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← Royal Academy Of Music

2025-07-31-accounts

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Royal Academy of Music moves music forward by inspiring successive generations of musicians to connect, collaborate and create. Charity number 310007 Company registration number RC000438

MARYLEBONE ROAD, LONDON NW1 5HT RAM.AC.UK

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 JULY 2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD FROM THE CHAIR OF THE GOVERNING BODY 3
FOREWORD FROM THE PRINCIPAL 4
ABOUT US 5
GOVERNING BODY (TRUSTEES) 5
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM 5
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION 6
TRUSTEE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP 2024/25 6
HONORARY TRUSTEES 7
TRUSTEES REPORT: OPERATING PLAN AND FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025 8
MISSION 8
VISION AND VALUES 8
PUBLIC BENEFIT 8
THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION 8
THE ADVANCEMENT OF ARTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE 8
OUR COMMITMENT TO WIDENING PARTICIPATION 9
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING 9
STRATEGIC PLAN 11
MEASURING AND REPORTING SUCCESS 11
1.
Education		 12
2.
Engagement		 18
3.
People and Resources		 25
INCOME 29
BALANCE SHEET POSITION 29
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 32
STATEMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK 34
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNING BODY 35
SENIOR STAFF REMUNERATION ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25 37
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE ACADEMY’S GOVERNING BODY 39
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE 42
CONSOLIDATED AND ACADEMY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 43
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT 44
CONSOLIDATED AND ACADEMY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN RESERVES 45
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES 46
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 52

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

FOREWORD FROM THE CHAIR OF THE GOVERNING BODY

I have had the privilege of Chairing the Governing Body for a year now. Every single time I walk into the Academy I am struck by the energy, the optimism, the excitement and the extraordinary talent of our student body. But with this privilege comes the responsibility, with my fellow Governors, to work as hard as I can to provide our current students, and the next generation of students to come, with the very best help and support possible.

We are on the verge of a great transformation: the first conservatoire to have an East London campus; already with one of the few world-class theatres on our main site; and the only specialist university in the UK about to embark on a transformational capital project. This represents the biggest shift in the life of Britain’s oldest conservatoire since it moved to its current site on Marylebone Road in 1911.

What should a 21st century conservatoire look like? It would be housed in impressive buildings in the centre of one of the world’s greatest musical cities, with access to public transport and green spaces. It needs flexible, inspiring, practical and attractive facilities for the widest range of practice, teaching and performance, excellent acoustics and effective soundproofing, and access to topline technology. Our Collections would be on display to reveal our magnificent treasures, instruments, manuscripts and rare books, with improved accessibility for visitors. It also needs quiet places to study, and spaces that encourage collaboration and discussion, alongside facilities that match the talent of our students and optimise their preparation for a life in music.

What happens inside these buildings is what matters, but the facilities draw the best students and teachers here. Our transformation will aim to consolidate the Academy’s position as a global leader in advanced music education as a sustainable and realisable ambition.

On behalf of the Governing Body, I am pleased to present the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2025.

Sir Simon Robey Hon FRAM Chair

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

FOREWORD FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Music is a force for human good on every level, making sense of our humanity, allowing us to communicate and collaborate, as well as offering unending possibilities for health and wellbeing. It also transcends boundaries and politics, and nowhere more so than here in the Academy. That is why, for example, we launched the Elton John Global Exchange Scheme in 2022, heading a consortium of 12 leading conservatoires from all over the world actively to promote these principles. We encourage our students to think of themselves as being part of an international family from the outset. This is a central feature of our over-200 years of musical and cultural tradition, which began with our first professors who came from all over Europe.

One of the great assets of the Academy is the huge range of backgrounds and nationalities in a relatively small institution that creates a wonderfully diverse community with a vibrant atmosphere, and we have a proud track record of building connections with friends all over the world. We pride ourselves on being a musical environment which believes the world is a better, more creative and fulfilling place, with each of our students, staff and alumni doing what they love doing. Being a professional musician today can mean thousands of different things, and no professional journey is the same. Our students’ eventual destinations as musicians will mirror their own individual identities and interests. We encourage our talented young musicians to be flexible and receptive to any path that can provide them with both a fulfilling and busy career.

The Academy, as an eminent performing arts institution, is different from a university music department. Our students enjoy significantly more contact hours of teaching here as a specialist vocational institution, whether one-to-one classes, rehearsals, workshops and seminars, personal practice and concerts. This high-level education is expensive and our facilities to enable this are extensive and bespoke. Our capacity to offer this highly specialised learning environment is enhanced greatly by our dedicated supporters and successful fundraising team, together with the additional funding that the government allocates to reflect the Academy’s value to the creative industries, and the life and reputation of the UK.

Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE Principal

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

ABOUT US

The Royal Academy of Music (the Academy) was established in 1822 and granted a Royal Charter in 1830 (Supplemental Charter granted in 1998). The Academy is a registered charity, number 310007, and a company registered with Companies House, number RC000438. The Academy is registered with the Office for Students as a higher education provider, OfS: 0135532.

PATRON HM The King PRESIDENT HRH The Duchess of Gloucester KG GCVO Hon FRAM VICE PRESIDENTS Dame Jenny Abramsky GBE Lord Burns GBE Hon FRAM Sir Elton John CH CBE Hon RAM DMus Sir Curtis Price KBE Hon RAM HONORARY VICE PRESIDENT Alfred Brendel (died 17 June 2025)

GOVERNING BODY (TRUSTEES)

CHAIR Sir Simon Robey Hon FRAM (appointed 1 August 2024) DEPUTY CHAIR The Duchess of Wellington OBE Hon FRAM Lord Blackwell John Burgess Hon FRAM Ina De Alexis Ffrench FRAM Hamish Forsyth Professor Jo Fox (retired 31 March 2025) Dame Sarah Healey DCB CVO (appointed 1 September 2025) Peter Hesketh (appointed 1 August 2024) Rehmet Kassim-Lakha (retired 31 July 2025) Sir Wayne McGregor (appointed 18 March 2025) Dinah Rose KC (appointed 1 August 2024) William de Winton Hon FRAM Damian Wisniewski Hon FRAM STAFF MEMBERS Dr Cydonie Banting (appointed 1 September 2025) Gemma Waring Hon ARAM (retired 31 July 2025) Dr Christopher White ARAM (appointed 22 October 2024) STUDENT UNION PRESIDENT AND STUDENT MEMBERS Tiffany Qiu (retired 31 July 2025) Garcia Alves (appointed 1 September 2025) SECRETARY TO GOVERNING BODY Sandra Green Hon ARAM

