Partners for Progress
Trustees Annual Report and Accounts
6[th] April 2024 - 5[th] April 2025 Charity no. 1187884
Reference and administrative information
Trustees
Charlie Mackenzie Portlock, Chair of Trustees
Joanne Philippa Taylor, Vice Chair (resigned 31 December 2024) Clare Middleton, Treasurer
Ondine Natasha Rosie Hohler, Secretary (resigned 16 January 2025)
Elizabeth Jane Rutter Louise Margaret Innes Matthew William Jones
Charity’s principal address
Loup House, Lyme Road, Axminster, Devon, EX13 5BH
Report of the trustees for the year ended 5[th] April 2025
The trustees present their annual report and the financial statements of Partners for Progress for the financial year ended 5[th] April 2025 in accordance with the charity’s constitution, the Charities Act 2022 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 2019.
Structure, governance and management
The organisation is a registered charity, number 1187884, and is constituted as an unincorporated association through a constitution document. The charity’s trustees and officers (chair, treasurer and secretary) are either elected to post by the membership in a general meeting or appointed by existing trustees, in accordance with our constitution.
Objectives and activities
In accordance with our governing document, the objects of the charity are:
“To support such general charitable purposes according to the law of England and Wales as the trustees may in their absolute discretion determine, in particular but not exclusively to advance education for the public benefit.”
More specifically our purpose and efforts focus on supporting education and community development projects in rural Nepal. The charity pursues a variety of activities in relation to its purpose including:
running an annual sponsorship programme which provides financial support to students at primary, secondary, college and university level, who would not otherwise be financially able to pursue education;
providing financial support to several schools and a vocational agriculture college in order to allow those institutions to purchase the equipment and resources needed to provide a high quality of education to their students, and also to help them maintain and renovate their buildings and train their staff where necessary;
providing funds for the annual salary of one pre-school teacher at Hill Top Heaven Nursery in Ghalegaon, Gandaki Province, Nepal;
partnering with local government and community groups to provide financial support for community-led projects that aim to develop local facilities that benefit the local community as a whole.
In pursuing our purpose as a charity, the trustees have had due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit when considering and making all decisions and will continue to do so.
This financial year we provided £3,800 worth of sponsorships to forty-seven students at primary, secondary and college level allowing them to pay for tuition fees, accommodation (where necessary), uniforms, stationary and other important resources. Students eligible for sponsorship are chosen by a collective decision of the staff of each school on the basis of their intelligence, discipline, work ethic, and financial situation.
We provided £1,635 to Kappurgaon Medical Post and £902 to Baneshwor Medical Post for the purchase of equipment and materials beyond their allotted budget, allowing them to provide as high a quality service to their catchment area as possible.
£2,000 was provided in two installments to pay for a pre-school teacher’s annual salary at Hill Top Heaven Nursery in Ghalegaon.
The vast majority of our expenditure this financial year was directed towards Laligurash Bright Future English Boarding School in the Dolakha region of Nepal. This was thanks to the extremely generous support of two individual donors who were keen to support the school. £10,300 was provided in 2024 to fund school lunches for all 213 students over the course of an academic year. A further £6,900 was provided in 2025 to continue this provision for a second year. £1,500 was provided for school uniforms and £4,476 to contribute to teachers’ salaries. We provided £6,450 for the registration and establishment of Grade 9 at the school which included official registration fees and one teacher’s salary for the academic year 2025-26. To conclude the support for the school £7,421 was provided for a raft of maintenance and repair work as well as the upgrade of school facilities.
Achievements and performance
Partners for Progress continues to go from strength to strength, this year reaching the highest income since its establishment, translating into its biggest spend in Nepal to date. Our signature initiative, the sponsorship scheme, has continued to empower young people to access education, a
fundamental step in opening up opportunities for young people in rural areas to thrive. We currently sponsor students at six schools but aim to reach all nine high schools in Kwholasothar Rural Municipality in the 2026 round of sponsorships. Increasing our reach will inevitably increase the impact of the scheme by providing students a helping hand to achieve their goals. The sponsorship scheme provides hardworking students with a flare for education, but little money to pursue their academic goals,a chance to fulfil their potential by removing the financial burden of access to primary, secondary, college and university level education.
