REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 08269877 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1150524
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report ofthe Trustees | 3 |
| ReportoftheIndependent Examiner | 9 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 10 |
| Balance Sheet | 11 |
| NotestotheFinancialStatements | 12 |
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 October 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
We have referred to the points contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities.
Historically, the Trust's services provided have been principally in support of raising the educational attainment of children up to age eleven within the UK and to support the effectiveness and professional job satisfaction (and hence also retention) of primary teachers. However, following last year (2022/23) being one of transition - as summarised below- the Trust is now mainly focused on supporting other charitable organisations by way of grants, particularly in the fields of education and Early Years.
Background: 2022/23 had been a year of transition
Transfer of Hamilton operations to Oxford Brookes University
As previously reported, all the Trust’s operations and all the Trust’s assets (save only its cash, its investment portfolio and its office property) were transferred to Oxford Brookes University (OBU) in December 2022. This was done so that access to the Trust’s substantial body of materials (around 26,000 resources available to primary teachers from its website) could be sustained into the medium term and beyond. Oxford Brookes was the first choice of trustees as the ‘new home’ for Hamilton for several reasons: the University has a strong reputation for its degree, PGCE and Masters courses in primary education; there have been strong links at several different levels between the Trust and the University over many years; and OBU’s Oxford locality made liaison easy and offered the opportunity for the Trust’s staff to be easily transferred to the University.
As the legal agreement - and the transfer of Hamilton staff to OBU - took place on 19 December 2022, only seven weeks into the 2022/23 financial year, last year’s report necessarily mainly covered the remainder of the year post transfer.
As will be described below, by 31 October 2024 nearly all the post-transfer work had been completed.
The final stages before total completion of the transfer
From 31 August 2023, the Hamilton Brookes website having gone live, neither Hamilton Trust nor Hamilton Education had any interaction or contact with teachers or schools with regard to renewed or 3
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
new donations and subscriptions. However, it was not until 31 August 2024 that the final 12-month subscriptions with Hamilton had all expired, and the Trust therefore felt that until then it had a partial ongoing responsibility for the quality and accuracy of all the Hamilton materials. Throughout the year there was still some liaison between the Trust and Hamilton Brookes — largely completed by the yearend — in supporting some new publishing, particularly where the Trust felt that it had a moral responsibility to help finalise specific units tacitly committed in previous communications with users, and to resolve some issues with respect to copyright. By the year-end it was only some remaining tidying-up of actual or perceived issues of copyright that remained to be done, in particular where related to images.
Imagination Libraries
‘Imagination Marlborough’, a partnership with the Dollywood Foundation - a charity started and overseen by Dolly Parton — continued successfully. Within the designated area (a circle with a radius of five miles from Marlborough), any child under the age of five can be enrolled in the programme, such that they receive — without any charge - an age-appropriate book every month until they 'graduate' aged five. 200 children are currently enrolled in Imagination Marlborough, with a similar number of children having graduated. Another project was started in Dorset, 'Imagination Dorchester’, and this has been enormously successful through the unpaid efforts of its project manager Hannah Marsh, with 748 under-five children registered at the time of writing.
Staffing
With the winding down of the Trust’s direct activities, no staff at all were employed by the Trust. The small amount of publishing work remaining was done by self-employed contractors.
Donations
As reported above, apart from the two Imagination Library projects, the Trust seeks to achieve its charitable objectives by making donations.
The main donations during the year, totalling £160,000, were to Oxford Brookes University as the Trust’s final payments in support of Hamilton Brookes and its operations. Since the year-end Hamilton Brookes has announced a major research collaboration on a reading programme together with a US company and the Northern Ireland government. We believe this collaboration will help secure the future of Hamilton Brookes.
The Trust donated £40,000 to Marlborough St Mary’s Primary School so that they could build a Forest School within their grounds, principally to enhance the school’s provision for their SEND pupils (of which they have significant number). The structures are magnificent and the whole initiative a great success. Recently, the headteacher — Dan Crossman — and the school itself won national awards and the Forest School was highlighted as a factor in their success.
4
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
A total of £20,882 was donated to Trinity College Dublin to enable a continuation of the annual Hamilton Trust Summer Internship Programme in Mathematics. The Trust currently donates 12,000 euros each year, the 2024 donation total representing two separate donations which just fell within the same financial year.
There was also a donation of £10,000 to the charity ‘peeple’, a charity initially started by Hamilton Trust and which supports parents and children to learn together by training professionals and working with families. A measure of this charity’s national impact is that a majority of the 75 local authorities selected by the government to start Family Hubs have turned to peeple for professional support.
In addition there were a few other small donations made, as listed in the notes to these accounts.
