## **Trustees’ Annual Report** ## _**Blue Skye Thinking**_ ## **From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025** ## **Registered Charity Number 1158021** ## **Principle Address:** 66 Five Mile Drive Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 8HW ## **Names of Trustees:** Mr Andrew S Hall Mrs Sally G Hall Mrs Victoria E B Marcham Mrs Lisa Ruggles Dr Joanne Wilkinson ## **Website:** www.blueskyethinking.org ## **Contact Email:** contact@blueskyethinking.org **Contact Telephone:** 07795 485549 ## **Bankers:** Royal Bank of Scotland 32 St Giles’ Oxford OX1 3ND Account No: 11002339 Sort Code: 16-10-15 ## **Introduction to** _**Blue Skye Thinking**_ In August 2013, Skye Hall, aged 4, was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which had metastasised to various parts of his brain and spinal cord, despite showing very few symptoms over a period of just 4 weeks. Just 12 months later Skye died as a direct result of the side effects of the treatment, which included surgery to remove the bulk of the tumour, an 11 week course of Chemotherapy, 5 weeks of Radiotherapy, followed by high dose Chemotherapy. The disease was stable, but the rigorous treatment protocols which he was subjected to, led to his paralysis and subsequent death. In response to this, Skye’s parents, Sally and Andrew Hall, set up Blue Skye Thinking in order to accelerate research into the Research and Treatment of Childhood Brain Tumours, so that all children diagnosed would have a better chance of survival and a better quality of life post treatment. Blue Skye Thinking is a registered charity with the Charity Commission and as a Charitable Trust with the HMRC, and is governed by the Trust Deed dated 24 July 2014. ## **Aims and Objectives** To help promote research into the causes, cures and prevention of childhood brain tumours and to disseminate the useful results of such research for the benefit of the public. The relief of children who are suffering from a brain tumour by the provision of grants and financial assistance to provide equipment and apparatus to hospital wards, and support people suffering from brain tumours, their families and carers. Raising awareness of brain cancer as the number one cancer killer amongst children and teenagers. ## **Trustees** There must be at least three [3] trustees. Apart from the first trustees, every trustee must be appointed [for a minimum term of two years] by a resolution of the trustees passed at a special meeting called under clause 15 of the Deed. In selecting individuals for appointment as trustees, the trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity. The trustees must keep a record of the name and address and the dates of appointment, re-appointment and retirement of each trustee. The trustees must make available to each new trustee, on his or her first appointment: (a) a copy of this deed and any amendments made to it; (b) a copy of the charity’s latest report and statement of accounts. ## **Achievements and Performance** Blue Skye Thinking continues to be represented on key Medical Steering Committees representing the parent voice; these include the UK Children’s Genome England (Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership - GeCIP), SIOP-HRMB International Society of Paediatric Oncology, and Stratified Medicine Paediatrics. See here for further detail. ## **Research** In October 2024, Blue Skye Thinking announced a Research Breakthrough! In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Blue Skye Thinking and another parent-led charity called Little Hero partnered with Children with Cancer UK (CwCUK) to fund a focused research programme into medulloblastoma called INSTINCT MB. This 5-year programme, led by Professor Steve Clifford from Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, aimed to discover more targeted treatments for children, leading to improved survival, less severe long-term side effects and an improved quality of life. At the time, with lockdown, charity fundraising had been severely impacted and many important research programmes were struggling to get funding. The concern was felt keenly by many in the community, as not only does this delay life-saving research for a particular trial where a lot of preparation and planning has been invested, but it can also lead to specialist researchers being driven to seek alternative work, reducing the outcomes for so many areas of brain tumour research. After a number of discussions, due to the flexibility of our two smaller charities, Blue Skye Thinking and Little Hero were able to provide the first year of funding that allowed the INSTINCT MB programme to launch, with CwCUK in place to fund the subsequent years. We are of course delighted that researchers funded by Blue Skye Thinking have made their first significant discovery on the aggressive Group 3 variety with an MYC gene expression. This is nearly incurable using current therapies. The team have identified a key dependency in this type of medulloblastoma on a critical metabolic pathway for their growth and development. They have demonstrated that when this pathway is targeted using PHGDH inhibitor drugs in experimental models it can significantly slow tumour growth. It is hoped that this will be the platform for the development of new therapies to effectively target this high-risk cancer and improve outcomes for one of the biggest causes of childhood cancer deaths. This could not have been possible without the dedication and support of Blue Skye Thinking's supporters. We are so incredibly grateful. https://newsroom.northumbria.ac.uk/pressreleases/new-study-finds-kinder-more-targeted-ap proach-to-treating-aggressive-childhood-brain-cancer https://www.blueskyethinking.org/blog/watch-bbc-south-today-tonight-at-6pm ## **Campaigning** Such was the success of the fundraising ‘whirly whirly’ Donation Box at the Oxford Children’s Hospital, that we replaced it with a new one to ensure that there were continued funds raised for the Oxford Children’s Hospital Trust. It is a great reminder of the excellent work of all the staff who care for all the children so tirelessly on a daily basis, and it provides a reminder of the need for better treatments for the hundreds of thousands of young people who have to visit the hospital each year. ## **Fundraising** The majority of funds have been raised through regular Donations and individuals raising money through Sponsorship. JustGiving continues to be a popular platform. ## **TRUCK Festival** The TRUCK Festival at Hill Farm, Steventon, in Oxfordshire continues to be our single biggest