2025-07-31-accounts - Atherstone Choral Society CIO

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Atherstone Choral Society CIO

(Registered Charity No 1163109)

Annual Report and Financial Statement

1st August 2024 to 31st July 2025

Atherstone Choral Society CIO

Annual Report and Financial Statements for Year Ending 31st July 2025

The Committee presents this report and the financial statements of the Society for the year ended 31st July 2025 in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.

Aims and Objectives

Atherstone Choral Society CIO is established as a registered Charity No 1163109 .

It is governed by a Constitution which was adopted in July 2015 and is reviewed periodically. Its objectives are to “educate the public in the arts and sciences and particularly the arts and science of music”.

Structure, governance and management Trustees of Atherstone Choral Society CIO

Pru Allington-Smith	Chair	Section representatives:-	Section representatives:-
Peter Raftery	Treasurer	Soprano	Susan Richardson
Elaine Meechan	Committee Secretary	Alto	Judith Palmer
Liz Powell	Concert Secretary	Tenor	David Smith
David Smith	Librarian	Bass	Michael Rowe
Rosemary Nicholls	Membership Secretary
Vacant	Publicity
Vacant	Fundraising
Vacant	Sponsorship

Membership is open to all sectors of the community with no previous experience other than a love of singing. The Society has maintained its membership with a regular attendance of 60 - 70 members each week.

In common with many choral societies we have found that our audience numbers have not increased back to pre Covid numbers with the inevitable impact on our concert income. This has meant that we have had to tailor our concerts according to our resources whilst looking for extra funding opportunities.

During our 50th Anniversary Year we have seen a number of our founder and longstanding members retiring. We miss their wisdom and enthusiasm. However, we have also been successful in attracting a number of new members to swell our ranks. We would dearly love to have more basses though and this section is working hard to try and recruit to their numbers.

We continue to try and attract younger people to our concerts with the under 12s being admitted free with an adult.

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Bank HSBC, 49 Market Street, Lichfield WS13 6LB

The Society is also a member of Making Music through which it arranges its insurance and pays its PRS fees.

Atherstone Choral Society CIO members meet weekly on Monday evenings during term time at Racemeadow Academy, Atherstone.

Review of developments, activities and achievements

Our 50th anniversary year got off to a great start with a social event for members and guests on the 20th of September. Many thanks to the team who put this together and the buffet was delicious. Choir members provided the entertainment and we made presentations to Kevin Gill and Bob Ramskill and also to Honor Soltys who creates our posters and programme covers with great artistic flair and expertise.

On the 9th of November we had our 50th anniversary concert in St Mary's church in Atherstone with a rousing rendition of the Messiah accompanied by the Beauchamp Sinfonia. The Messiah was the first ever work performed by the choir led by Bernard Powell in its inaugural year. The soloists were Alexandra Wynne, Tom Lilburn, Dale Harris and Andrew Randall with Darren Hogg on Keyboard/Continuo. We had a substantial audience and the evening was a resounding success.

Our Christmas concert was with Bedworth Brass, a collaboration which we hope will continue for many years. St Nicholas church Nuneaton again provided us with a great welcome and the evening was a sell out. If only the church were a little bigger. It was a wonderful concert.

In January we welcomed renowned singing teacher Christine Cairns to do a Singing Workshop with us on a Saturday. The day was enormous fun and very helpful. Christine is such a positive person and made us all feel good. We hope to have her back next year for another go.

The Spring term saw us knuckling down to learning The Dream of Gerontius, quite a challenge! Not all our choristers were keen to start with but it grew on nearly all of them. We were very glad that we had started our preparations earlier in the year. We had two joint rehearsals with conductor David Wynne and our partner choirs in Birmingham leading up to the concert. Our thanks to the Birmingham Festival Choral Society who led on the event and to the Coventry Philharmonic choir for sorting out the venue.

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Two weeks before we were due to perform Gerontius we had the awful news that Seb Farrall, who had often stepped in to take rehearsals when Kevin was away, had been involved in a devastating cycling accident. He died two days later on his 32nd birthday. We loved Seb, he was a great musician who was full of life and enthusiasm. His rehearsals were a joy. Seb left behind a wife and young daughter. In consultation with our collaborators for Gerontius it was agreed that the concert would be dedicated to his memory and that we would have a collection for his wife Fran.

