CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Trustees. Annual Report for the period From l November 2023 To 31 October 2024 Charlty nam•: OSWESTRY UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE Charlty rog1stra￿On number: 1127329 Objectives and Activities Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its goveming document The advancement of education and, in particular, the education ol older people and those who are retired from full time work by all mean5. including associated activrties. condu(ave to teamin9 and personal develo ment. To meet thts otyective, Oswestry U3A operates a number of stuity groups which concentrate on particular subje matters ernbracing interests in the arts, science, culture, heritage, the environment, consep4ation, new technology, physical healih and recreational activrties. Wo also provido regular educational taks on a wide variety of topics. These are open to all members, and a small lee is charged for attendance, to cover the hire of the hall or refreshments {deFendent on where the meetings take place Summary of the main adivities in relation to those Purposes for the put￿lC benefit, in particular, the a¢tlvitles, prol•ct$ or servic•$ identrfi8d in the accounts. Statement confinning whether the trustee8 have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefft In pursuing these actNities. the trustéos have regard to th8 guKlance issued ty the Charty Commission on public benefft. Achlevements and Performance Oswesty U3A is a thriviry organisalion with 290 mombers. It positivety welcomes nthy members who frequently comment on the friendliness that they have encountered at their first and subsequent visits. Member numbers efed folk)wing the reduction 8een during the time of the cormavrus shutdown in 2020 and 2021. Surnmary of main a¢hievement8 of the charty. identty'ng the difference the arity's work has made to the rcumstanrKs beneficiaries and any wider b8neffts to soc￿ty as a whole. Over the last year have been actrRly improving our on- line presence through both our website and Fa￿tK)0k which has had the result both engaging existsng members and attracting new on8S. The U3A has increased its number of study groups to 27 involving 520 members who organise fw themselves how they undertake Stud￿ and manage their affairs. Many of our members behjng to more than one group and the scale of invotvement in a wide range of study actDiities shows how successfijlty Oswestry U3A is meeling its commitment to lrfehjng learning. We have a Groups Ccrf)rdinator who provides a link belween the Committee and individual study groups and aclively pronv)tes interest in new groups. The Committee has set aside funds to hew new interests get off the ground and support any particular requirements of existing groups. In ex¢ess of 60 members regular￿ attend the ts weekly eduCat￿nal talks and there ts a posits.ve atmosphere during the thirty minutes before a wesentation starts as members chat over a cup of t&￿Coffee. Our speakers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and often comment favourably on the int8f8St shtr44n in their talks. In ￿ld11￿)n to invrted speakeT5. we foPA)w the self-help princip￿ that undeTh¥rites our existence by having presentations from our own Th8 impact of Ihe coronaviru6 shut d(ywn has been seen lo be mil￿ated. When face to face meetings becarne viable again in 2021 unfortunalety, we had lost our regular weekly Tuesday morning stot for edu¢atk)r*al talks at our venue. Initialty the talks restarted on a Tuesday aftemcK)n on a bi-weekty basis, however. this did not prove popular wilh the members and in January 2022 the meetings were moved to a Thursday moming and attendan￿ started to irnprove to a point that tum out has nearly returned to pre COVID levels. Our U3A has ad¢pted 'Beacon' the administration software pad(age made available by The Third Age Tnjst which has 9￿aty improved the record keeping, communication arml record keeping of the organisathjn induding financial fep0￿.fftg. Financial Review Review of the charty's financial position at the end of Income= £46.120 Expenditure - £44,857 Income over ex nditure- £1.263 The mon￿5 held at the end of the finarKial year total £21,710 Thi5 will fluctuate from year to year but we need to ensure that we have sufficient moniès in ￿serve in order to meet aH our debts. Set aside for lUtU￿ assel replac￿￿nt Set asKle for Spe¢rf￿ future use Working balance Statement explaining policy ts holding reserves stating why they are hekl Amount of reserves held £7.500 £2,000 £8,937 5Reasons for holdin9 Zero reservès Details of fund materialty in deficit Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concem nla nla Structure, Governance and Management Description of tharity's trusts: Typ8 of goveming document Oswestry U3A is g0veft￿ by a Constitution that was adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 4th November 2008. The Constitution was amended at the Annual General Meeting on 13th November 2018 to reflect the change to the Puws Clause recommended to all U3As the Third e Trust. Oswesty U3A charty is 8Tr unincryrated assocHtN)n which is independentty managed. We are a member of the Third Age Trust whr¢h represents the interests of all U3As in the UK and embrace its Principles ofthe U3A Movement. We comply with the governance requirements of tho Trust. How constituted? the Trust8e setecti(m meth()ds Including details of any con8tiiutional provisions e.g. eleciion to post or name of any person or body entitled to apwnt one or mre trust888 Trustees are selected from the membership. are 8ct8dlrfrelected at each AGM. and seNe a fixed term, as latrj down by the ¢onstiiulion. Reference and Admlnlstrative deta518 Chari name Other name the charity uses istere(i chari number Charty'5 principal address OSWESTRY UNIV AG 1127329 Clo The MerTh)rial Ham smithf￿ld Slreel Oswestry SY112EG Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Date of original appointment to Name of person lor body) entitled to appolnt trustsa ifan Oswestry u3a board of trustees, but ratified by u3a membership at AGM Trusloe name OfflrA 273 7500 2171Q UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE OSWESTRY INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S STATEMENT TO MEMBERS I have audited the financial statements of the U3A {Oswestry) including those for the Travel Group for the year ended 31 October 2024 and it is my opinion that the financial ststements give a true and fair view of the affairs of the Association and of the Association's income and expenditure for the year in question. All accounting records from the Association have been supplied to me and these have been reconciled with the financial records supplied by the Bank. Stephen M Tudhope Independent Auditor Date 1411112024