## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period**
Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year **From To**
## Section A Reference and administration details
**Charity name** Ustinov College Graduate Common Room **Other names charity is known by** Ustinov GCR **Registered charity number (if any)** 1164865 **Charity's principal address** Ustinov GCR, Ustinov College, Sheraton House, Sheraton Park, Durham **Postcode DH1 4FL**
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Joel Lozano|GCR President||Student Body|
||Artem Chuiko|GCR Treasurer||Student Body|
||Oleksandra
Mazurkevych|GCR Chairperson||Student Body|
||AnthonyJones|GCR Vice-President||Student Body|
||Mathilda Butler|GCR Welfare Officer|From February, 2023|Student Body|
||Abhinandya
Sengupta|GCR International
Students Office|Until April, 2023|Student Body|
||Adam Fletcher|Student Trustee|From February, 2023|Student Body|
||Katherine Schofield|Student Trustee|From February, 2023|Student Body|
||Tom Briton|External Trustee|Until January, 2023|Appointments Committee|
||RayMumford|External Trustee||Appointments Committee|
||Thom Addinall-
Biddulph|Alumni Trustee||Appointments Committee|
||Nicholas Cresswell|Alumni Trustee||Appointments Committee|
||||||
||||||
||||||
## **Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)**
**Name Dates acted if not for whole year**
**TAR**
August **2023**
1
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|||
|**Accountant**|Bryan Howarth|Design Works, William Street, Felling, Tyne and Wear,
NE10 0JP|
||||
||||
||||
## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
Joel Lozano (GCR President)
## **Section B Structure, governance and management**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
Type of governing document
Constitution and Standing Orders
- (eg. trust deed, constitution)
How the charity is constituted
Unincorporated Association
- (eg. trust, association, company)
Student Trustees and the GCR officers are elected at the Annual General Trustee selection methods Meeting at the beginning of summer by the wider membership in an (eg. appointed by, elected by) election process. The alumni and external trustees are both appointed by a simple majority vote of the Appointments Committee provided that the appointment of each Alumni Trustee is ratified by a two-thirds majority vote of a general meeting.
## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about:
- policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
- the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
- relationship with any related parties;
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
The current trustee board comprises five officer roles (President, Vice President, Chair, Welfare Officer, and Treasurer). Along with being members of the Trustee board, these officers also sit on the executive committee and head the general GCR committee, which governs the dayto-day activities of the GCR.
The Trustee board also has space for up to three alumni trustees, of which two positions are filled. There is space for up to three external trustees, of which we currently have one. The trustee board meets as needed or at least once per term. The trustee board also meets before the AGM of the GCR each year to approve the accounts before they are presented to the GCR body and ratified by a two-thirds majority. Trustees are recruited through the election or through being previously involved, in some way, with GCR activities. Alumni trustees were typically heavily involved in the GCR activities at Ustinov. Usually, alumni trustees and external trustees are sought out by the trustee board.
The Trustee Board's main objective is to ensure compliance with standing orders and the constitution. Both documents prioritise welfare support and enhance the overall student experience at Ustinov College.
During the last year, Thom Addinall-Biddulph, external trustee, acted as the Chair of the Trustee Board.
**TAR**
August **2023**
2
## **Section C Objectives and activities**
The GCR's objectives are outlined as followed by the constitution: "3. The GCR's objects are the advancement of the education of Students at Ustinov College for the public benefit by: 3.1 promoting the interests and welfare of Students at Ustinov College during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising Students; 3.2 being the recognised representative channel between Students and Ustinov College and any other external bodies, including the DSU and **Summary of the objects of the** Team Durham; **charity set out in its** 3.3 providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and **governing document** forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its Students; 3.4 promoting intercultural understanding among Students, informed by the College motto Diversitate Valemus; and 3.5 promoting ecological awareness among Students, and encouraging sustainable and environmentally-friendly behaviour, with the aim of improving the environment in which Students live, both locally and globally." The GCR has been an inclusive hub of support and enrichment for postgraduate students, fostering fulfilling experiences throughout the academic journey. Among our most important activities are: Welfare Campaigns: The GCR has consistently championed the wellbeing of postgraduate students through targeted welfare campaigns. Social Engagement: Our GCR has orchestrated various engaging and inclusive social events, creating opportunities for meaningful interactions among postgraduate students. From themed parties to our weekly pub quiz, these events are aimed to foster connections and forge lasting friendships with the students. **Summary of the main** Cultural Enrichment: The GCR has facilitated enriching cultural **activities undertaken for the** experiences through events and external excursions. These endeavours **public benefit in relation to** have allowed postgraduate students to explore local landmarks, historical **these objects (include within** sites, and diverse cultural offerings. **this section the statutory declaration that trustees have** Supportive Community: The GCR has created a welcoming and inclusive **had regard to the guidance** community beyond academic pursuits. By organising support groups and **issued by the Charity** informal gatherings, postgraduate students have found a network that **Commission on public** encourages personal development, shared learning, and mutual **benefit)** encouragement. Advocacy and Representation: The GCR has actively advocated for the needs and concerns of postgraduate students, acting as a voice to ensure their perspectives are heard and their interests are addressed within the broader university context. In summary, the GCR’s initiatives encompass comprehensive activities to support postgraduate students' well-being, social connections, cultural enrichment, and professional growth. By fostering a supportive and inclusive environment and facilitating diverse experiences, the GCR plays a vital role in enhancing the overall student experience.