The Dream of Gerontius was performed in All Saints Church Leamington Spa on the 12th of April 2025 with our partner choirs the Birmingham Festival Choral Society and the Coventry Philharmonic Choir and the Leamington Chamber Orchestra with soloists Louise Crane, Tom Raskin and Matthew Nuttall. Our own Kevin Gill played the organ and we were conducted by David Wynne. Before the concert I gave a eulogy for Seb.

The concert was amazing, the combined choirs made a wonderful sound and it is an evening that I shall never forget. £2590 was collected for Seb's widow Fran which we sent to her later.

In April we had a fund raising evening in the Mancetter Memorial Hall suggested by Kevin and Bob to help us finance the summer concert musicians. They gave their services free and we had a great evening of food, company and turns from them and choir members. We raised enough to cover the cost of the three musicians fees plus a little extra, all whilst having fun.

Our Summer Concert was held at Holy Trinity church in Hartshill and focused on Folk Songs and Spirituals. This lighter selection went down very well and we included two of Bob Ramkill's arrangements which we particularly love. Our very own Clare Abbott was our soloist in Rutter's Feel the Spirit and made a fantastic job of it. We were joined by musicians Nicky Fox, Julian Powell and Jim Griffiths with the Rutter arrangements tweaked by Bob Ramskill for their instrumentation. Bob, of course, accompanied us on the keyboard and we also had some duets on the keyboard played by Bob and Kevin. It was a really lovely evening and a great end to our singing season.

There are so many people who work tirelessly in the choir to keep us functioning and afloat financially. I would particularly like to thank everyone on the committee for their commitment, time and energy. I would also like to thank Mike Howell, who has had to step back from the choir for personal reasons but who has been a key support for rehearsals. I would also like to thank Peter Dean, our Stage manager who is helping us with our Health and Safety review and who has, as part of that, designed and sourced a new safer and much better podium for Kevin to conduct us from. Finally, as always, our thanks to Kevin and Bob for their superb musical leadership.

Our website has a dedicated members’ area for communications and information for members. www.atherstonechoralsociety.uk

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Financial Review

We ended this financial year with a healthy bank balance of £15,710.03, which was £1,743.31 higher than last year. While Expenses were up and Fundraising was down, we had carried forward £2,225 collected in May & June 2024 for our 50th Anniversary in September 2024 to cover the expenditure.

There was an overall loss of £848.70 from the four concerts.While concert income was up by £1,155, concert expenditure increased by £1,972. This included the cost of 3 extra musicians in the summer concert, and the Social Event in April contributed £441 towards these extra costs. Our joint concert of The Dream our Gerontius was budgeted to have a deficit of £3,296 but with increased ticket prices and sales, the total deficit dropped to £833, of which ACS only paid £208.25.

The cost of the Workshop in January was covered by a £500 donation and the cake sale, and there was a 5% increase in fees to Kevin and Bob for both rehearsals and concerts.

We are very grateful for sponsorship from LDJ Solicitors, ACSAP Building Specialists and MG Evans. A huge thanks to Liz Dandy who negotiated sponsorship with Chapel House, supplying an extra £450 in sponsorship this year.

One of our main sources of revenue is from Members’ subscriptions and we claimed £1,791 Gift Aid from HMRC this year. Members are encouraged to pay their subs by bank transfer which helps to reduce our bank charges.

Fundraising is crucial to the continuation of the choir and a huge thank you to all the people who organise and help with fundraising and for all the members who participate. Our fundraising raised an amazing £3,391 this year, £900 less than last year. This includes concert and weekly raffles, book, music, plant and greeting card sales, rehearsal CDs, weekly refreshments, Easy Fundraising and occasional cake sales. Mike Rees has now retired and we are really going to miss his 'Mile of Bronze' collected over many years. Our thanks also to Clare Abbott for leading on the Concert raffles.

Atherstone Choral Society CIO is conscious of safety for the members and the general public. Risk Management is carried out by the Stage Manager prior to each concert.

The Society has the following policies in place in accordance with the latest legislation. Safeguarding policy, Retention of Documents information, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, Data Protection and Retention policy, Copyright Compliance policy Social Media Policy, and a Reserves Policy.

The aim of Atherstone Choral Society CIO is to maintain enough funds to ensure the Society is able to cover any concert abandonment which is held in the Business Money Maker account at HSBC and gains interest monthly.

Signed on behalf of the Committee Pru Allington-Smith (Chair) Peter Raftery (Treasurer)

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ATHERSTONE CHORAL SOCIETY CIO

The independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Atherstone Choral Society CIO.

