## **TRUSTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] OCTOBER 2025** 

**Preston Park University of the Third Age** (also known as Preston Park u3a) Registered Charity No. 1162594 

Principle correspondence address: 9 Lewes Mews, Arundel Place, Brighton BN2 1GR 

The charity is an unincorporated association with a Constitution adopted 4[th] December 2014 and revised at a Special General Meeting on 2 December 2021. A copy of the Constitution and all policies and procedures can be found on the Preston Park u3a website https://prestonpark.u3asite.uk/ 

The charity is managed by a Committee of Trustees who are appointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in December. 

**The Trustees** elected for 2025 were: 

Liz Rugg Chair Carol Jenkins Secretary John Curwen Treasurer Kevin Thomas Charmian Hartley Sara Piper Sue Barlow Julie Frayne Christine Hooper Co-opted members:    Heather Holford & Terry Careford 

**The charitable purposes** of The U3A are the advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work by all means, including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development. 

## **Trustees Report** 

We are delighted to be able to report on a really positive and productive year for our u3a. We have worked hard to try and make things better for all our members. For example, Christine Hooper has been responsible for commissioning First Aid training for a number of members in case of need and we are hoping to run another training session next year. New audio visual equipment has been commissioned for our monthly meetings and we now have a much more user-friendly and up to date website thanks to the really hard work of Carol Jenkins, our secretary. This is a great resource with everything folk need to know about our u3a in one place. We now have up to 500 people looking at it each month with up to 3000 views per month. Carol is also responsible for a lively and engaging Monthly Update. 

The success of our u3a rests largely on the Interest Groups that we offer and our thanks go out to all of our Group Leaders who make it all possible. Sadly but understandable after a long time, a couple of groups have come to an end this year but we have also seen a number of new groups start-up such as another French group, our Pickleball and Singing groups, Nordic Walking, another yoga group and a film discussion group to name just a few. Also a knitting and crochet group and an art group are just getting underway. We are always looking for new 



ideas and for group leaders who will make things happen. A special mention for John Colman for another terrific year of Heritage Visits. 

Christine Hooper has had a great year as our Speaker Secretary and arranged some fascinating speakers to talk to us. The Sound of Music talk was particularly well received. 

Membership of our u3 a now stands at more than 550 up more than 13% on last year. More members mean new ideas, energy and enthusiasm and more and different Interest Groups, so more opportunities for learning and personal development.  The rise in members was boosted by a really lively Open Day in September, organized very ably by our Interest Group Coordinators, Sue Barlow and Julie Frayne and supported by our secretary Carol Jenkins. The Open Day also matched many existing members with spaces in our groups so more of our existing members can now enjoy new activities. Most of our 60+ groups were represented on the day, ready to talk to prospective members, with several giving demonstrations to make it even more interesting still. 

## **Finance Report** 

The finances of Preston Park U3A are split into two parts; the income and expenditure of the various ‘interest groups’ that are largely ‘self funded’; and the services provided to the general membership, including the monthly meetings, that are funded by the annual membership subscriptions. 

At the end of the financial year, we have reported a deficit (income minus expense) of £7,903. Part of this deficit (£1,691) is attributable to the Interest Groups where the timing of payments hasn’t balanced with the timing of income. 

But most of the deficit (£6,212) comes from the general fund where we have spent much more in the year than the our annual income. This is entirely down to the planned investment of £7390 in new audio/visual facilities at Knoyle Hall which we announced at the AGM last year. This investment was made using surpluses built up over the previous years. 

We also spent money on First Aid facilities in Knoyle Hall and First Aid Training for a number of our members. 

Despite this expenditure, our funds at the end of the Financial Year still remain healthy: 

|General Funds|£2,981|
|---|---|
|Interest Group Funds|£7,663|
|Total Cash at Bank|£10,644|



Our membership has grown this year to 551 members and this has generated subscription fee income of £7,590 (8% more than the previous year). 

However most of our reported income, 83%, came from Interest Group subscriptions and Heritage Visit fees. 

Similarly, most of our expenditure is attributable to the interest groups in respect of hall hire, external visit costs and the cost of tutors. 

We also paid a net sum of £3,320 (£3,301 previous year) to the Third Age Trust for the provision of central services covering publications, insurance and IT services. 

We announced last year that we would introduce the option of Gift Aid to all members in respect of their annual subscriptions and we are pleased to report that 263 members have signed up for this option. The first claim will be submitted in the new financial year and fall into next years’ income. 

The consolidated Accounts for the Financial Year ending 31st October 2025 are detailed on the page below. 



## **Preston Park U3A** 

## **Financial Accounts Year Ending 31[st] October 2025** 

|**Income**|**2025**|**2025**|2024|2024|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Membership Fees||**£7,590**||£7,022|
|Interest Group Subscription||**£31,642**||£28,867|
|Interest Group Visit fees||**£10,826**||£9,543|
|Meeting Fees||**£928**||£1,024|
|Other Income||**£138**||£314|
|Totals||**£51,123**||£46,770|
|**Expenditure**|||||
|Hall hire|**£13,162**||£9,651||
|Speakers Fees|**£419**||£509||
|Refreshments|**£225**||£223||
|Postage and Printing|**£608**||£768||
|Subscriptions|**£3,230**||£3,301||
|Equipment|**£7,858**||£759||
|Summer Tea Party|**£284**||£272||
|Interest Group visits|**£9,865**||£9,778||
|Tutors|**£21,038**||£17,391||
|AGM Expenses|**£184**||£120||
|U3A Day Expenses|**£367**||||
|First Aid Training|**£684**||||
|Sundry Expenses/Donations|**£1,102**||£1,010||
|Totals||**£59,025**||£43,782|
|**Surplus /Deficit**||**-£7,903**||£2,988|
|**Balance Sheet**||**2025**||2024|
|Funds brought forward||**£18,547**||£15,559|
|Surplus /Deficitfor year||**-£7,903**||£2,988|
|Total carried forward||**£10,644**||£18,547|
|**Represented by**|||||
|Cash at Bank||**£10,644**||£18,547|
|Less Creditors|||||
|Total carried forward||**£10,644**||£18,547|



This report was approved by the Committee on 9[th] January 2026 


………………………… John Curwen Trustee 



Preston Park U3A
Independent EXan￿ne¢S Rewt tt¥ the Coundl of Manwent
for the year •ided 31 OctobK 2025
I report to the trustees on rny examination of the accounts of the above tharity {Charity Number
11625941 for the year ended 31st October 2025.
Responslbllftles and basis of report
The charity's trustee5 are responsible for the prepar*ion of the accounts in accordance with the
requirements of the Charities Art 20111lhe Act"). The trustees consider that an audit is not
required for this year and that an independent exaMI￿￿10n Is needed. I report in respect of my
examination of the Trust's accounts (arried out under section 145 of the 2011 Art and in carrying out
my examination. I halo followed all the applicable Directions giNEn by the Charity Commission under
section 14515llbl of the Art.
Independent examlnerfs ststem•
I have completed my examinatEon. I confim) that no material matters hwe come to rny attentlon In
connectTon wlth the examination which me cause to believe that in, any material respect..
l. the accountlng records were not kept in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act; or
2. the accounts did not accord with the accounti￿ records: or
3. the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements rnncerning the form and contert
of account5 set OLrt in the Charltie5 (Accounts and Repjrtsl Regulations 2LK18 other than any
requirement that the accounts gibe a 'true and falrf ¥lew whith is not a matter rnnsidered as part
of an independent examlnation.
I have no concerns and ha￿ come across no other matters in connectk*n wlth the examlnation to
which attentlon should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understandlng of the
accounts to be reached.
Name