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

PRINCIPAL Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE BMus MPhil Hon RAM FKC FRNCM FRCM DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Professor Timothy Jones MA DPhil LTCL Hon RAM DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Karen Di Lorenzo MBA MA Cantab ACMA REGISTRAR & DIRECTOR OF STUDENT OPERATIONS Catherine Jury Hon FRAM DEAN OF STUDENTS Professor Elizabeth Kenny MA FRAM DEPUTY PRINCIPAL (ADVANCEMENT) Kirsty MacDonald BA MA Oxon Hon FRAM

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

REGISTERED OFFICE Marylebone Road, London NW1 5HT EXTERNAL AUDITORS MHA, 6th floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU INTERNAL AUDITORS Azets, Exchange Place 3, Semple Street, Edinburgh EH3 8BL BANKERS Lloyds Bank plc, 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HB INVESTMENT FUND MANAGERS Cazenove Capital, 12 Moorgate, London EC2 R 6DA Pantheon Venture (UK) LLP, 10 Finsbury Square, 4th Floor, London EC2A 1AF HarvourVest Partners (UK) Ltd, 33 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6DN LEGAL ADVISERS Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP, Narrow Quay House, Narrow Quay, Bristol BW1 4QA Withers Bergmann LLP, 20 Old Bailey, London EC4M Trowers & Hamlins LLP, 3 Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8YZ

TRUSTEE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP 2024/25

AUDIT COMMITTEE Damian Wisniewski (Chair) Ina De Hamish Forsyth FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE Lord Blackwell (Chair) John Burgess Peter Hesketh William de Winton GIFT ACCEPTANCE COMMITTEE Sir Simon Robey (Chair) Ina De Dinah Rose NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE Sir Simon Robey (Chair) Duchess of Wellington REMUNERATION COMMITTEE Lord Blackwell (Chair) Sir Simon Robey Rehmet Kassim-Lakha SAFEGUARDING & SUPPORT COMMITTEE The Duchess of Wellington

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

HONORARY TRUSTEES

The title of Honorary Trustee is awarded to retired Independent Members of the Governing Body to recognise their distinguished service to the Academy.

Sir Rodric Braithwaite GCMG Hon FRAM The Rt Hon Lord Carnwath CVO PC Hon FRAM Robin Butler Hon FRAM Sir Howard Davies Hon FRAM Matthew Ferrey Hon FRAM Lesley Garrett CBE FRAM Sam Gordon Clark CBE Hon FRAM Lady Heywood CBE Sir Barry Ife CBE FKC FBbk Hon FRAM FRCM FGS Steven Isserlis CBE Hon RAM Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morrixe Dame Felicity Lott DBE FRAM FRCM George Nissen CBE Hon FRAM Timothy Parker Hon FRAM William Robert C Ogden Hon FRAM Professor Roger Parker Hon FRAM Laurel Powers-Freeling Hon FRAM Christopher Purvis CBE Sir John Ritblat Hon FRAM Dame Susie Sainsbury Hon FRAM Lady Becket Smith OBE Hon FRAM Sir Martin Smith Hon FRAM John Suchet OBE Hon FRAM The Rt Hon Lord Sumption OBE, PC, FSA, FRHistS, Hon FRAM Sir Richard Trainor KBE BA MA DPhil FKC Hon FRAM Anthony Travis Hon FRAM John Willan FRAM FRSA FCA Julia Yorke Hon FRAM

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

TRUSTEES REPORT:

OPERATING PLAN AND FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Governors and Trustees of the Royal Academy of Music present their Annual Review and audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2025 and confirm that they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the Academy’s Royal Charter and the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting for Further and Higher Education’ (SORP 2019) and Office for Students Accounts Directions.

MISSION

The Academy’s mission is to provide pre-professional, undergraduate and postgraduate musical training of the highest national and international standards, and to enrich musical culture by training and educating the most talented musicians.

VISION AND VALUES

Our vision is for the Academy to be the conservatoire of choice for top global talent aspiring to a successful creative professional career.

Quality and equality are at the core of our values, underpinning all of our activities. The Academy operates in a spirit of professionalism, collaboration and openness, and promotes an inclusive learning and working environment in which all students, staff and visitors are welcomed. We support students and staff in challenging and removing any form of prejudice or discrimination, and in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, which in turn enriches the teaching, learning, artistic and social environment.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The Academy operates under the terms of its Royal Charter and its Objects are ‘to promote the Cultivation of the Science of Music and to afford facilities for attaining perfection in it by assisting with general instruction of all persons desirous of acquiring a knowledge thereof’.

The Governing Body confirms that careful consideration has been given to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when reviewing our missions, aims and objectives, and in planning our activities. In these financially challenging times, charities must continue to show people how they deliver on their purpose, including how every penny makes a positive difference.

The Academy makes a significant contribution to the public benefit via our teaching, research, performances and other activities, in terms of the advancement of education; the advancement of the arts, culture and heritage; and our commitment to access and participation. We have expanded on how we have fulfilled our purposes during the course of these Financial Statements.

THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION

The Academy contributes to the advancement of education through our programmes of study; calendar of publicly accessible performances and research events; outreach events designed to encourage learners from traditionally low-participation sectors of the community to participate in music education and higher education; and the conservation, display, interpretation, and practical use of our collections to educational ends.

We are committed to providing a range of long-term outreach activities targeted at groups that are under-represented in higher education. This includes working collaboratively to raise aspiration to make music more accessible, through recruitment at all levels and the wide-ranging activities of our students, both in the UK and internationally. By taking music out into the community and providing high level musical tuition to children and young people, our Open Academy, Junior Academy and Your Academy departments reach ever further, raising aspirations, making connections and challenging preconceptions via a range of projects delivered with partner schools and organisations.

THE ADVANCEMENT OF ARTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Our core activities advance arts, culture and heritage by finding the most promising British and international musical talent and nurturing it through the delivery of world-class education and vocational training, producing exceptional artists who will shape the future of music in this country and beyond. We support the UK’s cultural infrastructure, generate development in the cultural industries, and provide international leadership in music:

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The Academy aims to enrich musical culture by:

OUR COMMITMENT TO WIDENING PARTICIPATION

The Academy is committed to making our educational programmes, facilities and expertise available to the widest possible constituency. In common with other leading international conservatoires, we mainly recruit students who have already achieved a very high standard in their practical discipline or show clear promise of doing so. Most successful applicants will have benefited from high quality individual tuition from an early age; some will have attended specialist music schools or a conservatoire’s junior department. Our Access and Participation Plan positions the Academy alongside other institutions and organisations working to the same end, to ensure that risks to equality of opportunity are recognised and mitigated at every stage of the educational journey, and we do this in partnership with other organisations. We intervene at key points along the whole chain leading from early recognition of musical ability through group workshop and individual lesson provision to develop that ability, on to conservatoire audition stage. We do not judge the success of our Plan solely in terms of student progression to the Academy: we accept, as valid outcomes, that many of the school-age students involved in our Widening Participation programme will enrol on other institutions’ music degree courses or decide against a career in music while still identifying strongly as musicians and continuing to perform or compose in their spare time.

