**Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School ## **Trustees' Annual Report** _**The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School**_ **Established 1960 | Wimbledon-Putney | 65th anniversary year** **Registered charity number: 1179554** **For the year ended: 31 August 2025** The Governors of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School present their annual report for the year ended 31 August 2025 ## **Our Aims** The School has operated since 1960, teaching Polish language, history, culture and heritage to children between the ages of 3 and 18. On 18th August 2018 the School was formally registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association model). We are members of the Polish Educational Society (registered in England and Wales - charity no 1159980) which supports Polish education in Great Britain. In February 2019 we received confirmation of registration with HMRC, which allows us to receive Gift Aid donations, with effect from 14.08.2018. We are a relatively new charity; however, we have a 65-year history as a supplementary School. We promote and teach Polish language, culture, and traditions through a specially designed curriculum for Polish Schools outside of Poland, preparing our students to take GCSE and A level exams under the AQA examination board. Through cultural events and activities, we broaden the students’ knowledge of Poland and its heritage. We aim to create an ethos of being a community in which all students and their families feel at home, respected and involved. Many extracurricular activities are designed to bring Polish history, culture and heritage closer to our students so that, when they leave our School, they feel truly enriched. Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 1 of 7 **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School ## **Our objectives** The trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when setting the School’s objectives and reviewing its activities throughout the year. Our objectives for the year were to reflect our academic aims in our work, as well as our ethos as stated by objectives of a charitable organisation. We aimed to: - Offer a broad, relevant curriculum, helping our students to learn Polish language, history and traditions alongside achieving excellent end of year, GCSE and A level results - Broaden the curriculum through well planned and prepared extracurricular activities - Form good relationships and play a part in our community through organising charitable events aimed to help both local and national charities - Provide bursaries to families with financial difficulties to help with the payment of School fees - Provide relevant training for our staff - Strengthen our School community through events aimed to involve our parents in the life of our School, while fundraising for its needs. The Summer Fair and cake sales are some examples of these events, and they very strongly rely on parental involvement and turn out. The School continued to work with and benefit from support from Polish community and educational organisations, including Polska Macierz Szkolna, the Polish Consulate, Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska, Fundacja Wolność i Demokracja and the Instytut Rozwoju Języka Polskiego. ## **Achievements and Performance** The School continued to operate as a well-established Polish Saturday school serving families in Wimbledon, Putney and the wider local community. The School has a long history dating back to 1960 and marked its 65th anniversary in 2025. |**Area**|**Details for the reporting year / latest available figure**| |---|---| |**Pupil numbers**|
During the school year, our School had 544 pupils.| |**Class / year groups**|
Nursery: 18; Year 0: 32; Year I: 39; Year II: 40; Year III: 45; Year IV: 45; Year V:
38; Year VI: 38; Year VII: 41; Year VIII: 41; Year IX: 38; Year X: 46; Year XI: 46;
Year XII: 35.| |**Staffing**|31 class teachers, 5 subject teachers, 5 teaching assistants and 5 graduate
teaching assistants were recorded.| |**GCSE / Year 10**
**results**|46 pupils completed Year 10. Results recorded: 31 grade 9, 10 grade 8, 2 grade
7, and 3 results not known.| |**A-level results**|35 pupils were in A-level classes. Results recorded: 7 A*, 15 A, 2 B and 1 C.| |**Training and**
**safeguarding**|
All teachers and staff had Safeguarding Level 1 training. Several staff also
completed additional safeguarding, first aid, SENCO, autism, ADHD, health and
safety, Prevent, equality and diversity and related training.| |**Awards**|
14 teachers received the Medal of the Commission of National Education. Gold
PMS badges were awarded to Dorota Lewis, Anna Karaśkiewicz, Joanna
Wiktorek, Dariusz Wiktorek and Monika Zasadzińska.| Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 2 of 7 ## **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School ## **Activities, events and community engagement** - First-class induction ceremony and formal farewell events for graduates continued as regular school traditions. - Class performances and assemblies continued, including performances for younger pupils and events linked to Polish history, literature and culture. - Family Day was celebrated, with younger pupils preparing performances and inviting parents to participate. - ● The School marked its 65th anniversary in 2025 with a formal academy, a historical exhibition, a commemorative book and community celebrations involving pupils, parents, teachers, alumni and invited guests. - Pupils took part in theatre visits and extracurricular educational activities, including a theatre trip for Years 1-4 to see “Jaś i Małgosia”. - The School hosted guests including actor Artur Barciś and film director Piotr Szkopiak, supporting cultural education and A-level preparation. ## **Competitions and pupil achievements** - Three pupils represented the School in the first-ever Polish Oxford-style debate held at the UK Parliament, debating the motion “Bilingualism as a Key to Success in a Globalised World”. - Monika Marć achieved third place at inter-school level in “Dyktando o Złote Pióro Konsula” and was invited to the final in Manchester. - Pupils took part in Wierszowisko 2025. At the POSK final, pupils won distinctions and prizes, including second place for Lena Kwiecińska and first place for Antoni Mreńca. The group performance won first place and the Consul’s Cup. - Kacper Miarowski received a distinction in the “Być Polakiem” competition. - Competitions linked to the 65th anniversary included art and literary cards for the School, “Kartka z Pamiętnika Szkoły”, poster design, T-shirt design and other creative competitions. - Benjamin du Plessis was recognised in the “Ulice Wilna” painting workshops initiative organised by Polish educational organisations in London and Lithuania. ## **Administration, IT and Communication Improvements** During the year, the School continued to improve its administration and IT systems. Dedicated school email accounts were created for teachers, members of the Governing Body and administration staff in the new school domain. The School also began migrating documents to Google Drive to improve communication, organisation and data security. The School submitted more than 300 student ID card applications, supporting eligibility evidence for funding. The School also continued to maintain school records, improve communications and support the work of teachers, parents and volunteers. Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 3 of 7 **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School ## **Charitable and Community Actions** The School continued to encourage pupils and families to support charitable and community initiatives. During the year, the School supported the following causes and fundraising activities: - Macmillan Coffee Morning - Support for Nysa flood victims - Great Orchestra of Festive Support - Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy - this is a Polish Charity providing help in funding lifesaving equipment for hospitals in Poland - Christmas Jumper Day - raised money to support one family in need from our School community In total we donated £3.1k. The RKR / Parents’ Council continued to support the School by fundraising and by organising attractions and events for pupils. In the year they raised net £10.0k funds, which were used to support school needs and initiatives, including contributions to trips, educational activities and equipment. ## **The School Structure, Governance and Management** The charity is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association Model). The members of the Governing Body are the charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. The trustees are responsible for the overall governance, strategic direction, financial oversight, safeguarding oversight and compliance of the School. The School’s structure is based on three main pillars: the Headteacher and teaching staff responsible for education; the Governing Body responsible for governance, finance, administration and strategic planning; and the Parents’ Council (RKR), which supports events, fundraising and the wider school community. The day-to-day educational leadership of the School is delegated to the Headteacher, Mrs Maja Brodzinska, who led a team of 36 teachers and 10 teaching assistants during the academic year 2024–2025. The Trustees are elected by the parents during the Annual General Meeting or by the Body of Governors if a vacancy arises later in the academic year. The Trustees hold their position for 3 years and can be re-elected if they wish to stand again, in accordance with our Constitution. The positions are advertised to the School community and any parent can apply. The Governors work for the School wholly on a voluntary basis. The Headteacher, appointed by the Body of Governors, is remunerated. ## **The Trustees** - Maja Brodzińska – Headteacher - Dorota Lewis – Chair of Governors (resigned 29th November 2025) - Dariusz Wiktorek - Chair of Governors (appointed 29th November 2025) - Grzegorz Draguła – Deputy Chairman (resigned 29th November 2025) - Eryk Walczak - Deputy Chairman (appointed 29th November 2025) - Lucyna Rogowska – Treasurer - Monika Zasadzińska - Monika Gąsiecka (resigned 29th November 2025) Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 4 of 7 **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School - Rafał Borek (resigned 29th November 2025) - Monika Jablońska (appointed 29th November) - Angelika Damasik - Robert Mazurek - Agnieszka Szumlak – RKR - Daria Mroczek - RKR Apart from the teaching staff the School also employs an administrator and 3 duty officers. All but two trustees (Headteacher and the Treasurer) are volunteers. We give employment opportunities to our A level graduates, who can work as teacher’s assistants in our lower School. This is on a yearly contract basis. The Marie Sklodowska- Curie Polish Saturday School rents its premises from Ursuline High School in Wimbledon, London. Lessons take place during Saturday mornings, 35 Saturdays a year. The School year is divided into 3 terms. The lessons take place between 9:00-12:30. ## **Fees** Our fees in 2024-25 remained unchanged once again and were as follows: - 1[st] child £330 per academic year - 2[nd] child £290 per academic year - 3[rd] child £140 per academic year - 4[th] child and more exempt from fees During 2024-25, we offered help in the form of bursaries to the amount of £0.7k. ## **Finances** The total cash receipts in the year were £232.2k and the payments were £243.1k. The accounts are presented to parents at the Annual General Meeting which usually takes place in November and are prepared on an accruals basis. The budget for the next academic year is also presented and discussed giving the parents and carers a chance to have their voice on such matters. The School’s main income comes from School fees £156.2k. We also received support from The Polish Government, represented by ”Instytut Rozwoju Języka Polskiego im. Świętego Maksymiliana Marii Kolbego”, through direct support from its partners: “Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska” and Fundacja Wolność i Demokracja to the total value of £39.8k. In addition, we obtained funds from Easy Fund of £0.3k and savings interest of £2.7k. The cake sales and School fairs organised by the PTA brought in £10.0k net funding. Charitable fundraising brought £3.2k. Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 5 of 7 **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School The main expenses of the School are teachers’ salaries £146k and rent for using the premises of Ursuline High School in Wimbledon £32.0k. The School also provided School books for the students and paid for teachers training. The school acquired 43 computers for use by teachers and the school administration, financed by the The Polish Government. To emphasise the value we place on continuity for families, we offer discounts where parents have more than one child in our School. To attract and retain high quality staff we offer a discount scheme for children of those employed by the School. The Governing Body aims to keep the accounts with a healthy surplus to provide additional funding in case of unexpected events such as the need to find new premises and redundancy payments if the School were to close down. For this reason a reserve facility of £50,000 has been agreed by the board. ## **Plans and aspirations** The trustees’ priorities for the next reporting period include: - Continuing to provide high-quality Polish supplementary education for pupils from nursery age through GCSE and A-level. - Supporting pupils preparing for GCSE and A-level Polish examinations. - Finalising and approving updated policies, including safeguarding, data protection and employment-related policies, and publishing approved policies on the School website. - Continuing improvements to IT systems, data security, school email accounts and document management. - Maintaining financial sustainability through careful budgeting, grant applications, fundraising and review of the reserves policy. - Continuing the work of the RKR / Parents’ Council and encouraging parental participation in school events and fundraising. - Continuing to develop the school library and consider equipment support, including a computer to help automate library work. - Completing 65th anniversary activities and using the anniversary to strengthen the school community and preserve the history of the School. Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 6 of 7 **Trustees' Annual Report** 2025 | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School ## **Professional advisers and administrative details** |Bankers|Lloyds Bank| |---|---| |Insurers|Aviva Insurance Ltd| |Independent Examiner|Mrs Aleksandra Zakrzewska, FCA| |Contact|Mrs Maja Brodzińska, Headteacher| |Address|Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School, Ursuline High
School, The Downs, Wimbledon, SW20 8HG| ## **Approval** The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and financial statements, keeping proper accounting records, safeguarding the charity’s assets, preventing fraud and ensuring that the charity’s resources are used only for its charitable purposes. This Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the trustees on 20th June 2026 and signed on their behalf by: _Name_ : Dariusz Wiktorek _Signature_ : ______________________________ Role_ : Chair of Trustees Date: 28.06.2026 Charity number 1179554 | www.mscpolishschool.org | Page 7 of 7 (HARIIY COMMISSIO FOR ENGLAND AND WALE Marie Skhthwska¢uvi? Polish Saturday School Wimtylwn•rtn•y 1179064 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth• p•rtod 1JW2024 31IP12025 To Section A Receipts and payments Unre5trtcted lund$ Restrtcted lunds Endowment funds tunds si year tothi n•ar•st e rniTr#t¢ toth• Tr••rnst toth• tolh• M•rnstt A1 R•¢•l not￿1￿￿1 rI￿NarA8 Fundrats Grants and donaoons cxnw cnarrtatsbacDvths 155.rJg 19M99 155.759 19.099 51.51ts J.1 152.n3 9.691 $1 Jlo J,15J 7J4 AR) 51JID 23224F fBW. $¢¢ tabltl- roral rn¢elix$ A3Pa n¢9 ReTrl 5&25 134, 31,729 145.855 48.48B IM.85J E¢Utthnaiexw￿•JrO F￿ndrt￿ Other cnarrtab* aclvthk AdminMtraiNevA 11,759 4.508 3.814 2.885 4.n2 Sub ioial A4 As$•t and Investm•nt urchases see table btthi rot•1 pym8nts 214,864 2B.23S 3,￿9 203.$JS of roCWPtrfpaymont4) . A5 Tran$l•rs bthittn funds A6 Cash lund$ last J•ar en Cash funds this y•ar 34.128 23,27 10.863 14,608 126.816 160.091 160. CCXX R1 ncaiunts (SSI Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period UnrestrKted funds RestrKted lund5 EDdowry)ent fundJ Categor l)etails Bl Cash fvnd• 23375 Totsl cash fujjds 128fv18 •CfW*811 Unr¥itrict￿I hjnds tE Re%trKted fundB EndowrnRnt funds Details Pufid¥JtAfvkh BJ InNY•tm•nta•Mts lundb) Oetail 84 Assets retslnad for th• charftys own us• 15OJl•f Details BO U•blllti ££g SW tyonètYtr•)IrLNts#r Slonabjre Name Date of roval CJSI a FCCA 23.￿￿026 Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Marie Sklodowska£urie Polish Saturday School Wimbledon-Putney l ￿port to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Marie Sklodowska- Curie Polish Saturday School Wimbledon-Putney (rhe Trust) for the year ended 31 August 2025. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'the Acf). I report in respect of my examination of the Trusfs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have follovRd all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examlner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examinats'on giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act,. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concems and have come across no olher 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. Signed: Name.. Aleksandra Zakrzewska Qualification.. FCA Address: 16 Avondale Avenue, Worcester Park. Surrey lff47PD Date.. 28 June 2026