAP developments

In December 2022, the Financial Reporting Council published FRED82, the exposure draft for the latest periodic review of FRS102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Amongst numerous minor amendments and clarifications, FRED82 proposed two significant changes to UK GAAP which would bring it into closer alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards:

  1. Changes to Section 20 Leases, which mirror the requirements of IFRS16 Leases and remove the distinction between operating leases and finance leases, with the result that all leases will lead to the recognition of an asset and a liability in the lessee’s financial statements.

  2. Changes to Section 23 Revenue, which introduces the five-step revenue recognition model from IFRS15 Revenue from contracts with customers into UK GAAP.

We had been expecting that the periodic review would also include changes to bring FRS102 into alignment with IFRS9 Financial Instruments, in particular the adoption of the expected credit loss model of financial asset impairment. However, the FRC has decided to postpone any alignment with IFRS9 until the IASB has concluded its own review of the IFRS for SMEs, which is expected to include limited alignment with IFRS9 in this regard.

The exposure draft was open for comment until 30 April 2023. It was previously reported that the revised standard would take effect for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2025, however on 29 September the FRC published a project update which delays the effective date until at least 1 January 2026. The update states that the final amendments to FRS 102 “are likely to differ in a number of respects from the FRED 82 proposals”. This includes reconsideration of the proposed changes to lease accounting to ensure that the model is proportionate and understandable for all FRS 102 users. The amendments are expected to be issued in the first half of 2024.

The Charity SORP will be rewritten to reflect the FRS102 revisions once they are finalised; and an exposure draft is expected during 2024. This is also an opportunity for the SORP to be updated for any other recommended changes, and the SORP Committee have consulted with various sector stakeholders on these as part of their ‘Engage’ briefings. Topics under consideration include the disclosure of reserves; support costs; sustainability reporting and impact reporting.

New requirements for other information

Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

Periods starting on or after 6 April 2022 - This is the proposed date for mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements for publicly quoted companies, large private companies and Limited Liability Partnerships to apply.

Following a consultation process by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, commercial companies with a premium listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange are required to include climate-related financial disclosures in their

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Financial Reporting

annual report. The disclosures should make clear the extent of their compliance with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations on a comply-or-explain basis.

In October 2021, the UK Government laid before Parliament legislation for the inclusion of TCFD aligned disclosures in the annual reports of all publicly quoted companies, public interest entities and large private companies for periods beginning on or after 6 April 2022 (with equivalent legislation for large LLP’s expected to follow). The disclosures are to be included within the Strategic Report in the newly defined ‘Non-financial and sustainability information statement’. Large in this context refers to companies with more than 500 employees and Turnover in excess of £500m and “quoted” companies exclude those listed on the AIM market.

UK Corporation tax

Intra-group arrangements

Charities must ensure that records and documentation are kept for all transactions with group companies. This includes management charges, service level agreements, licences for use of space, loan arrangements and calculations of recharged amounts.

In particular, any loans or investments that are made to group companies, should only be made as a result of a full financial investment assessment, as for any other investments made. There are no specific concessions or exemptions available for loans and investments made within a group and we are increasingly seeing HMRC show an interest in this area.

Corporation Tax self-assessment

As a reminder, every charity is required to perform a self-assessment each year to determine whether it is liable to pay any corporation tax. This is regardless of whether HMRC have issued a formal notice to file a corporation tax return (usually issued periodically for charities registered with HMRC).

A return should therefore be prepared and filed with HMRC if either:

In most circumstances a charity will not be liable to pay any corporation tax, as there are a number of charitable exemptions which cover the majority of the typical income streams that charities receive. Please note that all the exemptions only apply so far as the income is applied for charitable purposes only.

The main exemptions include:

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

UK Corporation tax

If you have any concerns about a possible liability to corporation tax or are unsure whether a particular stream of income falls within the exemptions noted above, please get in touch with your normal haysmacintyre contact for advice.

Employment Tax Employer provided living accommodation.