We support students to make autonomous, informed decisions. This student-centred perspective reflects our institutional values and is central to how we evaluate our impact.

We are proactive in identifying those who would benefit from participation in the Academy’s activities, which include the work of Open Academy, Junior Academy and Your Academy. Many of our faculty also deliver high quality performance opportunities in the secondary education sector.

Our Access and Participation Plan and a summary are published on our website. Our five main objectives are to:

  1. Increase the proportion of undergraduate applications from prospective students in all significantly underrepresented categories.

  2. Increase the proportion of places offered to state school students applying for undergraduate places.

  3. Maintain the proportion of places offered to prospective students who identify as from the Global Majority and increase the proportion of places offered to Black British applicants specifically.

  4. Increase the proportion of places taken up by prospective students from low-income family backgrounds.

  5. Ensure that Academy students with declared disabilities or learning differences achieve the best possible final degree results.

Our auditions processes are designed to give all applicants the opportunity to demonstrate their musical attainment and their approach to learning more broadly, so that we can assess their suitability in the round for their chosen programme of study. We are sensitive to the context of our applicants’ prior learning experiences in our decisions to offer places.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING

We want our students, staff and visitors to value not only what we have in common, but also what makes us different. We want the Academy to be a place where everyone feels they belong and this is summed up by the term Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).

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While we are proud to have a diverse student body comprising a community of over 50 countries, we recognise there is more we can do to increase open access to students from all economic, social and ethnic groups.

The Academy strives to promote an inclusive learning and working environment in which all students, staff and visitors are welcomed. In 2020 we began a partnership with Blueprint for All, an inclusive consultancy who evaluated our activity and staff and student perceptions of equality in action. We have made significant progress in implementing their recommendations, understanding the impact of these changes, and future areas of work to sustain momentum, as shown in their 2024 evaluation Review and reflections of the DEIB Journey.

Our Belonging strategy is now embedded throughout the Academy and includes partnerships with Black-led organisations such as Blueprint for all, as well as supporting Students’ Union initiatives such as the Afro-Caribbean Society.

Students are active in researching, studying and programming repertoire from more diverse communities, through initiatives such as Students Create and Seen and Heard Festivals, and our curriculum has expanded to foster these skills in modules such as Diverse Voices and Diverse Programming. We prioritise the leadership of Global Majority role models and teachers through our choice of workshop leaders, teachers and mentors in our Widening Participation activity.

Our Belonging policy sets out the Academy’s values and the framework under which we operate. It also highlights the individual roles we have to play in ensuring the Academy is an inclusive and harmonious place to study and work.

We adhere to the Equality Act 2010 which aims to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation. We believe everyone at the Academy is responsible for:

The Academy’s primary objectives are to:

We are committed to creating the Academy as a place:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Strategic Plan for the period 2023 to 2026 was developed in consultation with the Governing Body, staff and students, and approved by the Governing Body in March 2023. Progress against deliverables is assessed regularly through the annual monitoring reports submitted by each principal study department and Programme Board, during the annual planning round.

MEASURING AND REPORTING SUCCESS

We are presenting our annual review based on the three themes of our Strategic Plan, below, and our Educational Strategy:

  1. Education

Offer each student the opportunity to grow and fulfil their potential.

Contribute to the musical world by providing outstanding education and training in music and promoting creativity and innovation.

  1. Engagement

Play a leading part in Britain’s musical landscape.

Provide appropriate access points from primary to higher education and in continuing professional development.

  1. People and Resources

Attract and retain the finest teaching and professional services staff.

Provide facilities and technology which enables staff and students to work at the highest level and towards a sustainable future.

Achievement of the strategic priorities is guided by our Education Strategy, which is to contribute to the musical world by providing outstanding education and training in music and promoting creativity and innovation. We aim to:

  1. Promote autonomous, independent learning

  2. Promote inclusivity of our programmes

  3. Enhance our learning environment

  4. Enhance opportunities for external professional experience

  5. Promote international mobility

Although many activities support more than one strand of our strategic themes and could be included within two or three of them, we have tried to capture them within the most relevant area to avoid repetition.

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1. Education

The Academy was founded in 1822 and for over 200 years we have trained versatile and resourceful musicians with the skills they need to optimise their professional opportunities. We continue to refine our programmes to ensure that students acquire the craft, skills, knowledge and experience to enable them to become independent, creative musicians who can make a significant impact. Alongside this, we foster a research environment that encourages collaboration between students and staff, promoting innovative creative work in all our taught and research degree programmes. Both of these rely heavily on the quality of our teachers, and we will continue to recruit and retain the very best, supporting them with professional development opportunities.

We welcome students from over 50 countries, which contributes to a vibrant and cosmopolitan learning environment, and reflects the global music profession. By continuing to raise our international profile, improving our student recruitment marketing, and building on our relationships with like-minded institutions worldwide, we aim to be the conservatoire of choice for the most talented young musicians . We believe that the mixture of students from different countries is a vital contribution to the experience and training that the Academy offers.

Music making is at the heart of everything that we do at the Academy. A key part of the student experience is the range and quality of artistic projects in which they work intensively with leading professionals. We prepare our students for the future by providing experiences that support their transition into autonomous professional artists. Our roster of visiting professors and visiting artists continues to be expanded and refined to enrich our students’ education and to ensure that our graduates leave with experience of the professional realities of a high-level career in music.

Our busy calendar of over 100 events each term offers young musicians diverse public performance opportunities, where mentorship is provided by our professional partners. During 2024/25 our students performed in a full calendar of concerts, productions and masterclasses, showcasing their talents not only at the Academy but also at prominent venues such as Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Snape Maltings. Every year the Academy creates performance opportunities that are second to none, from our renowned Piano Festivals to new music programmes, operas and musicals, to late night jazz; a rich showcase of the next generation of musical talent.

Across all departments, masterclasses and workshops are delivered by artists at the top of their profession, providing our students with inspirational learning opportunities.

Three key components of professional skills that our students need are developing their collaborative networks, developing the reach and quality of their work in the public domain, and understanding how their development as musicians broadens their employability. To encourage students to foster collaborative projects, we mount an annual Students Create Festival, which showcases innovative work. In January 2025, there were over 60 events in the Festival including more than 50 world premieres.