I report on the Receipts and Payment Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the Trust for the year ended 31st July 2025.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiners

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43 (2) of the Charities Act 1993) and that an independent examination is sufficent.

It is my responsibility to:

-Examine the accounts (under Section 43 (a) of the 1993 Act);
-To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under Section 43(7) (b) of the 1993 Act) ;and
-To state whether any particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanation from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
- To keep accounting records in accordance with Section 41 of the 1993 Act, and
-To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the
accounting requirements of the 1993 Act have not been met, or
To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

----- Start of picture text -----
L F Houghton MAAT Dated: 4th September 2025
121 Edinburgh Road, Nuneaton, CV10 9FP
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Atherstone Choral Society CIO Statement of Accounts for The Financial Year Ended 31st July 2025

Notes RECEIPTS Member Subscriptions Friends membership Concert income 1 Sponsorship for concerts 1 & 4 Fundraising income 2 Wardrobe, Pins & Pendants Gift Aid 4 Donations 4 Theatre Trip Workshop 3 Christmas money - K&B Dec.23 4 Anniversary money - K&B Sept.24 4 Joint Collection for Seb Farrell Money collected for 50th Social 4 Administration 5 Advanced Receipts - Anniversary money - K&B Advanced Receipts - Money collected for 50th Social Bank Interest Received (savings a/c) 7 Total receipts 2024/25 PAYMENTS Concert expenditure 1 Musical Director 1 Accompanist Rehearsal venue Fundraising 2 Wardrobe Theatre Trip Workshop Joint collection for Seb Farrell Gift for auditor 4 Christmas & Anniversary money - K&B 4 Seb - cover for Kevin Administration 5 & 6 Total payments Advanced Receipts - Anniversary money - K&B Advanced Receipts - Money collected for 50th Social Surplus(Deficit)for 2024/25 Brought fwd from 2023/24 Carry fwd to 2025/26	Total 2024/25 £ 8032.00 10.00 6382.29 750.00 3391.11 100.00 1791.39 1086.00 2617.00 0.00 2590.00 1140.00 525.00 1700.00 301.90		Total 2023/24 £ 8061.50 100.00 5226.95 300.00 4291.90 97.00 1636.49 576.00 2156.00 0.00 360.00 525.00 0.00 1700.00 80.64 251.43
	30416.69		25362.91
	7816.81 5209.00 3636.00 1620.00 408.99 0.00 2617.00 510.00 2590.00 60.00 500.00 220.00 3485.58		5844.34 4610.39 3620.00 1665.00 576.02 64.70 2147.00 0.00 0.00 60.00 360.00 660.00 984.34
	28673.38		20591.79
			525.00 1700.00
	1743.31		2546.12
	13966.72		11420.60
	15710.03		13966.72

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Atherstone Choral Society CIO Balance sheet

at 31st July 2025

Notes	Total 2024/2025	Total 2023/2024
6 7 7
	259.21 15421.71 29.11	£ 167.57 15949.81 74.34
	15710.03	16191.72
		-525.00 -1700.00
	15710.03	13966.72
	13966.72 1743.31	11420.60 2546.12
	15710.03	13966.72

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Atherstone Choral Society CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st July 2025

9th Nov. 2024	15th Dec. 2024	12th Apr. 2025	5th Jul. 2025
Messiah, 50th Anniversary	Christmas with Bedworth Brass	Joint Gerontius Concert	Summer Concert	Total 2024/2025
2170.00 426.03	1468.00 504.52		712.00 235.24	4350.00 1165.79
2596.03 72.00 0.00 91.00 250.00	1972.52 78.00 0.00 127.50 225.00	0.00 50.00 420.00	947.24 36.00 0.00 292.00 225.00 441.51	5515.79 186.00 0.00 510.50 750.00 441.51 420.00
3,009.03	2,403.02	470.00	1,941.75	7,823.80

Messiah, 50th Anniversary	Christmas with Bedworth Brass	Joint Gerontius Concert	Summer Concert	Total 2024/2025
448.00 250.00 350.00 90.00 1960.00 57.75 125.00 427.20	448.00 260.00 225.00 55.00 450.00 25.41 125.00 70.62 227.20	125.00 430.00 208.25	448.00 460.00 215.00 172.00 420.00 219.95 33.44 125.00 170.20	1344.00 970.00 790.00 317.00 2830.00 219.95 116.60 500.00 70.62 430.00 208.25 824.60
3,707.95	1,886.23	763.25	2,263.59	8,621.02

