The Vinjeru School Trust - Charity No: 1135234
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2023
The trustees present their annual report and the independently examined accounts for the twelve months ending 31 December 2023.
Name and principal address
The name of the charity is The Vinjeru School Trust and the principal address is 17 Sayer Way, Knebworth, Herts SG3 6BN.
Trustees
The trustees who served during the period were: Ross Power – Chairman Roberta Power – Secretary Mar�n Hodder Gillian Hodder Joel Haris - Treasurer Hannah Haris
Objec�ves
The objec�ves of the Trust are:
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To raise funds for the building and establishment of a school based on Chris�an principles in the town of Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia.
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To provide educa�on and bring hope to the underprivileged children in Kapiri Mposhi who
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have a reduced fee or a free place.
The School is accessible to all, regardless of race, religion or gender. The school endeavours to provide quality, holis�c educa�on which will be of benefit to the students and to the wider community in the area around Kapiri Mposhi and, since the opening of the boarding facili�es, the whole of Zambia.
Review of Ac�vi�es
Trustees Visit to School Site
With the government li�ing restric�ons in place due to the outbreak of the pandemic in the prior years, two of the trustees (the Chairman and Secretary) had the privilege of visi�ng the School in May 2023, and were impressed with the condi�on of the site. The buildings were in good condi�on and the grounds were well cared for, with fencing and walls providing effec�ve protec�on from intruders.
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Building
Building was completed for the new DT block, which was started in the previous year and is well on the way to being completed. It is planned for the dividers to be heavy curtains, which will be fi�ed to help split up the space but to also allow for flexibility in the use of the space for larger assemblies and will also serve to deaden the noise between the sec�ons.
The boys’ dormitory block, for which building commenced in the previous year, has been built up to roof level as at the end of the year. Further funds were commi�ed to the project in December 2023 to complete the building, with comple�on an�cipated before the commencement of the new school year.
A new piece of land has been acquired next door to the exis�ng land, which will house new Primary School buildings and a sports field. The land was kindly donated to the school, for which the trustees are truly grateful. It is an�cipated that building work towards the new Primary School building will commence in autumn 2024.
A new Basketball / Netball court was built during the year on part of the land acquired. The court is used daily by students and has also hosted four fixtures against other schools during the year. It is an�cipated that future work will look to add addi�onal courts on the same piece of land, which would allow the school to host tournaments.
School Life and Examina�ons
were encouraged to observe the good interac�on between staff and pupils, as well as the good a�tude and respect shown to each other.
The results from the senior school students were once again strong, with another 100% pass rate achieved this year. The school aims to con�nue achieving strong pass rates in the next year.
Funding
The Trust has con�nued to support the school with some opera�onal costs due to the growth phase of the school and the effects of the pandemic. Financial processes and recent results indicate the school will be self-sufficient in terms of opera�on in the near future.
The Trust held fundraising events as well as a tea and cake a�ernoon and a quiz to engage supporters in 2023. The Trust applied for funding from the Pat Wedge Fund during the year, which was u�lised to support students at the school.
The Trust has con�nued to receive large and small dona�ons which has enabled the school to con�nue opera�ng and has added funds for building projects.
Many sponsors have con�nued to support students at the school through the Vinjeru School Trust Bursary Scheme. The scheme currently supports students who would otherwise not be able to a�end secondary educa�on.
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Governance
The Trustees have con�nued to work with individuals in Zambia to establish a Zambian trust to oversee the opera�onal governance of the school. The inten�on is that the UK trust will be solely responsible for raising money and providing grants to the school in Zambia for building and running their bursary scheme.
During the year, there were no changes in the trustees of the charity.
Future Work
The Trust is looking to expand the capacity of the Primary School in 2024 with a large building with mul�ple classrooms planned.