STRATEGIC REPORT
Achievement and performance
Financial review
Figures for 2023/24 are not easily comparable with those for 2022/23 due to the fact that the transfer to Oxford Brookes University had been mostly completed by 1 November 2023. On the expenditure side, the Trust again donated significant sums (totalling £160,000) to the University to support the first few years of the transition but there was minimal expenditure on publishing. Total expenditure for 2024 was £308,816, compared with £815,620 the previous year. Income from donations by individual teachers as Friends of Hamilton this year totalled only £19,116, compared to the 2023 figure of £190,363, as Hamilton Brookes took over engagement with individual teachers for most of the year. Additionally, Hamilton Education — which has effectively distributed Trust products at cost in recent years — provided the Trust with no royalty income at all (£134,448 in 2023), for the same reason. The Trust received a total of £45,433 in income from its investment portfolio (£40,057 in 2023), and the sale of the office premises brought a gain of £289,890 above the holding value of the property. Overall the total income for the year was £354,439 (2023: £371,931). There was a net gain for the year of £213,376; this comprised a gain of £45,623 from operations, office sale and investment income together with an investment gain of £167,753 (comparable figures for 2023 were a deficit of £448,473, made up of a £443,689 deficit from operations and investment income, and investment losses of £4,784).
Reserves policy
The trustees seek to have sufficient reserves so that there is negligible financial risk to the Trust's nearterm plans. Specifically, at the start of each financial year the assets held in bank deposits and highly liquid investments should be higher than the previous year's net expenditure and also higher than the forecast gross annual expenditure for the next year less 50% of the forecast income from investments, grants and other revenue. This threshold is again comfortably exceeded, even more so as there is no
5
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
longer any large programme of publishing and related expenditure.
The Trust has a healthy overall credit balance (taking into account the liquid investment assets) and the trustees take the view that it is prudent to retain substantial reserves so that the Trust can make significant expenditures if judged by the trustees to be in the interests of the Trust or in supporting its overall objectives.
It is, however, also the case that the trustees would not want to hold more funds than was considered prudent to ensure the maintenance of a broad programme of grant-making over the next years, and so the trustees will continue actively to review the Trust's Reserves policy.
Brewin Dolphin are appointed to manage all the Trust's assets (other than the Trust holding sufficient cash in bank accounts for working capital). A low-risk investment policy has been agreed with Brewin Dolphin.
Future plans
Following the successful transfer of its operations to Oxford Brookes University, The Trust — by design — now has no employees and no office and the trustees do not plan to embark on any Trust-managed new educational project. It will though continue with the two Imagination Library initiatives in Dorchester and Marlborough. Looking to the future, the Trust intends to use its financial resources to make a number of donations — some of a relatively large size - to various charities over the next few years, above all in education and in the Early Years, selecting recipients who we believe can make significant positive changes from the grants we provide.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The William Rowan Hamilton Trust is a registered charity (number 115024) incorporated on 26 October 2012. The stated objects of the Trust are to apply the trust fund for charitable purposes, at the discretion of the trustees.
William Rowan Hamilton Trust's relatively few remaining operations are now managed by the Chair.
6
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number 08269877 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number 1150524
Registered office 2 Portland Road Oxford OX2 7EY
Trustees MRHJ O'Regan KW Brooks G J McMillan E JS O'Regan
Independent Examiner Sheila Parry FCCA SPX Oxford Ltd Peace House Paradise Street Oxford OX1 1LD
7
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES, RESPONSIBILITIES The trustees (who are also the directors of William Rowan Hamilton Trust for the purposes of company lawl are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and Ihe financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Praclicel. Company law requires the trustees to prepare flnanclal staiemenis for each ff nanciai year which give 8 true 8n¢J fair view of the slate of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and appllcation of resources, including the income and expenditure of the charlt8ble company for that period In preparlng those financial statements the trust88s ar@ required to Belact suitable accounting policies and Ih8n apply tham con$i8tently', observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP., makejudgemenls and estimates that are reasonable and prudent., prepare the financial statements on the going concern basls unless it Is inapproprlate lo presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The trustees are responslble for keeping proper accounting records which disclose wth reasonable accuracy at any tlme the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that th8 fin8ncial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 They ar8 also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charilable company and hence for taking reasonable stèps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other Irregulariti88. In so far 98 the trustees are aware: there is no relev8nt 8udit information of whlch the charltable company's audltors are unaware,. and the trust888 have taken 8118teps that they ought to have taken to mak8 them88lv88 aware of any relevant audlt Informatlon and to establish that the audltor8 ere 8w8re of that informatlon. INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS Th8 Independent Examiner, Shei18 Parry, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meetlng. Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trust888, a8 the company dir8ctors, on 14 uly 2025 and $Sgned on the board's behalf by M R H J O'Regan - Trustee
REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER TO THE TRUSTEES OF WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST YEAR ENDED 31 OCT08ER 2024 I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 October 2024 which are set out on pag88 10 to 17. RESPECTive RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRU8TEE8 AND EXAMINER The charrty's trustees are responsible for Ihe preparalion of the 8ccounl$. The ch8rlty'S trustees consider than an audit is not required for this year under seGtion 144{21 of the Ch8rities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination 16 needed. It 18 my r88ponsibility lo: examine the account8 under 8ection 145 of the 2011 Act.. to follow the procedures laid down In th• g•n8ral Dlr•ctlon8 given by th• Charlty Commlsslon undér 88Ctlon 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act., and to State whether particular matter8 have come to my attention, BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT My examination was caffi8d out in ac¢ordance with th8 g8neral Diredions giv8n by the Charily Commi88ion. An examination Includes a review of the accounting records kept by the ch8rily and 8 comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes conslderallon of any unusual Item8 or dI8cIo8ures in the accounts, and Seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any Such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide 811 the evldence th81 would be requSred in an audit and consequently no opinion 18 given a8 to whether the 8ccounl8 present a 'true and f8ir view, and the report is limited to those mgtlers sel out in the statement below. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'3 3TATEMENT In connection with my examinatlon, no matter ha8 Come lo my attentlon.. (1) whlch glves me re8$on8ble cause to bellev6 that In any mater181 re$p6d the requlrement8'. to keep accounting records In accordance with sectlon 130 of the 2011 Act,. and lo prepare accounts which Becrd with the aLxountlng record8 and comply wllh tho 8ccounllno raqulr&m8nts of th8 2011 Act have not beon met., Of (2) to whlch, In my oplnlon, attentlon should be drawn In order to enable a proper underslandlng of the accounts to be reached. Shell8 P8ry FCCA Date: 18 July 2025
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 Unrestrlcted and Total Unre5trlcted and Total 2024 2023 Notes Income from: Donatlons and legacles Charitable activities Investment5 Other income 19,116 190.363 134,448 40,057 7,063 371,931 45,433 289,890 Total Income 354.439 Expendlture on: Ra151n8 fund5 Charltable actlvltles Total expendlture 10,514 298,302 308,816 9,971 805,649 815,620 Net 8olns /-loss•$ on Investments 167,753 - 4,784 Net Income /-¢xpendltur¢ 213,376 - 448,473 Reconclllatlon of funds: Total funds brought forwards Total funds carrled forward 1,445,074 1,658,450 1,893,547 1,445,074 The notesform part of these financial statements 10
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 OCTOBER 2024 REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER 08269877 2024 2023 Notes FIXED A55ETS Tanglble assets Investments li 12 60,866 1,337,268 1,398,134 1,536,439 1,536,439 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors Cash at bank 13 92 123,127 123,219 12,122 42,059 54,181 CREDITORS: Amounts falllng due within one year 14 1,208 - 7,241 NET CURRENT ASSETS 122,011 1,658,450 46,940 1,445,074 NET ASSETS FUNDS INCOME FUNDS Unrestrlcted Income funds 15 1,658,450 1,658,450 1,445,074 1,445,074 TOTAL INCOME FUNDS The charitable company is entitled to exemptlon from aucjit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2008 for the year ended 31 October 2024 The members have not deposited notlce, pursuant to Sectlon 478 of the Companles Act 2000 requlrlng an audlt of these financial statement8. The trustee8 acknowledge their responsibilities for (a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records thal comply with Sections 388 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and preparing financi81 st8tements which giv8 a true and falr view of the 8tat8 of affairs of th8 charilable company as at the end of each financial y6ar and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in acGordanGe with the requirements of Sectlons 394 and 395 and whlch otherwlse comply with the requirements of Ihe Companies Act 2006 relaling to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. Ib) These fin8n¢i818tatements have been audited under the requirements of Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authoris6d for issue on 14 July 2025 and were signed on its behalf by.. MRHJ O'REGAN