Our provision of funds to both Kappurgaon and Baneshwor Medical Posts have provided desperately needed resources that support a broad section of rural society. Within the Nepali system, the government sets targets like the desire for all women to give birth within a medical setting by 2030 but are often unable to back up those targets with funding and resources. Our funding provided a whole range of medical equipment and other resources such as laptops and projectors for public awareness sessions, oxygen machines and heaters for maternity wards and essentials such as wheelchairs and ear, nose and throat examination kits. While our support in this area has only been minimal it has had a disproportionately positive impact as it has provided healthcare professionals with the resources they need to best serve the community, resources they might not have otherwise obtained.
Our continued support of teaching staff at Hill Top Heaven Preschool, namely by paying the salary of a member of staff, significantly increases the capacity of the school. The staff role that we fund is not covered by the government and so without our funding there simply wouldn’t be a teacher there or the capacity to give the children that attend the school the best possible start in life.
Undoubtedly, our most significant achievement this year has been our continued and significantly expanded support for Laligurash Bright Future English Boarding School. Situated in an extremely poor area and having been levelled by the 2015 earthquake, the school, prior to our involvement, had not
been provided sufficient funds to properly rebuild after almost a decade. With the support of two extremely generous individual donors we were able to continue the school lunch programme, ensuring students have the energy to engage and learn throughout the day. For some, this is the only solid meal they will receive. We were able to provide significant funding to repair school buildings, develop a child friendly playground and classrooms, provide menstrual resources for female students and teachers, open a new year group, contribute to staff salaries and provide new school uniforms. This has transformed the school into a safe and engaging learning environment, with expanded teaching and student capacity and improved resources. It has taken the school nearly a decade to find significant funding to help it repair, upgrade and develop its facilities and we have managed to help it do so.
Alongside our practical achievements in delivery, we have also continued to develop relationships in the UK with individual donors, Rotary Clubs, the WI, primary and secondary schools and social clubs to ensure we maintain a regular annual income to allow us to continue having a positive impact in Nepal.
Financial Review
At the end of the reporting period, and following significant income and expenditure, the charity’s financial position remains strong and stable with a total of £13,366.06 in the bank, £7,652 of which is reserved and £5,714.06 of which is unrestricted and available for us to use immediately. The charity relies entirely on grassroots fundraising in order to operate, rather than grant funding. This has been a conscious decision given the size of the charity however does not preclude us from applying for grants in future.
The charity continues not to have a formal reserves policy due to the fact that we do not have significant regular financial commitments to meet and so the financial risk to the charity is extremely minimal. However, we do have restricted funding of £7,652 for our sponsorship programme which allows us
to provide one year’s worth of sponsorships to the students we support should our regular donations to that programme fail to materialise.
This report was approved by the trustees on 10[th] December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Charlie Mackenzie Portlock Chair of Trustees
Partners for Progress Statement of Financial Activities
for the year ending 5[th] April 2025
| Receipts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship | £ 3,910.25 | |
| Donations | £ 27,564.25 | |
| Gift Aid | £ 3,635.42 | |
| Fundraising Events | £ 2,156.00 | |
| Bank Interest | £ 193.45 | |
| Total | £ 37,459.37 | |
| Payments | ||
| Pupil Sponsorships | £ 3,800.00 | |
| Grants and Projects | £ 39.685.61 | |
| Teacher Salaries | £ 2,000.00 | |
| Bank Charges | £ 186.00 | |
| Printing, Events and | ||
| Admin | £ 939.90 | |
| Total | £ 46,611.51 | |
| Excess of receipts over | payments |
-£ 9,152.14 |
| Carried Forward from | ||
| 2023/24 | £ 22,518.20 | |
| Balance at year end | £ 13,366.06 | |
| Made up of | ||
| Barclays Bank | £ 8,164.77 | |
| Dudley BS | £ 5,201.29 | |
| £ 13,366.06 | ||
| Ring Fenced Funds | ||
| Legacy & Collection | £ 5,677.00 | |
| Sponsorship c/f | £ 1,675.00 | |
| Forestry bursary | £ 300.00 | |
| Total | £ 7,652.00 | |
| Unreserved Funds | £ 5,714.06 |
This year’s accounts were approved by the trustees on 10[th] December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Clare Middleton
Treasurer
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees Charity Name Partners for Progress On accounts for the year 5/04/2025 Charity no 1187884 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 05 / 04 / 2025 .
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 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 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts 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 have come across no other 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.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Date: 08/12/2025
Signed: Name: Amy Hyde
Relevant professional n/a
1
Oct 2018
IER
qualification(s) or body (if any):
Address:
8 Batchelor Green
Southampton
SO31 8FJ
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
2
Oct 2018
IER