Signed on behalf of the trustees on 14[th] November 2024
Ross Power Chairman, The Vinjeru School Trust – Charity No: 1135234
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE VINJERU SCHOOL TRUST Charlty nnmber 1135234 I rq)ort c) the accounts ofthc ¢harity ITu5tecs f(rthe year ended 31" Deccmbcr 2023. which are set Jt on the attac1 accounts. ResI1Ve Mp)D$lb11tt5# of trustees Dd eiimlner As the ch8rity'$ trutte4 you 8re sP(MS1bIe For th¢ prepathion of the i¢¢ount5' you consider thai the udil trqui¥rtn¢llt of Krtion 144 of the ClJaTities Act 2011 (the Act) d(S llot apply. and that an Indedent examination is 1¢ is my responsibility lo examine Ihe acc(Kmls under seL%ion 145 oftheALL to follow thc proCethCS splfied in thegeneral Directions Biven bythechan.ly Comrnissinn under section 145(5Kb} ot'the Aet, and to slate whether rArticular mattS bav¢ ¢omc to rny allcniion. Byis of imdependent wAml•erJ' statement My examination was rIed w¢ in OWTdan¢¢ with the g¢nerdl DiTeelioD$ given by the Chority Commission. An ¢xaminalion includes a revicw of the accounting record% ke0 by the charity and a comparison of the accounts preSend with those records. It also includes WnSid3ts0n of any unusual ituns or disclosures in the accounls and seeking explanations fIn the trustees eoncerniftg any si]ch matters. The predW¢S undertaken do not proNTrde all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and LL)nse4ULuY nv opinion is as lo wheth¢r the ac£ounls PT¢sent a'1rue and faif. view and the rq)ort is lirnited to those matters set out in tbe statement below. IDd¢peDd¢nt $t*temeDt In Co[ectIon with our examinatio no matter has come to my attention: (i) which giv me reasonabl¢ ¢au8¢ to b¢li¢v¢ that iti any mat¢rial r¢spwt th¢ rquirem¢nis to kw accounting rccords in ac£ordan witb wlion 130 of thc Ath. and b) to prepare 8c¢ounts which a¢wrd with tk a¢¢ounting ro¢ords and to comply with the accouniing reqtsircmcn ofihe Act have n(A IMI m¢t; or {2) io which. in my opinion, alt¢ntion sFmld bc drnwn in order to cnablc a proper u[dIng of the accounts to be reached. Ms M C Richardson FCCA ¢hardson & Co A¢countants Cornish & Su55cx Suitc Hous¢ 3 Lynder5woLNI Bu5itiess PaTk Black NotLey Essex 14 NovetoEcr W24
The Vinjeru School Trust - Charity No: 1135234 Receipts and Payment Account for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | Year to: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Funds | 31/12/2022 | ||
| As at 31/12/2023 | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Receipts | ||||
| General fund donations | 13,905 | 13,905 | 22,510 | |
| Buildingfund donations | 9,512 | 9,512 | 4,313 | |
| Uniform Fund | 0 | 0 | 1,925 | |
| Simbeye fund donations | 11,450 | 11,450 | 13,486 | |
| Bursaries fund donations | 15,759 | 15,759 | 16,821 | |
| Wedge BuildingGrant | 0 | 0 | 18,745 | |
| Wedge Education Grant | 4,000 | 4,000 | 6,500 | |
| Teachingfund donations | 8,840 | 8,840 | 11,000 | |
| Basketball Fund donations | 1,140 | 1,140 | 0 | |
| Book Fund donations | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | |
| Interest income | 237 | 237 | 12 | |
| 14,142 | 51,701 | 65,843 | 95,312 | |
| Payments | ||||
| Grantspaid - School operations | 674 | 8,876 | 9,550 | 24,638 |
| Grantspaid - Bursary | 17,685 | 17,685 | 18,990 | |
| Grantspaid - Buildingworks | 16,000 | 16,000 | 0 | |
| Uniforms | 0 | 0 | 1,288 | |
| Simbeye support | 13,914 | 13,914 | 16,686 | |
| Wedge BuildingGrant | 0 | 0 | 18,500 | |
| Wedge Education Grant | 4,000 | 4,000 | 6,500 | |
| Basketball Court costs | 1,140 | 1,140 | 0 | |
| Books | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | |
| Bank and finance charges | 274 | 274 | 292 | |
| Professional fees | 360 | 360 | 360 | |
| Fund-raisingCosts | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1,314 | 62,615 | 63,929 | 87,254 | |
| Net receipts / (payments) | 12,828 | -10,914 | 1,914 | 8,058 |
| Transfers between funds | -5,664 | 5,664 | 0 | 0 |
| Total funds brought forward | 13,585 | 5,496 | 19,081 | 11,023 |
| Total funds carried forward | 20,750 | 245 | 20,995 | 19,081 |
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The Vinjeru School Trust - Charity No: 1135234
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at | 31/12/2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | ||
| funds | Funds | |||
| Cash funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| HSBC | 20,750 | 245 | 20,995 | |
| 20,750 | 245 | 20,995 | ||
| Joel Haris | ||||
| Trustee/Treasurer | ||||
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at | 31/12/2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | ||
| funds | Funds | |||
| Cash funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| HSBC | 20,750 | 245 | 20,995 | |
| 20,750 | 245 | 20,995 | ||
| Joel Haris | ||||
| Trustee/Treasurer | ||||
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