Schools, especially independent schools provide living accommodation to certain staff which is considered necessary for them to undertake their employment duties. Over the recent months we have been speaking with school clients on a regular basis about various tax issues connected with employer provided accommodation. The questions raised have been varied ranging from the use and availability of exemptions, through to the income tax treatment of any associated costs. As a starting point, where accommodation is provided by the employer to its employees, this will create a taxable benefit. Consideration will then need to be given as to whether the role undertaken by the employee satisfies one of the exemptions provided within the legislation.

There were four situations where living accommodation is not taxable, and these are:

The last exemption is unlikely to be applicable in schools as we assume that there are no special threats to an employee’s security that require special security arrangements to be in force and furthermore the employee resides in the accommodation as part of those arrangements.

This is a difficult exemption criterion to meet in any case. Typically, only employees under genuine threat to his or her life are covered by this exemption. HMRC cites the example of an employee under a genuine terrorist threat to his or her life as being covered by this exemption.

Independent schools have traditionally relied on the Representative Occupiers exemption for certain roles. However, this exemption was removed, effective from 6th of April 2021.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Employment Tax

There are now only two exemption that relieves the tax liability on living accommodation, and these are:

Anecdotally, we are aware that HMRC are adopting a stricter interpretation of the ‘customary’ exemption to accommodation provided by employers within certain roles in the education sector.

For instance, we are aware that HMRC consider the odd evening of late-night working is not sufficient to meet the requirements. Consequently, teachers with pastoral care who do not live in the boarding house are likely to be challenged by HMRC especially if the school does not have robust records of the duties undertaken such as rotas, details of statutory requirements and call out records.

Whilst HMRC have traditionally accepted caretakers living on the premises as being exempt under the necessary rule, they have expanded their guidance due to changes in employment law and practice and the additional requirements are now required and these are detailed below.

HMRC generally accept that the better performance is met under Section 99(1) ITEPA 2003 in practice if:

Concerning bullet point one, although the HMRC guidance states that the position of caretakers must be full time, albeit this is not set out in the legislation. Following discussions with leading tax counsel, they have confirmed that a part-time caretaker may benefit from the exemption.

However, HMRC would expect to see the call logs on any Employer compliance review.

Where job-related living accommodation is owned by the school and provided to an employee, which is not covered by one of the exemptions referred to above, it will be subject to Income tax based upon the following principles.

The benefit in kind charge is calculated by reference to the cost of providing the living accommodation, together with the cost of any improvements which have been carried out on the property. The cost of improvements does not include general maintenance or upkeep of the property. Once the cost of the property has been established, the Income tax charge will comprise two elements:

Where the property is rented by the school and made available to the employee either rent free, at a rent less than the cost to the school or at a rent less

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Employment Tax

than amount chargeable under Section 103 ITEPA 2003, a tax charge will arise.

Connected costs.

Something that we find clients forget is that regardless as to whether any accommodation provided by the school is taxable or exempt (on the basis it satisfies one of the conditions set out above), a benefit in kind will always be due in respect the cost of utilities paid for by the school. Where an employee is provided with exempt accommodation, the only costs which will also be treated as exempt relate to:

Where an employee is provided with living accommodation that is exempt from tax charge there is a restriction on the cash equivalent of the benefit on provided:

The limit applying to the total of all such benefits is:

If the accommodation is provided for less than a year the 10 per cent limit of the net emoluments is reduced proportionately.

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||| |---|---| |–| |Intermediaries legislation (commonly referred to as IR35)|engaging individuals through personal service companies.|

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Employment Tax

Following the changes to the IR35 legislation which saw the responsibility for administrating the legislation shifted with the obligation for determining the application of the rules from the individual to the engager. For the majority of independent school the changes applied to them with effect from 6 April 2021.