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 ACCOUNTING POLICIES BASIS OF PREPARING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The financial statements ofthe charitable company, which 18 a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP IFRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: ststement of ReGommended PreGti¢e appliGabSe to Gharities preparing their accounts in aGGordanGe with the Financlal Reportlng Standard appllcable In the UK and Republlc of Ireland IFRS 1021 (effective 1 January 2019}', Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, end the Companies Act 2006. The flnancial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets. INCOME All incom8 is recognisad in the Slatement ol Financial Activities once the chariiy has entitlement to the funds, il is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. EXPENDITURE Llabilities are recognlsed as expendlture as soon as there Is a legal or constructlve obllgatlon commlttlng th8 charity to that expenditure, it is probable th81 a Irensfer of economic benefits will be reqLtired in settlement and the amount of the obllgatlon can be measured rellably. Expenditure Is a¢¢ounted for on an accrua18 bas18 and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular heading8 they have been allocated to activities on a basis con8I8tent with the use of resources. Grants offered subject to conditlons whlch have not been mat at tha year end date are noted as 8 commitment but not accrued as expenditure. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Depreclatlon Is provlded at the followlng annual rates In order to wrlte off each asset over Its estlmated useful life, Freehold property Motor vehicles Computer equipment 20/0 on cost 250/0 on cost 25% on cost TAXATION The charlty 18 exempt from corporation tax on Its charitable activities. FUND ACCOUNTING Unrestricted funds can be used In accordance with the charitable objectlves at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity Rastrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial Statements. PENSION COSTS AND OTHER POST-RETIREMENT BENEFITS The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the penod to which they relate. 12 continued
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Gontlnued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 DONATIONS AND LEGACIES Unrestrlrted and Total Funds 2024 Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2023 Gift aid income Friend5 of Hamllton Trust 4,184 186,179 190,363 19,116 19,116 INVESTMENT INCOME Unr8$trlcted and Total Fund$ ZO24 Unrestrleted and Total Funds 2023 Dlvldend Income Deposlt account Interest 44,457 976 45,433 39,624 433 40,057 OTHER INCOME Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2024 Unrestrlcted •nd Total Fund5 2023 Profit on dlsposal of fixed assets 289,890 289,890 EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2024 Unrestrltted and Total Funds 2023 Portfolio management 10,514 9,971 13
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continu8d FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2024 Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2023 Oirect Costs Grant fundlng of artlvltles Support costs 63,407 232,382 2,513 488,355 309,664 7,630 298,302 805.649 GRANTS PAYABLE Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2024 Unrestrlcted and Total Funds 2023 Oxford Brookes University Trlnlty College Dublln Hamllton Internships Peeple Marlborough Forest School Marlborou8h LItFest Marlborough St Mary's Emmaus Oxford Marlborough College Foundatlon Bursary A8reement Barton Communlty Larder St Andrews Parochial CCF Damers Mlddle School PTFA Dorchester Mlddle School 160,000 180,000 20,882 10,554 10,000 40,000 500 500 500 20,000 500 96,610 500 1,000 400 loo Total charltable activities 232,382 309,664 14
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - contlnued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 NET INCOME I (EXPENDITUREI Net inGome l (expenditure) is stated after Ghafging l (crediting) 2024 2023 Audltor's remuneratlon Independent examiner's remuneration Depreclatlon - owned assets 3.000 300 2,254 TRUSTEE8' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS There were no tru8tee8' remuneration or other benefits for the y8ar anded 31 October 2024 (2023.. £nil). There were no tru8te88' expen8e8 paid for the year ended 31 October 202412023.. £nil), 10. STAFF CO8T8 2024 2023 Wages Social securlty costs Penslon contrlbutlons 89,466 6.471 3,210 99,147 The average monthly number of employees durlng the year was as follows.. 2024 2023 Admlnlstratlve and support staff No employees received emoluments In excess of £60,000. 15
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 11. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Freehold property COST At l Nov 2023 Disposals At 31 Oct 2024 83,406 - 83,406 DEPRECIATION At l Nov 2023 Charge for the year Ellmlnated on dlsposals At 31 Oct 2024 22.540 22,540 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 Oct 2024 At 31 Oct 2023 60,866 12. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS Llst•d Investments Market value At l Nov 2023 Additions DIsP05a15 Revaluations 1,337,268 406,286 - 374,868 167,753 At 31 Oct 2024 1,536,439 Net book value At 31 Oct 2024 1,536,439 At 31 Oct 2023 1,337,268 There were no investment assets outside the UK. Cost or valuation at 31 October 2024 is represented by.. Llsted Investments Valuatlon in 2023 1,536,439 16
WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - contlnued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024 13. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 VAT Prepayment5 12,122 92 92 12,122 14. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 Trade credltors Accrua15 and deferred Income 4,241 3,000 7,241 1,208 1,208 15. MOVEMENT IN FUND8 Balance at I Nov 2023 Incomln8 resour¢•s Outioln8 resources Galns and losses Balanc• at 31 Oct 2024 General funds 1,445,074 354,439 - 308,816 167,753 1,658,450 1,445,074 354,439 308,816 167,753 1,658,450 Comparatlv•8 for movoment In fund8 Balance at I No¥ 2022 Incomlng resources Outgoln8 resources Galns and losses Balance at 31 Oct 2023 General funds 1,893,547 371,931 - 815,620 -4,784 1,445,074 1.893,547 371,931 815,620 - 4,784 1,445,074 16. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES During the year, there were no related paty transactions. 17