We also train students to develop their skills in curating their digital presence on social media and provide professional level opportunities in studio recording. We believe that taking part in recording experiences allows our students to chronicle their work, think independently for themselves and appreciate how their unique role can refresh the art form and communicate it as widely as possible. Many graduates take the studio skills they have learnt into their careers and form alliances with major labels – we want students to see this as an endless journey of discovery. Since 2012 we have partnered with world-renowned independent label Linn Records in producing exceptional recordings of some of the world’s most talented young performers, including notable work under Trevor Pinnock and Oliver Knussen. The Academy boasts over 50 recordings between its own catalogue and Linn Records, from 1996 to the present. On 4 October 2025 Linn Records released our Stravinsky Chamber Works recording, with Barbara Hannigan conducting a transatlantic ensemble of Academy and Juilliard School students.

Our Artist Development programme provides all our students with an intensive training in reflecting on how their developing musicianship affects their employability. In this way, we encourage our students to think strategically about their preparation for their future working lives.

PROGRAMMES OF STUDY

This academic cycle was particularly busy in the development of new offerings and the periodic review of our long-established programmes.

A periodic review of the Academy’s BMus programme took place in the spring term of 2025. The programme was commended by the review panel as a rigorous, intense and very well-supported programme, clearly delivering its intended learning outcomes and providing strong wellbeing provision for students. The panel spent time with a group of students, to discuss themes such as workload, performance opportunities, assessment types, use of Artificial Intelligence tools and general resources. Some approved changes and enhancements to the programme include new strands for Analytical Skills 2; changes to assessments in Aural Skills, Contexts for Performance and Chamber Music; and a number of wider changes to Artist Development.

During the year some changes to the post-masters diplomas were approved by the Academic Board. The Professional Diploma remains as originally configured and apart from a change of name, the opera course also continues as the Advanced Opera Diploma. Instead of the existing one-year Advanced Diploma in Performance, we are now offering two distinct courses including

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an option for composers: a one-year Advanced Artist Diploma (AAD) and a two-year Advanced Professional Diploma (APD). The APD will also be open, as a one-year course, to outstanding students who have completed the Professional Diploma. All three of the advanced diplomas are level 8 of the FHEQ, which is of particular value to students when qualifications at this level are accepted as the prerequisite (alongside PhD/DMA) for conservatoire teaching positions. The AAD is for a select group of instrumentalists at the highest level and the cohort will be limited to a maximum of four students each year. Successful applicants will be ready to take full advantage of a recording opportunity with world-class production and special release arrangements on major streaming platforms and/or record labels. The course will support development of a range of industry-related skills with mentoring provided, in addition to one-to-one lessons. There is a more specifically professional focus to the intended learning outcomes of the new APD, for students with a strong collaborative and/or orchestral focus, to meet the needs of late-stage highlevel students more precisely.

Reports from External Examiners were positive and stated ‘I remain extremely impressed by the range, depth and challenge this programme presents. The sector-leading practical tuition which comprises the heart of the programme is enriched by a broad portfolio of supporting modules, which are clearly designed to interweave with and reinforce the practical element, thanks to the wide range of elective modules, and these also provide an opportunity to specialise in areas that were introduced in broader terms earlier in the sequence.’ ‘The three pillars of the BMus programme (Artistry, Belonging and Challenge) are clearly supported and developed through the range of activities offered and required across the four years. The balance of principal study activity and electives is well-judged, offering students clear pathways through their programme, with the possibility to specialise in particular areas if they wish. The range of electives is keeping up with the changing landscape of the music profession.’ ‘Students continue to benefit from teaching of a notably high level, working with active professionals at the top of their field in their principal study activity as well as in their supporting activity and electives.’

Our Artist Development programme complements our principal study departments, preparing students to graduate as creative, adaptable musicians. Life for young artists has always been a challenge, and the pandemic has made it harder to have a career in music, especially when starting out. Our students need to have confidence and imagination to build and sustain their presence in a fast-evolving profession. Through our Artist Development programme we aim to empower students to develop distinct artistic identities and cultivate productive industry relationships before graduation. Practical business skills prepare students for managing diverse portfolio careers. Many donors support this programme to directly help students build their careers through hands-on experience with partners across the arts sector.

Students are active in researching, studying and programming repertoire from more diverse communities, through initiatives such as Students Create and Seen and Heard Festivals, and our curriculum has expanded to foster these skills in modules such as Diverse Voices and Diverse Programming. We prioritise the leadership of Global Majority role models and teachers through our choice of workshop leaders, teachers and mentors in our Widening Participation activity.

We are in the process of developing and approving a range of revisions to programme content and assessment criteria to take account of the new opportunities provided by AI. This is being done in conjunction with revisions to areas of the Regulations, and in cross-programme discussions with members of the undergraduate and postgraduate teams. The marked rise in student engagement with AI tools has prompted a more nuanced awareness of the importance of ‘ownership’ and individuality that will be woven into teaching and assessment. New and continuing students will be required to develop awareness of the potential benefits and critical dangers of using the currently available tools and directed to appropriate strategies for communicating this in assessments, and in material published.

As the importance of participatory and community music programmes continues to grow both in the UK and internationally, it is crucial that our students have the opportunity to obtain skills and experience in this exciting and expanding area of work. Open Academy electives are available at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, offering seminars and workshops alongside hands-on experience in the field. We also offer fellowships to graduating students who will be the future leaders of this work.

Widening access and equity of opportunity are important values throughout the Academy, from the youngest ages (4 upwards) through to PhD and early career Fellowships. Student representation on communities such as

Staff-Student Liaison Committee, Access and Participation Committee, Belonging, E-Learning, and Museum and Library keeps this area of work under constant review. Regular student feedback forms part of our annual monitoring of the BMus, BMus Jazz and Postgraduate pathways. These mechanisms have enabled us to review our teaching materials and methods, in response to strong motivation from students and staff to tailor study towards individual career pathways that have relevance in the contemporary world. Our teaching qualification, the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, has broadened its scope to reflect more contemporary teaching situations in groups, schools, and via Music Education Hubs, rather than remaining within the private studio.

RESEARCH

A further year of non-recurrent grant funding from Research England has enabled us to continue to invest strategically in professionalising the support for our research community. Our Research Office continues to have an immediate and transformative effect on our ability to capture and trace research data and increase the number of external grant applications. In 2024/25 the work of the Research Office included:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Research Office also trialled a PhD Conference Support scheme to enable doctoral researchers to share their work externally at conferences, where attendance will strongly benefit the research. Through this process, nine conference presentations were given by Academy doctoral students across six different conferences (three UK-based and three international conferences).

Emily Kilpatrick and Roy Howat, Presto Music Award for edition of 15 songs for voice and piano by Fauré.

Alyn Shipton, The Gerry Mulligan 1950s Quartets Certificate of Merit from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

Academy researchers celebrated in ASRC Certificate of Merit and Presto Music Awards

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

Throughout its history the Academy has had deep and wide connections throughout the music industry and knowledge exchange has therefore been part of our DNA for 200 years. Following the establishment of a Knowledge Exchange (KE) Committee in 2022/23, we have continued to formalise data gathering activities and the training of academic staff in identifying KE potential in all areas of delivery.