Recently HM Revenue & Customs have commenced a campaign, enquiring into the off-payroll working arrangements which will include individuals and the use of personal service companies. They are requesting details of:

One key area HMRC will want to understand is how any disputes of the tax status of the worker are resolved. There is a requirement that for the following processes be applied:

However, HMRC can recover unpaid tax and NIC from any ‘relevant person’, including anyone in the payment chain above the fee-payer. Consequently, everyone in the labour supply chain has compliance responsibility. In our experience, identifying the underlying facts connected with the engagement will help resolve any disputes within the resolution process.

All organisations should ensure that they have undertaken steps to comply, and we provide the following good practices to follow:

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Employment Tax

Pension Salary Exchange

Many schools are reviewing their pension arrangements as part of their move away from the Teachers Pension scheme but also in respect of the nonteaching staff. For schools who are providing a defined contribution pension scheme then offering this in conjunction with a Pension Salary Exchange will help to provide savings for both the employees and the school. The Exchange is a legitimate method of reducing both employer and employee NIC liabilities and without the Exchange, employees would pay their pension contributions from their net pay (i.e., after deduction of income tax and NIC). The Exchange works by agreeing with the employee to reducing their salary and in exchange the employer pays the equivalent amount in pension contributions on behalf of the employee.

Both the employer and employee will pay less Class 1 National Insurance, meaning the employee will have a bit more money in their pay packet at the end of the month.

A worked example of potential NI savings is illustrated below for an employee earning just above the NMW at £20,000 per annum.

Pre-Salary Exchange £ Post-Salary Exchange £
Annual salary 20,000 18,749.96
Monthly salary 1,666.67 1562.50
Employee monthly pension contributions
(at 5% of monthlysalary)before tax relief		 £83.33 0

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Employment Tax Employment Tax Employment Tax Employment Tax Employment Tax Employment Tax
Employee monthly pension contributions
after 20% tax relief		 104.17 0
Income tax 123.73 102.90
National Insurance (@12% after allowing
for monthlyNI allowance of £1048)		 74.24 61.74
*Take homepay 1385.37 1397.86
Employer pension contributions (3% of
£1666.67)		 50.00 154.17
Employer monthly NI saving which it may
choose to pay into the employee’s pension
(@13.8% of £104.17)		 choose to pay into the employee’s pension
0		 14.38
Take home pay is £12.50 per month*
greater under salary exchange **

VAT

Potential Change in VAT liability of fees

One of the long-standing pledges of the main opposition party, Labour, has been to change the current legislation and treatment of fees for independent schools from being exempt from VAT into being taxable, most likely subject to VAT at 20%. Paying VAT on school fees will substantially impact the pricing and take-up of school places for many schools as well as placing an extra administrative burden on schools and as such organisations should consider what measures they could take to mitigate the impact of should it come to pass.

In terms of timings, if a future Government were to introduce legislation to remove the VAT exemption for school fees, it is almost certain that antiforestalling provisions would be brought in. This would mean that the change from exemption to standard rating will be backdated to the date it was announced by the Government, instead of the date that the legislation receives Royal Assent, so this could conceivably impact schools from late 2024 to early 2025.

We are of the opinion that it would be difficult to back-date this legislation any further (i.e., prior to the change in government). Such an extension of antiforestalling legislation prior to a date of an announcement of a change in law would be an unprecedented application of retrospective legislation and would almost certainly be subject to litigation as being unlawful and a breach of Human Rights legislation. From the VAT point of view there is European case law

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

VAT

(which is still binding on the UK) which held that a retrospective change in time limits was unlawful and the reasoning in that case would almost certainly apply here.

Fees In Advance Schemes

If VAT is introduced, it would mean that any income received after the change would be taxable. This highlights the importance of fee payments received in advance of any change which, in our view, the schools will still be able to treat as exempt.

There is some question mark on whether any scheme actively marketed as a way of avoiding paying VAT could be argued by HMRC to be some form of tax avoidance, with the potential argument being that this arrangement is only being entered into for VAT avoidance purposes. However, we note that many schools already have fees paid in advance schemes, as some parents would prefer to pay annual fees in advance rather than term-time instalments. As such it would be difficult for HMRC to advance an argument that a Fees In Advance scheme is a VAT avoidance scheme, and it can hardly be said to be artificial where a real world consequence is to deprive oneself of income by paying it to someone else.