(698.92)	516.79 (51.48)	(293.25)	(321.84)	(797.22) (51.48)
(698.92)	465.31	(293.25)	(321.84)	(848.70)

The Rehearsal fees and Concert Fees for the MD and accompanist are shown separately, here and in the Expenditure Account

** Sponsorship is shown as Concert Income, but separately on the Financial Statements.

***For each concert there is a £125 contribution towards PRS Royalties made towards the cost of Making Music.

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Atherstone Choral Society CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st July 2025

2. Fundraising Weekly raffle, books & garden produce 100 Club Refreshments at Racemeadow Mile of Bronze Concert Raffles EasyFundraising/Amazon Smile Rehearsal CD sales Sale of Handmade Cards Quiz Night Social Raffles Cake Sales Planter's Stalls, Tombola & Car Boot Totals Surplus (deficit)	Receipts Payments Receipts Payments £ £ £ £ 483.82 681.01 923.00 400.00 952.00 500.00 354.18 8.99 170.00 20.02 150.00 387.56 672.18 599.14 101.35 154.22 150.00 144.00 0.00 61.15 0.00 527.20 354.03 0.00 112.55 0.00 90.00 615.62 56.00 3391.11 408.99 4291.90 576.02 2982.12 3715.88 2023/2024 2024/25

3a. Workshop

A Workshop was held on Saturday 25th January 2025. This was led by Christine Cairns and accompanied by Kevin Gill on the piano. A donation

of £500 was given to the choir for this event. Christine received £250 and Kevin received £260 and the hire of the hall was covered by the cake sale.

3b. Social Fundraiser April'25

The Social Fundraiser contributed £441.51 towards the costs of the three extra musicians. Kevin and Bob very kindly did not take a fee for this event.

4. Donations, Gifts, sponsorship, Gift Aid

Donations of £1,086 were received with grateful thanks, £500 was earmarked for the January Workshop and £170 as ticket sales
Sponsorship / Advertising of £750 is included in Concert Income

* We received Gift Aid of £1,791.39

In December 2023 we collected £360 for Kevin & Bob at Christmas and in June 2024 £525 was collected for Kevin and Bob for the Anniversary in September 2024. We had collected £1700 during May / June 2024 to cover the costs of the Anniversary Social in Sept 2024.

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Atherstone Choral Society CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st July 2025

	2024/25		2023/2024
Receipts £	Payments £	Receipts £	Payments £
420.00 20.00 700.00	506.47 108.20 0.00 0.00 68.32 356.72 0.00 0.00 430.00 118.87 1,638.51 500.00 0.00 258.49 60.00	75.72 4.92	533.13 125.79 0.00 0.00 68.32 8.32 0.00 48.00 0.00 125.78 0.00 0.00 15.00 0.00 60.00
1,140.00	4,045.58	80.64	984.34
	2,905.58		903.70

** We continue to meet for committee meetings in the Red Lion in Atherstone for free.

6. Tangible assets

The Society owns a keyboard with a cover, keyboard stand, keyboard stool, conductor rostrum and stand, all

of which are used for rehearsal purposes and stored at Racemeadow School. A small cupboard is used for general storage at the school.

The Society has a 4 drawer filing cabinet for the storage of music etc at Racemeadow School.
Two microphones and lights/bottle lights are stored at the home of a committee member.
The Society owns a laser printer/photocopier. A noticeboard has been purchased.
The Society owns two 'dollies' (flatbed trollies) for the movement of heavy items.
The conductor's podium has been upgraded as a result of a health and safety assessment and now has a
substantial rail and steps leading up to it.

For accounting purposes, we do not need to provide a value on any of these assets.

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7. Interest Received on the Business Money Maker (HSBC Savings Account)

During this financial year, ACS has received £301.90 in gross interest.

A/C no. 22119838

Date	Type	Description	Amount
20-Aug-24	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19AUG2024	26.18
20-Sep-24	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19SEP2024	24.91
20-Oct-24	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19OCT2024	29.62
20-Nov-24	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19NOV2024	28.13
20-Dec-24	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19DEC2024	26.99
20-Jan-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19JAN2025	26.33
20-Feb-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19FEB2025	26.07
20-Mar-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19MAR2025	23.70
20-Apr-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19APR2025	25.88
20-May-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19MAY2025	22.15
20-Jun-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19JUN2025	22.68
20-Jul-25	INT	GROSS INTEREST TO 19JUL2025	19.26
			301.90

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This is a print screen to show the balances on both HSBC accounts at 31st July 25.

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