A highlight of this year’s KE activities has been Joanna MacGregor’s project in collaboration with the British Film Institute to compose and perform soundtracks to silent Sherlock Holmes films from the early 20th Century. These were premiered at a gala event at Alexandra Palace in October 2024. Peter Sheppard-Skaerved’s collaborative work with leading museums included the Metropolitan Museum New York and the Ashmolean Museum on the public interpretation of historical instruments.

As one of the four Royal Schools of Music – Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – we continue to work closely with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) in refining its educational offerings. The ABRSM supports learners and empowers teachers who help build musical skills, and advocates for music and its many forms, playing its part to ensure the future of music education and its place in society.

STUDENT WELLBEING

In a volatile and competitive industry, young musicians will have their mental resilience tested. This is a lifelong challenge for musicians: students go on to manage freelance careers and need intellectual, emotional and physical flexibility in order to do so. We want our students to make the most of their time at the Academy and to develop the ability to sustain and cherish their joy in music-making as well as having well-balanced careers.

Pastoral care is built into the fabric of a conservatoire and must respond to the evolving needs of students, and we are able to connect pastoral, financial and learning/mental health support very quickly when needed. Our series of student wellbeing sessions include mental and physical health, performance-related issues, drugs, alcohol, and sexual consent. The postgraduate provision is

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

organised around themes and issues, in collaboration with the Students’ Union. Sessions include negotiating contracts and relationships with promoters and sponsors, sexual harassment, alcohol and other topics.

Thanks to the commitment of our donors, support for students’ wellbeing and mental health has been transformed over the last five years. Formerly a team of just two Counsellors and a Disability Advisor, our support structure includes accredited counsellors, therapists, specialists in Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais (which develop musicians’ understanding of their connected physical and psychological needs), a Disability Advisor and Additional Support Tutor. Our Psychological Support Services now have a more sophisticated clinical database which enables the team to manage larger numbers of registrants efficiently and confidentially. The system also enables analysis of data so that we can monitor and evaluate the services, ensuring we spend our resources where they are most needed.

The Counselling team has since the Covid-19 pandemic, moved back to an in-person model at the request of students and staff.

UK undergraduate tuition was set by the government at £9,250 per year, and with the cost of living in London, a UK student needs more than £24,000 annually to study at the Academy. International fees are even higher: £28,250 per year for undergraduates and up to £37,000 for postgraduates in 2024/25. The offer of financial support is often a deciding factor for a young musician being able to accept their place at the Academy; only a small proportion of our outstanding students could afford to attend if it weren’t for the scholarships and bursaries that our supporters help to fund.

Many students rely on income from professional engagements and other work to support their studies. The Philanthropy team launched a fundraising campaign, the Response Fund, during 2019/20, which continues to distribute funds to students experiencing financial hardship.

In 2024/25, 642 students, 82% of our students were supported by a scholarships or bursary, just over half of which were funded by philanthropy. The offer of a scholarship or bursary enables our students to focus on their artistic development without added financial pressure.

Financial support in the form of bursaries and merit-based scholarships is provided to enable the very best students to study at the Academy, regardless of their background. Academy students received £5.8m in financial support during 2024/25 (£6.0m 2023/24).

Since 2007 the Academy has been working with the London South Bank University on a long-term project to address concerns about students’ hearing which involves hearing tests and instrument-specific advice on hearing protection. The Academy provides earplugs free of charge to students and factors sound exposure and noise issues into room scheduling.

STUDENT UNION

The Royal Academy of Music Students’ Union (RAMSU) is an unincorporated association, an independent group run by and for our students, funded by an annual grant from the Academy for its work in supporting students. RAMSU plays a key role in Academy life by supporting and advancing the wellbeing of all our students, offering advice and representation, and maintaining the inclusive community for which the Academy is known, through social events, activities and collaborative projects.

The President of the Students’ Union is a member of the Governing Body and a range of committees, initiatives, and the Business Continuity Group, which is vital for understanding and addressing our students’ needs, and in improving communication.

SENIOR ACADEMY

Recruitment to all the Academy’s programmes remains strong, with a far larger number of high-quality applicants than there are places on offer. Entrance is via a combination of competitive auditions (performers and conductors) or interview/portfolio submission (composers) and the fulfilment of relevant academic entry requirements. Although our admissions procedures are highly competitive, at undergraduate level we audition every candidate who applies without exception. We offer live auditions in London and at some international centres and accept video auditions from candidates who are unable to travel to those centres to audition. The Admissions Board oversees the process to ensure that all applicants receive a fair hearing regardless of the means by which the audition takes place.

Offer-making decisions are undertaken by experienced and suitably trained professionals who understand and are invested in our institutional strategy regarding widening participation.

During the autumn term we have ‘Discovery Events’ where prospective students can gain an insight into the area of study that interests them, attend performances, lessons and masterclasses, and meet staff and students, and look around the facilities.

STUDENT NUMBERS

Entrance standards to our programmes are at a level of international excellence which enables us to train and educate our students intensively to reach professional levels of achievement by the end of their programme. The combination of world-leading talent, outstanding teachers, and globally significant resources is reflected in the standards achieved by our students at the end of the programme and the classification of the awards that we make. To assure ourselves that we are setting appropriate standards

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

on our programmes, we have a double system of external scrutiny: external examiners who oversee the standards and operations of the assessment processes as a whole, and specialist external assessors who sit on final assessment panels to scrutinise the quality and standards of students’ playing, singing or composition. Additionally, all written work is blind double-marked.

The Academy attracts applicants from around 82 countries and over 50 countries are represented in our student population, with 50% from the UK, 14% from the EU and 36% from other countries (49%, 14% and 37% respectively 2023/24). Applications and recruitment have remained strong despite national and international uncertainties and challenges, and we have developed our recruitment strategy and tactics to accommodate this rapidly changing environment. We are proud of the cosmopolitan and healthy cultural breadth of our student body.

As the following chart shows, our full-time equivalent student numbers have overall remained below 800, and we intend to maintain similar student numbers going forward. Undergraduate students make up just under 50% of the total student body and we have seen a growth in UK undergraduates in 2024/25 and a corresponding decrease in international undergraduates. Postgraduate numbers for home and overseas students were evenly split.

Student Numbers (Full Time Equivalent)

----- Start of picture text -----
900
800
700
600
UK domiciled UG
500
UK domiciled PG
400
Overseas domiciled UG
300 Overseas domiciled PG
200
100
0
2024/25 2023/24
----- End of picture text -----

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

STUDENT RESULTS FOR 2024/25

Our academic, tutorial, professorial, professional services and estates colleagues again worked tirelessly to draw the 2024/25 year to a successful close. All students were given the opportunity to have their Final Recitals livestreamed so that family and friends could hear them wherever they were in the world, and most took up this opportunity.