fundraiser of the year. We continue to have an incredibly loyal support base who give so freely of their time, and without whom we could not run the stand. Not only is the Festival a valuable source of income, but it provides an invaluable opportunity to talk to people about the Charity and the work that we do. Once again we sold all our product before the end of the Festival and will once again increase stock levels for the coming years. ## **Reserves** A policy decision was taken by the Trustees, that before embarking on the sponsorship of any research projects, the Charity would ensure that the full sum of money was in place prior to commencement, to ensure that should the financial or political climate change, that sufficient funds were available to ensure that any project would run its full course. Hence, the Charity would always operate with reserves in the bank. Current reserves are substantial, and the Trustees are actively seeking worthy projects to support in the coming 12 months. Research projects are expensive and elongated, and as such significant reserves need to be built up in order to be able to fund these when they arise. A short 4-year project will demand reserves of between £120k and £150k. Grants will be made to worthy projects. Trustees will ensure due diligence. ## **Declaration** The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed: Signed: palapholl Signed: [eB lhambon Signed: Signed: Date: 18 January 2025 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Report to the trustees Blue Skye Thinking On accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 Charity no (if any) 1158021 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 311312025. Responsibilities and basis As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examiner's I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Date: 28 January 2026 Signed. Name: Abigail Aversa IER Oct 2018 Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): ACCA Address: Blundell, Station Road, Churchdown, GL3 2JR Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018 ||||||||||||**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**Blue Skye Thinking**||||||||**1158021**||||||| ||||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||||||||||||**CC16a**| |||**For the period**
**from**
**To**
Period start date
Period end date
**1-Apr-24**
**31-Mar-25**
ee
ee ee
ee|||||||||||||||| |**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||||||||||||| ||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**|||**Restricted funds**|||**Endowment**
**funds**||||**Total funds**|**Total funds**|||**Last year**| ||||**to the nearest £**|||**to the nearest £**|||**to the nearest £**||||**to the nearest £**||||**to the nearest £**| |**A1 Receipts**|||||||||||||||||| |Voluntary income received|||**27,951**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**27,951**|||**17,629**| |Trading activities for generating funds|||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**37,160**| |Interest Received|||**3,550**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**3,550**|||**3,104**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| |**_Sub total_**
_(Gross income for AR)_|||**31,501**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**31,501**|||**57,893**| |**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**
**table).**
**31,501**
**-**
**-**
**31,501**
**57,893**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_**
**_Total receipts_**
—~~————~~|||||||||||||||||| |**A3 Payments**|||||||||||||||||| |Costs of generating voluntary income|||**4,198**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**4,198**|||**216**| |Cost of trading activities to generate funds|||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**10,138**| |Administrative expenses|||**4,381**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**4,381**|||**1,697**| |Donations|||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||| |Depreciation|||**100**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**100**|||**99**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| ||||**-**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**-**|||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|||**8,679**|||**-**|||**-**|||||**8,679**|||**12,150**| |**A4 Asset and investment purchases,**
**(see table)**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**8,679**
**-**
**-**
**12,150**
**22,822**
**-**
**-**
**22,822**
**45,744**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**329,988**
**-**
**-**
**329,988**
**284,244**
**352,810**
**-**
**-**
**352,810**
**329,988**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**8,679**
**-**
**_Sub total_**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**_Cash funds this year end_**
—~~————~~
~~SSSS~~
~~=~~|||||||||||||||||| CCXX R accounts (SS) |**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted funds**|||**Endowment**| |**Categories**|**Details**|||**funds**|||||**funds**| |||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**|||**to nearest £**| |**B1 Cash funds**|**93,798**
**-**
**-**
**258,972**
**-**
**-**
**41**
**-**
**-**
Bank current account
Bank savings account
Paypal account/Fixed assets/ ( creditors)
**_Total cash funds_**
**352,811**
**-**
**-**
~~=~~||||||||| ||(agree balances with receipts and payments||||||||| ||account(s))|||Agreement Error||OK|||OK| |||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted funds**|||**Endowment**| |||||**funds**|||||**funds**| ||**Details**|||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**|||**to nearest £**| |**B2 Other monetary assets**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
===||||||||| ||**Details**|||**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**||**Cost (optional)**|||**Current value**
**(optional)**| |**B3 Investment assets**|—=|||||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
==|||| ||**Details**|||**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**||**Cost (optional)**|||**Current value**
**(optional)**| |**B4 Assets retained for the charity’s**
**own use**|**Unrestricted**
**299**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Fixed assets
====||||||||| |||||**Fund to which**||**Amount due**|||**When due**| ||**Details**|||**liability relates**||**(optional)**|||**(optional)**| |**B5 Liabilities**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
the trustees|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Unrestricted
28/01/2026
28/01/2026
Signature
Print Name
Date of approval
Andrew Hall
Sally Hall
——||||||||| CCXX R accounts (SS)