**TAR**
August **2023**
3
**Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about:
- policy on grantmaking;
- policy programme related investment;
- contribution made by volunteers.
Section D Achievements and performance
**TAR**
August **2023**
4
Section D Achievements and erformance p After two years of lockdowns due to the COVID pandemic, this year the **Summary of the main** GCR, committed to fostering community, inclusivity, and social impact, **achievements of the charity** has achieved significant milestones across various domains, **during the year** demonstrating our dedication to inclusivity, engagement, and positive change: Exceptional Postgraduate Engagement: Our charity has successfully cultivated a vibrant and engaged postgraduate community, fostering intellectual and social interaction among scholars from diverse backgrounds and nationalities (Ustinov College is the largest and most diverse from Durham University). Our events, discussions, and collaborative initiatives have led to a thriving network that has been praised from students and staff. New Clubs and Societies: We are proud to have introduced a range of new clubs and societies that provide a wide array of interests. These include the Knitting and Crochet Society, providing a creative outlet for members, and the Pool Society, promoting friendly competition and networking through the game of pool. Volleyball Triumph: The GCR’s commitment to teamwork and dedication paid off as we secured the first-place position in the prestigious Premiership Volleyball League. Our volleyball team's outstanding performance not only exemplifies athletic excellence but also showcases our commitment to inclusivity and teamwork. Women's Football Team: The women's football team showcased their outstanding skills and determination by clinching victory in the Floodlit Cup. This achievement not only celebrates their athletic prowess (now for the second year in a row) but also highlights the power of teamwork and dedication. Largest GCR Committee in Years: With an impressive 22 active members, our GCR committee has demonstrated an exceptional level of dedication and commitment. Their hard work has been instrumental in organizing events, fostering connections, and ensuring the well-being of our postgraduate community. Impactful Welfare Campaigns: Our welfare team, led by the general welfare officer and comprising by women, men, BAME, and LGBTQ+ officers, has successfully executed a series of impactful welfare campaigns throughout the year. These campaigns have addressed critical issues, promoted awareness, and provided valuable support to members of Ustinov students. Social Events: We shattered previous records by hosting the largest social events ever recorded within our community. The Halloween Party, Summer Ball and Ustinov Day (formerly known as Ustinov’s BBQ) brought together a record number of students for memorable evenings of festivities and fun. Exploration and Cultural Enrichment: The GCR organized external trips to notable destinations, including Raby Castle, High Force Waterfall, and Lindisfarne Island. These excursions provided opportunities for cultural exploration, learning, and fostering bonds among students. In summary, the GCR’s achievements reflect a deep commitment to fostering a dynamic and inclusive community, promoting excellence in sports and academics, and actively contributing to positive change
**TAR**
August **2023**
5
## Section D Achievements and erformance p
through impactful initiatives and events. We remain dedicated to furthering our mission and creating a lasting impact for years to come.
**TAR**
August **2023**
6
## **Section E Financial review**
The charity’s reserves are maintained such that any complication with the GCR’s relationship with the university would not result in a deficit in the GCR’s accounts. This effectively results in a reserve of £70,000, assuming that any dispute would be quickly resolved. Similarly, this would allow the GCR to continue functioning were our income to substantially change within the period of one year. Reserves stand at £70,000, which is currently the required amount.
**Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves Details of any funds materially** Not applicable. **in deficit**
## **Further financial review details (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant about:
- the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
- how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
- investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
## **Section F Other optional information**
## **Section G Declaration**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signature(s)** Anthony David Jones **Full name(s)** Joel Eduardo Lozano Perez **Position (eg Secretary, Chair,** President Vice-President **etc) Date** August 15th 2023
**TAR**
August **2023**
7
TAR
August 2023
|**USTINOV COLLEGE GRADUATE COMMON ROOM**|**USTINOV COLLEGE GRADUATE COMMON ROOM**|**USTINOV COLLEGE GRADUATE COMMON ROOM**|**1164865**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||
|**For the period**
**from**|01/09/2021|**To**|31/08/2022|
**CC16a**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**14,220**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**14,220**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**14,220**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**14,362**
**17,309**
**-**
**435**
**-**
**32,106**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,106**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**14,220**
**-**
**14,362**
**17,309**
**-**
**435**
**-**
**46,326**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**46,326**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|UNIVERSITY GRANT|**14,220**||||||||**13,793**|
|INTEREST EARNED|**-**||||||||**5**|
|GCR LEVIES|**-**||||||||**494**|
|RECEIPTS FROM ACTIVITIES|**-**||||||||**5,247**|
|TRANSITIONAL FUND|**-**||||||||**-**|
|OTHER INCOME|**-**||||||||**11,426**|
||**-**||||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**14,220**||||||||**30,965**|
|||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**||||||||||
||**-**|||||||||
||**-**||||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**||||||||||
||||||||||**30,965**|
|||||||||||
|CLUBS AND SOCIETIES|**904**||**-**||**-**||**904**||**1,341**|
|COMMON ROOM|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|ADMIN AND WELFARE|**2,563**||**-**||**-**||**2,563**||**355**|
|INDUCTION WEEK|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|TV AND RADIO|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**456**|
|LICENSING AND INSURANCE|**2,175**||**-**||**-**||**2,175**||**3,332**|
|ACTIVITIES|**-**||**23,682**||**-**||**23,682**||**12,104**|
|MERCHANDISE|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|EQUIPMENT|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**369**|
|TRAVEL COSTS|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|ACCOUNTANCY|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**708**|
|DONATIONS|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|BANK CHARGES|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|OTHER EXPENSES|**5,578**||**-**||**-**||**5,578**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**11,220**||**23,682**||**-**||**34,902**||**18,665**|
|||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**||||||||||
||**-**|||||||||
||**-**|||||||||
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||||||
||||||||||**18,665**|
|||||||||||
||**3,000**||||||**11,424**||**12,300**|
||**-**||||||**-**||**-**|
||**48,900**||||||**97,048**||**84,748**|
||**51,900**||||||**108,472**||**97,048**|
1
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B1 Cash funds**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**|**Details**
LOAN TO UNIVERSITY
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
CURRENT ACCOUNT
SAVINGS ACCOUNT
CASH IN HAND
**Details**
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**51,900**
**56,572**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**51,900**
**56,572**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
UNRESTIRCTED
**1,500**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Thomas Addinall-Biddulph
Anthony Jones|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Thomas Addinall-Biddulph|08/09/2023|
|||Anthony Jones|08/09/2023|
2
(HARllY
(OMMISSI
Independent examiner's report on the
accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the trusteesl
members of
USTINOV COLLEGE GRADUATE COMMON ROOM
On accounts for Ihe year
ended
ST
31 AUGUST 2022
Charity no
{if any)
1164865
Set out on pages
Respective The charitls trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
responsibilities of The charity's truslees consider thal an audit is not required for this year
trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 Ilhe Charities Act) and that an
independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to=
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the
Charily Commission (under section 145(5}{b) of the Charities Act, and
to stale whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given
examinerfs statement by the Charily Commission. An examinalion includes a review of the
accounling records kept by Ihe charity and a comparison of the accounts
presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual
items or disclosures in Ihe accounts, and seeking explanations from the
trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not
provide all the eviden that would be required in an audit, and
consequenlly no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true
and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the
statement below.
Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention
examiner's ststement
which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect,
the requirements..
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the
Charities Act-. and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and
comply wth the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have not been met.. or
2. lo which. in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Date:
0810912023
Name:
B.H. ACCOUNTANCY LTD
Rolevant professional
qualificationls) or body:
THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTEREDACCOUNTANTS
IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Address:
363 WEST ROAD. NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, TYNE AND WEAR, NE15 7NL
IER
March 2012
Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.
Give here brief details of
any items that the
examlner wishes to
dlsclose.
IER
March 2012