2021-12-31-accounts - Alliance Francaise D'oxford

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Alliance Française d'Oxford Annual Trustees’ Report for 2021

The Mission

The mission of the Alliance française d'Oxford continues to be the promotion of French language and francophone cultures in Oxford. The decline of French and generally modern languages generally as a choice in A levels, and the current political uncertainty as to the future relationship of the UK with Europe, makes this mission all the more relevant today.

TEACHING ACTIVITES

Our Trustees and our management team reacted quickly to the updates in COVIDmitigating measures issued by the UK government. We were able to offer onsite lessons as soon as January 2021, faster than other Alliance Française in the UK network. The social distancing measures limited the Alliance’s capacity to teach full classes but allowed our younger students, who were keen to start learning face-to-face, back again on the premises. We are pleased to say we continued to offer excellent children courses onsite and online. All our tuition, from children to adults, continues to be delivered partly online to satisfy the demand. The global COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting changes in working and learning habits have clearly created a demand for online learning. Students are more willing to trust the quality of online lessons than they were before the pandemic.

In terms of student numbers, we registered 372 students (compared to 376 in 2020) and delivered 9491 hours of French tuition (compared to 8703 in 2020). We attracted 158 new students (compared to 115 students in 2020).

HUMAN RESOURCES

It has been a challenging year from the human resources point of view. The Courses Director and 3 teachers decided to leave at the end of July 2021. The level of demand for classes meant that the Course Director post had to be changed from part-time to full time, with a corresponding increase in salary.

We are the Alliance française d'Oxford

the charity whose mission is to promote French language and culture in Oxford

30 Polstead Rd, 1[st] Floor, Oxford, OX2 6TN

www.af-oxford.org

Charity Registration No. 1163206

New native French teachers also had to be recruited, and where it was previously relatively easy to recruit self-employed teachers to take up teaching assignments (before the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020), it has proven much more difficult to recruit qualified “French language as a foreign language” teachers not already employed elsewhere. After numerous attempts to recruit locally, the AFO had no choice but to start the process of obtaining a Visa Sponsorship Licence from the UKVI in order to recruit sponsored French teachers from abroad. This was done at considerable cost and use of resources. The AFO was, however, able to obtain a grant for this purpose from the French government, via the cultural service of the French Embassy in London, which partially covered the expenses of legal fees, sponsor licence status process and visas fees. After obtaining the licence, one French teacher was recruited in 2021 as a “skilled worker”. An additional complication is that the visa category for sponsorship purposes and the salary scales for “Modern Language Teacher” do not completely fit what our teachers do. More qualified French teachers are still needed to fulfil the demand for tuition.

The Alliance organised 8 training sessions for its teachers, thus investing in the quality of teaching which remains a priority.

EXAMS

The centre organised DELF exam sessions in person, despite the pandemic, and hosted 27 candidates in 3 sessions.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

We were pleased to notice that a record number of people (485) participated in our 38 events, 13 of which were free. The Alliance offered regular stimulating book clubs, online conferences & workshops (Women of French Impressionism, Baudelaire, War Poetry), children workshops & in-person cinema screenings. A highlight was the hosting of French and Algerian author Kamel Daoud in partnership with the Maison Francaise d’Oxford (MFO). This partnership with the MFO also resulted in 3 free online Café Scientifiques on diverse subjects such as migration, history of industrial poisoning, and literary topics.

We are the Alliance française d'Oxford

the charity whose mission is to promote French language and culture in Oxford

30 Polstead Rd, 1[st] Floor, Oxford, OX2 6TN

www.af-oxford.org

Charity Registration No. 1163206

OUTREACH AND GOVERNANCE

The Trustees were delighted to hear that the 2020 recipient of the A-level scholarship had successfully applied to read French at Cambridge in 2022. She said “ I got an A in French which I definitely couldn't have done without the help from the Alliance Française! Thank you so much to everyone at the Alliance Française for setting up an amazing scholarship programme and offering such interesting and engaging French lessons.” The trustees selected a new recipient of the Trustees’ A-level Scholarship Award for 2022-2023 out of 8 candidates This outreach programme strengthened our relationship with schools, in particular state schools, so we can continue to offer them services, events and training to this sector.

One of trustees resigned and the board successfully recruited two new trustees to join the team.

Finances

It has been a record year in terms of sales, but the £179,784 income was offset by an increase in expenses. The promotion of private tuition offered in Spring 2021 (in order to entice students to continue their online learning during the COVID restrictions) was successful. This meant that in 2021 more private tuition was purchased (rather than group classes). In 2021, 42% of the charity’s revenues came from French private tuition and more than 50% came from French group classes for all ages. The gradual return to onsite tuition meant we gained new children and adults who were attracted by face-to-face tuition.

On top of the usual main areas of expenses (teacher costs, salaries, and rent) the Brexit transition costs were a new area of expenditure (£8 763), which was not budgeted for. We received a grant (£3 000) from the French Government to help cover some of the legal fees.