Results for the year are very good: interim results are shown below as some awards have yet to be agreed by Examination Boards. We remain committed to preserving the standards and quality of our programmes; our exceptional ‘double’ external assessor project involving Specialist External Examiners for each principal study discipline, as well as External Assessors for overall programmes, gives us confidence that our programmes remain world-leading in the standards that we set and the professional discipline we enable our students to develop.

2024/25 2024/25 2023/24* 2023/24* 2024/25 2024/25 2023/24* 2023/24*
BMus Awards No (%) No (%) Masters No (%) No (%)
First Class 50 53 45 56 Distinction 125 69 130 69
Upper Second 35 38 25 33 Merit 40 21 45 24
Lower Second 10 10 10 10 Pass 20 10 15 7
Third/Pass <5 1 Pending 30
Pending <5

* Results for 2023/24 have been restated because some awards may be pending and final results for MA/MMus students are not available when the Financial Statements are prepared in November.

Under the powers of the Academy’s Royal Charter, the Examinations Board may award a Dip RAM to any postgraduate student who particularly excelled in their final recital and conventionally the award has been made to the elite cohort who achieve a mark of 80% or above in their recital. This year 60 such awards were made (55 2023/24). Post Masters awards were also made by the Examinations Board, including 20 Advanced Diplomas and 15 Professional Diplomas (25 and 15 2023/24).

During 2024/25 there were 16 research students (17 2023/24), and 5 PhDs were awarded (10 2023/24).

The Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) is a practical course exploring music teaching in the context of a principal study discipline, informed and supported by pedagogical theory, which gives students an understanding of current national teaching practices, promotes reflective teaching and aligns with national standards. The course is open to our 3rd and 4th year BMus undergraduate and postgraduate students and emphasises employability through a range of skills relevant to state and independent education contexts. During 2024/25, 115 students were awarded the LRAM (100 2023/24).

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

2. Engagement

Our annual programme of public events plays two key functions: it gives our students experience of professional-level work and showcases their achievements, and it enables us to engage with a broad section of the public and give them access to high-quality music making.

As the Academy enters its third century, we continue to embrace the wealth of repertoire from the past, to inform the music of the future. The breadth of talent at the Academy was celebrated this year with performances of operatic works, musical theatre productions, jazz, historical performance and new music, and much more.

Performance highlights during the autumn term included an upbeat programme of H K Gruber, Schoenberg and Bernstein, conducted by Visiting Professor Jeroen Berwaerts in mid-September, which tied in with our Wind and Brass Discovery Day to allow potential applicants to experience some of the range of performance opportunities on offer. In October, the annual autumn Piano Festival took place, this time celebrating Schumann, with orchestral concerts of Mahler with alumnus Finnegan Downie Dear, and Brahms and Mendelssohn with Trevor Pinnock. External performances included our collaboration with the British Film Institute with a performance of three new scores for Sherlock Holmes silent movies by Academy professors Joanna MacGregor, Neil Brand and Joseph Havlat at Alexandra Palace, as part of the BFI film festival. The scores were then recorded for release in theatre, online and on DVD. At the end of October, Ryan Wigglesworth conducted chamber music by Beethoven and Brahms with Academy students at St John’s Smith Square and Dorchester Abbey. As part of a week in residence at the Academy, Visiting Professor Dave Holland performed with the Academy Jazz Orchestra in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre to a packed audience. Later in the term, the Jazz Orchestra performed with Orphy Robinson and Winston Rollins at the London Jazz Festival.

In November, highlights included Strauss’ Til Eulenspiegel and Also Sprach Zarathustra with Sir Mark Elder, and four performances of Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel with Royal Academy Opera. As part of our Resounding Shores series which celebrates Purcell and the legacy of the golden age for music in England, three concerts took place with Eamonn Dougan, Jonathan Manson and Nicholas Mulroy and at the end of term, a side-by-side with John Butt and members of the Dunedin Consort, performing Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia on St Cecilia’s Day in Greyfriar’s Kirk in Edinburgh, followed by another performance in the Duke’s Hall in the regular Sunday lunchtime slot. Other side-by-side performances included Septura Brass and London Sinfonietta at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and string players performing with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov in the Czech Republic, New York and Toronto. The Academy Musical Theatre Company rounded off the term’s events with The Last Twenty-Five Years, a celebration of the best musical theatre songs of the century.

Spring term events included the Jazz Festival and an orchestral side-by-side with Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. Colin Currie conducted a programme of Reich, Andriessen, Martland, Akiko and Tippet, and John Wilson and Ryan Wigglesworth worked with the Academy’s Symphony Orchestra. Clips of these are available on media channels. Barbara Hannigan conducted an all-Haydn programme with the Academy Chamber Orchestra and also worked with percussionists, wind and brass players, singers and composers over two days of classes, as well as giving a careers talk.

Royal Academy Opera performed Mozart’s Die Zauberflőte on 18-21 March, and the Musical Theatre Company presented their Agent Showcases on 31 March and 1 April. Susanna Malki returned to the Academy for a special day on 26 March celebrating the 100th anniversary of Boulez’s birth – the concert offered a rate opportunity to hear his Sue Incises , performed only twice in the UK in the last 20 years, with Academy Fellows, students and guests from The Juilliard School.

After three weeks of final recitals and end of year exams during the summer term, public performances returned with collaborations with the Aldeburgh Festival and two side-by-side performances by the Knussen Chamber Orchestra with Ryan Wigglesworth and the Symphony Orchestra, performing both at Snape Maltings and the Duke’s Hall with alumni Edward Gardener and Alan Clayton. Composer in Residence Anna Meredith’s residence culminated in two performances of new band music, as well as solo and ensemble music performed by the Academy’s Manson Ensemble. The term ended with performances by the Academy Wind Ensemble at Sinfonia Smith Square and the Deal Summer Music Festival. The Academy’s Musical Theatre Company presented Maury Yeston’s NINE on 12-15 June, and Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins on 3-6 July, as well as cabaret performances after each of the main shows.

The annual Students Create Festival (15-17 January) saw our students fill performance venues from lunchtime into the evening over the course of three days of sensational demonstrations of talent and creative imagination, often representing the very best kind of artistic risk.

Our engagement has global reach through our live streaming, which provides an opportunity to disseminate our work to broader constituencies, especially highly popular events.