Schools may also want to flag this to parents in due course. Whilst schools should make clear it cannot give tax or VAT advice, there is nothing wrong in restating advice schools have received, in that, any payments made in advance of a change in law would remain exempt and it would only be payments made after a change for fee increases which would be subject to VAT. Schools should also recommend to parents that they obtain own advice.

In order to safeguard the exemption for funds paid in advance, the organisation should review their scheme’s T&Cs to make sure that they have the relevant clauses in place that ensure a tax point for the payment is created when the monies are received, thus effectively ringfencing the liability of the advance payments at the point in time for the exemption to be applicable.

VAT registration

In anticipation of any change in legislation, the impact of and implementation of VAT registration should be considered, and schools should ensure they have the systems in place for the changes that VAT registration would bring.

For example, schools should check whether their existing software will be compatible with the demands of VAT accounting including accounting for supplies at varying liabilities and for the Making Tax Digital (MTD) process for submission of VAT returns. The VAT return submission process has been automated for several years and all VAT returns are now submitted directly to HMRC via the software. As such schools should assess if the existing software has this functionality, or whether an upgrade or new software is required.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

VAT

Another example is that schools may want to start changing the way they process supplier invoices, especially for substantial expenses like Capital Projects, as any requirement for VAT registration will also mean that school are entitled to recover VAT charged by suppliers.

This also includes some limited scope of recovery for pre-registration expenses for on-going supplies. Whereas schools may be currently entering the invoices as gross on their systems, splitting out the VAT now could be beneficial in preparation for VAT accounting purposes in the future.

Capital Goods Scheme (CGS)

The CGS is an aspect of VAT accounting for VAT registered schools that will become relevant for those looking to undertake capital projects in the future, but more pertinently for schools it can also be used to try and recover VAT that they have incurred on past projects. This is even for schools that were previously not registered for VAT.

Capital expenditure on land and buildings is subject to the CGS when it exceeds £250,000 and VAT is incurred on the work. The capital expenditure in question can cover:

The CGS requires that the amount of VAT recovered is monitored over a 10-year period with adjustments required to be made each year to this amount if there is any change in the taxable usage of the building, compared with the first use. This is usually done in line with the partial exemption calculation, and each year the annual adjustment percentage is then used to calculate whether any changes require an adjustment under the CGS.

This adjustment period of 10 years means that if the legislation does change then any capital project finished within the last 10 years, whether the school was previously VAT registered or not, can have the CGS applied. This would therefore give scope for some of the VAT that was incurred and previously written off, to now be recovered via the CGS calculations.

In addition, the CGS could apply to a single item of computer hardware of a value of £50,000 and above, and for a period of 5 years. This may be applicable if the school has overhauled or will overhaul the IT infrastructure and purchases a server for example.

Despite the substantial detrimental effects of VAT on school fees, there are some steps which could mitigate the fall-out from the fees becoming taxable in the first few years. VAT should therefore continue to be an intrinsic part of any capital project planning by the organisation at the outset.

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Rendcomb College – Audit Findings Report | Year ended 31 August 2023

Other matters

Changes to Companies House filing arrangements

One consequence of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022 is that Companies House will have extended powers to mandate how companies submit their accounts for filing. Companies House has published proposals to move to a fully digital, software-based filing process for all registered companies, including dormant companies.

The detailed timetable for implementation will be published in due course, following the passage of the Bill to Royal Assent, but Companies House has indicated that there will be a phased implementation to enable all accounts filers to obtain suitable software.

We will provide updates on this as the Bill proceeds through the legislative process.

HMRC “customer” service standards

There are increasing delays in obtaining responses from HMRC ranging from delays in the region of six months in processing applications for VAT registrations, delays in obtaining repayments, a decision to cease acknowledging option to tax notifications. If you anticipate having any interaction with HMRC then factor in additional time.

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