The Treasurer also introduced a new depreciation policy. More expenses are forecasted for 2022. The lease on the AFO premises will be renewed for a 10-year agreement and a rent increase (the landlords have not increased the rent in 11 years) still to be negotiated, will be effective from July 2022. The price of utilities is also set to go up. More teachers will need to be hired to meet rising demand in tuition, some of whom will have to be sponsored and therefore the payroll expenses will see a significant increase. New planned investments include a refurbishment of the website which will encompass a course enrolment

We are the Alliance française d'Oxford

the charity whose mission is to promote French language and culture in Oxford

30 Polstead Rd, 1[st] Floor, Oxford, OX2 6TN

www.af-oxford.org

Charity Registration No. 1163206

system, data management, communication and event management system all in one, which should save money in the long run as the association will be less reliant on external apps and periodical redesigns of the website.

Early on in the life of the AFO, the Trustees took the decision to ensure a financial buffer and put aside a modest amount of profit each year for a rainy day, so that the charity is in a position to meet its forward obligations for 6 months at least in the event of an important set-back. This year, the AFO has a reserves account of £35 034.

The charity remains in a good financial position.

We are the Alliance française d'Oxford the charity whose mission is to promote French language and culture in Oxford

30 Polstead Rd, 1[st] Floor, Oxford, OX2 6TN

www.af-oxford.org

Charity Registration No. 1163206

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Aillan¢• fran441s• dDxford Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth• perlod fmm 0110112021 3111212021 Section A Receipts and payments Unrèstrfctod funds loll* n•ar• Rèstrlct•d fund8 Endowment funds Total funds LaB¢ yo•r tothp n•Drg•t£ toth• nBar• £ Al Recei ts SALES CWTABLE ACIIVIIIES BANK INfÉREST FECEIVEO Grant pandanC Gr•nl Brexit Spong0thiD Ucw¢e Granl IT- Web redesian 179.783 179.7e3 176,32D 29 3,000 2,1 1160 al1 Cr8dits 110 Sub total(Gross income forARJ In7a6 S.1to 1B4. 10Q751 A2 A5$9t and Invgstm•nl sales, See tabl¢ . Sub totel Totslrneoipts 179,786 5,160 1H94fy 180.751 A3Pa ments )ST OF SALES EklPLOYFE PAYROLL REMfAL EXPEEs WEBSITE AND IT COSTS TRAVEL AOVERllsiNG PAYROLL SERwcesi LEGAL. PROFEs&ofw MD OThER SERWCES EALS EKfERTAINMENf AND STAFF GIFrs OFFICE GENER4L ADK•NISTrAIIVE EXPE$Es PNTrNts, P&Tor)p1ER POSTAGE AP STAllONARY OTHEr¢ Qffico Wfuts$FnI expws0¥ Brgxit sponsorship Icéns• •nd vl$a 8pplknst fees COVID r4ated ex 69.862 05.897 68.081 17.481 3,184 SDS 19.050 1302 466 943 2.169 1,232 2,012 012 301 301 763 1.862 ns•9 Sub total 177,124 4160 182.284 101,170 A4 Assèt and Investm•nt purch8se$. Isee tabl•1 Audivlsual equl ment furniture tr and other fumlture 810 8ID Sub total 810 810 Totalp•yments 177.934 5,160 1•4 168,170 Netof rneelptslpaym•nts) A5 Transfern b•tW•8n funds A6 Cash funds last arend 1.852 1W52 12.581 62,211 64.063 62.211 64,063 49.630 end 62,211

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Re5triGted lund6 funds trt rwr•st £ Endowrn8nt funds Categorl•s Detalls towr•BI £ 81 Cash funds B8nk- Trent h£Cnt 28,9eo Bank - res•rves Ac¢MI 35.034 iiy C4sh 49 8r8xR SkKln8orshÈ Srydnl rotal¢ash fvnds 64,063 Unreotrfcted funds R•striLed fundi Endowment funds toooaipst £ DÈtails lo n•llroBt£ to nwAr4sl £ FLtyvJ towmch iu•t Detatls o•t l¢Oe411 B3 Inv•$tm•nt ass•ts l¢JptlrKl Ft0 vAichaBe•t belo Unrestricl Cwr•r& vdu• If¥rtl¢Thl 1,941 Detalls AWJIOVISL14L EQLIPEKETr B4 Assets rètainèd for th• charity's ¢)wn 9,749 Uttlo 7,154 1.596 IT an¢ Olhgr n1ct 1171 F¢ tty ¥vM¢h I1•Ilty relai•s DotaS1s B5 Liabilitles IWlrrfMII Irgtlonall S&ned by on• or tmslees on behalf of all the trustee8 S*Jnatur8 Prwt Nam8 Dat8 of approval CCXX R2 aOunt8 ISSI

ALLIANCE FRANGAISE D'OXFORD INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021 I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Alliance Franpise d'oxford I'the harity'l for the year ended 31 December 2021. Responsibilitigs and basls of report As the trustee of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordan¢e with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'Ihe ACVI. l port in respe of rny examination of the charity's financial statements carried out under sectson 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. Independent examiner's 8tatement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in ¢onnection wrth the examination giving me cause lo believe that in any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act," or the financial statements do not accord with those records., or the financial statements do not Comply with the applicable requirnents conceming the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities IAccounls 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 havg come across no other matters in connection with the examinat*on to which attentton should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper undersLgnding of the accounts to be reached. A Churchill Stone FCA DChA Mercer Lewin Ltd Charted UntantS 41 Commarket stet Oxford OX13HA 28 February 2022