WIDENING PARTICIPATION

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

All of our Widening Participation activity is focused on pupils from the state school sector, who, compared to private school pupils, generally receive fewer opportunities to develop the advanced skills that are needed to thrive in conservatoire education and to seek out and develop career opportunities in a competitive and fast-changing music industry. We have worked to increase the percentage of state-school students in Junior Academy.

Reaching the level of musicianship required for conservatoire entry takes years of hard work and, in most cases, significant financial commitment. Although we already offer millions of pounds in financial support for students every year, we are aware that this does not redress inequalities in earlier education.

Our strategic measures to increase the pool of talented applicants from under-represented groups fall into three broad initiatives: Open Academy, Junior Academy, and Your Academy.

OPEN ACADEMY

Open Academy is the Academy’s Learning, Participation and Community initiative, which reached over 5,000 people beyond our enrolled students and staff this year.

Open Academy works closely with artistic and community partners to produce creative projects in which our students and project participants can explore music making together in a wide range of contexts. Open Academy aims to raise aspirations, make connections, challenge preconceptions and create new possibilities for participants and our students alike. All of our projects are led and supported by skilled professionals, ensuring the quality of the experience for everyone involved. These include workshops with children and young people in mainstream schools, special education needs and disability (SEND) settings, people receiving treatment in hospital, residents and staff of care homes, and people with experience of homelessness.

During the 2024/25 academic year our annual individual project participant total was 5,690 beyond our enrolled students and staff:

Open Academy Projects Participants
Adults with learning disabilities 24
Dementias 961
Early years 2,129
Hospitals 213
Other 69
People with experience of homelessness 117
Primary school 1,836
Secondary school 41
Young people outside mainstream school 281
Young people with additional needs 19

Particularly inspiring projects included Open Academy’s partnership with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on their continuing work with people experiencing homelessness. This year, the project included a public performance by the ensemble at the Stone Net in central London. Open Academy lecturer Jackie Walduck leads this project and received the ABO award for Health and Wellbeing in recognition for her outstanding work. In addition, our partnership with the City Lit’s Percussion Orchestra for adults with Learning Disabilities continues to provide outstanding learning opportunities for both orchestra members and Academy students alike. Open Academy’s artistic partners are Wigmore Hall, Spitalfields Music, City of London Sinfonia and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and The Choir with No Name. Our community partners include Camden Music Hub, Tri-borough Music Hub, Resonate Arts, Royal London Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, City Lit, Young Sounds UK (formerly Awards for Young Musicians) and The Connection at St Martin’s.

JUNIOR ACADEMY

The Junior Academy offers exceptional opportunities for young musicians aged 12-18 years to develop every aspect of their musicianship within a vibrant and creative learning environment. Students travel from across the UK each Saturday to immerse themselves in intensive one-to-one lessons, specialist classes, and a wide range of performance opportunities that challenge and inspire.

Our programme portfolio includes:

We have further enhanced the First Strings Experience (FSE) scheme with the introduction of FSE Level 5, strengthening the pathway for young string players aspiring to enter the conservatoire sector.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

In 2024/25, 74% of Junior Academy leavers went on to study music at higher education institutions.

We are proud to champion access and inclusivity through a range of targeted initiatives designed to reach under-represented groups. In recent years, we have significantly expanded our widening participation and community-focused activity.

Our Junior Academy teachers are successful performing musicians and educators; they combine active careers with the reward of helping young performers and composers fulfil their potential. Many also teach on the Academy’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Applications for places continues to be strong and the academic year began with 487 Junior Academy students including 56 Junior Academy Musical Theatre, 42 Junior Jazz and 41 Primary Academy students. There were also 29 First Guitar Experience students, 95 First Strings Experience, and 14 Kickstart/Mentees.

For 2024/25 we awarded 107 bursaries (88 2023/24), including 35 government funded places via the Music and Dance Scheme. Our work is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Wolfson Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, Sir Elton John and many individual benefactors. We are especially grateful for the legacy from the Estate of the late Clare Helen Redfarn which continues to benefit students, and for the support of an anonymous donor in establishing a hardship fund.

2024/25 has been one of our busiest and most memorable years, as we celebrated 110 years of Junior Academy. The year has been deeply rewarding, with a remarkable range of performances highlighting the talent and dedication of our students – our greatest strength. Junior Academy organists gave a recital in the Duke’s Hall featuring repertoire from around 1915, and pianists prepared for the Academy Piano Festival, sharing the festival with senior colleagues, and featuring several Debussy etudes written in 1915 accompanying other composers from the same time. Alumna Isata Kanneh-Mason gave a masterclass for those students performing in the Piano Festival. Junior Musical Theatre performed a final showcase featuring 60 students and nine young mentees, 10- and 11-year-olds who have already worked in the West End.

Performance highlights during the year included:

A standout event was our concert at the Cadogan Hall, featuring a performance of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe , a powerful demonstration of the exceptional ability of our young musicians.

Student wellbeing is a core value that informs every area of our Junior programmes. Our Confident Young Musician course helps our musicians to approach performance growth in an effective and healthy way. Our aim is to build calm, confident and coordinated young musicians who can make good choices about how to look after themselves, both physically and mentally, and apply these skills not only to being a musician but to all aspects of their lives, now and into the future. We also run a weekly oneto-one active listening service which allows students to share any worries they have, music-related or otherwise, and to signpost them to a range of resources to ensure that all students are supported both inside and outside the Academy. All performance classes relate to how students feel and react from a confident point of view where encouragement is key. Repertoire does not have to be complete or perfect, as long as the art of performance has been.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

YOUR ACADEMY

Your Academy supports young people aged 14 to 17 from state schools, through tuition, performance opportunities and audition preparation. We are committed to reaching as many musically motivated students as possible through both direct delivery and strategic partnerships (for example music services, hub partners and primary schools). Our approach is targeted and based on need, musical potential and eligibility for Widening Participation status: scalable; deliverable through modular programmes with defined progressions routes; and sustainable, as it is built on cross-departmental collaboration and long-term relationships with families and schools.

During the 2024/25 academic year, the Widening Participation team worked with participants to provide access to a supportive musical environment where they can develop their skills and broaden awareness of the opportunities available through advanced musical study. Activities took place at the Academy, as well as outreach activities in schools, community spaces, and remote learning online.

In July 2025 we celebrated four years of Community First Strings Experience (CFSE), welcoming over 200 students from south London primary schools, Corpus Christi in Brixton and St John’s in Rotherhithe for a celebration of their achievements. Based on our Junior Academy First Strings Experience (FSE) which provides early years string training from the age of four, this programme is managed by our Widening Participation Department in local primary schools. During 2024/25 270 children across three school year groups took part in this initiative and eight of the graduating students successfully auditioned to join the new FSE Year 4 course at the Academy for 7- to 8-year-olds. In addition, all students who took part in CFSE will be given advice on how to continue lessons at school or in their local area. The CFSE and the new FSE for Year 4 pupils are made possible thanks to philanthropic support.

In 2024/25 we began our new Variations programme for 16+ year olds who have been attending Your Academy for a number of years and will shortly be applying to study music via UCAS Conservatoire. This programme provides audition and application tips and information, social trips to off-site performances within classical music and jazz, and Q&A sessions with professional conservatoire graduates enabling Widening Participants to see a future pathway into the Academy and beyond.

As part of our Access and Participation Plan to inspire, encourage, and support talented young musicians to progress to higher education, we offer Academy Clubs and Collectives to provide opportunities for state-educated secondary school pupils to study with our teachers and students.

The number of participants engaging with Widening Participation was 807, with many participants returning to the Academy for multiple activities.

Widening Participation Projects Participants CFSE 275 Composers, Percussion, Jazz, Audition, Mentor, Music Theory Clubs 100 Audition Club 112 Musical Theatre Outreach Workshops and Mentor Programme 100 St Mark’s Sundays : three-day programme for young musicians to work with 44 professional musicians for Woodwind, Brass, Strings Beyond the Dots : core musicianship skills that pave the way towards confident 30 improvising LRAM Workshops and Masterclass 13 Composing for Harp 5 Composers Showcase 24 Winter and Spring Showcases and Widening Participation Takeover Day 55 Summer schools: five-day programmes Inner Ear Summer Programme and Springboard to Grade 5 Theory & Beyond[22 ] Variations 27

The Academy is aware of the need to ensure that people from all backgrounds can benefit from our activities and that those in financial hardship are not excluded. The Academy is both strategically and financially committed to providing bursaries at both junior and senior levels, as well as co-contributing to regional schemes to identify and support young musicians who are underrepresented within conservatoire students.

As well as funding from the OfS, we receive generous philanthropic support which is targeted in order to help us achieve our goals in this area. We are grateful for the continuing support of the Alex and William de Winton Trust, Thompson Family Charitable Trust, Q Charitable Trust, The Mila Charitable Organisation, The Karlsson Játiva Charitable Foundation and The Mackintosh Foundation.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

ALUMNI

Our alumni make an incalculable contribution to society, serving as artistic leaders in the UK and internationally. They permeate all areas of the music profession and are an integral part of the Academy family. We tell our alumni stories to inspire the next generation of musicians, alongside actively engaging our wider alumni community through focused communications and content.

We continue to develop a programme of engagement opportunities and access points to support our mission to provide lifelong value to our alumni, while in turn cultivating their ongoing support for the Academy and its strategic aims.

In 2024 we made a strategic decision to include alumni from our Junior Academy programmes into wider alumni recognition. This included interviewing Junior Academy alumni for our monthly newsletters and celebrating them in our annual Honours.

Each year, the Academy marks the contribution of today’s leading musicians, including performers, composers, educators and artists. The list of honorands includes a range of distinguished people across the profession who have made a significant impact in their field. We held our annual Honours Ceremony in April 2025 to recognise the achievements of alumni who have made a significant contribution to the music industry, and celebrated 64, largely early-career, alumni, conferring Associate Membership (ARAM) on them, along with Honorary Associates (Hon ARAM) to 16 long-standing staff and other individuals who have played important roles in developing the Academy’s work and outreach. Major honours were awarded at Graduation on 8 July 2025, with recipients including Academy alumnus Alexis Ffrench and William de Winton, both members of the Governing Body, and alumnus Iain Farrington, Anna Tillbrook, Louisa Tuck and Matthew Wadsworth.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

Strongly global in its identity, the Academy takes pride in its place within international arts ecosystems and its strong partnerships with organisations around the world.

2024/25 saw the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme, now in its third year of operations, continue to grow from strength to strength. The Academy’s own initiative, the programme partners us with 12 of the world’s leading conservatoires to facilitate international mobility, collaboration and exchange. Our programme partners are:

Highlights from the programme in 2024/25 included an Academy conducting student spending a week at the Sibelius Academy learning from Antony Hermus and Sakari Oramo, and a pianist from The Juilliard School performing as one of three pianists in sur Incises under the baton of Susanna Mälkki, part of the Boulez 100 celebrations in London. Also in March, students from the Paris Conservatoire joined the Academy Baroque Soloists to perform concerts in Paris and London as part of our Resounding Shores concert series, under the baton of Christophe Coin. The programme explored 17th century English and French repertoire, performing in the Duke’s Hall following two performances in Pontoise and Les Invalides, Paris.

Outside of the programme, we have a number of more traditional student exchange agreements and industry partnerships, providing world-class experiences for students and promoting the Academy around the world. In autumn 2024, four students from the Academy’s Strings Department went on tour with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov, including performing in three concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall. One students’ account of the Prague leg of the tour was featured in The Strad.

Two students travelled to China in May 2025 with our Director of Artistic Planning, to participate in the inaugural Tianjin Juilliard Orchestral Symposium and Leadership Forum. This event brought together young musicians and institutional leaders from 30 major conservatoires, music schools and organisations from around the world; the Academy was the only European conservatoire to take part. The summit lasted for a full week, celebrating the orchestral experience and examining the future of professional music education. The Director of Artistic Planning was invited to present a response to the keynote given by the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, alongside the Dean of The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, and had the opportunity to visit the Beijing Center for the Performing Arts. The two students performed in a mass orchestra under the baton of David Robertson, performing concerts at the Tianjin Juilliard Concert Hall and at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Academy took part in its first project in Tunisia, thanks to its partnership with the Hasdrubal Foundation. A student string quartet and an Academy professor travelled to Tunisia along with faculty and students from the Paris Conservatoire and mdw Vienna to work with Tunisian young musicians and pedagogues, sharing the music of Tunisia and the European classical tradition.

The Academy has a strong relationship with networks including the Association of European Conservatoires and is represented on the International Relations Coordinators Working Group.

We also collaborate virtually with our partners. Our distance learning collaboration with the Manhattan School of Music is a continued success, enabling students on both sides of the Atlantic to benefit from reciprocal faculty masterclasses. An ongoing collaborative project led by our Recording team working with their counterparts at mdw Vienna is genuinely breaking new ground and pushing the boundaries of what is possible with low-latency video conferencing technology. The project connected a student from each institution to work on Ravel’s Duo for violin and cello to facilitate real-time simultaneous music-making. The technology is sophisticated, allowing the two to work as if they were in the same physical space. Experiments continue for how best to enhance the experience and to think about the opportunities this technology can facilitate.

We look forward to continuing our collaborations with world-leading industry figures in 2025/26 and beyond.

MUSEUM AND COLLECTIONS

The Academy’s collections – Museum, Library and Archive – comprises instruments, art, photography, manuscripts and scores. Items on permanent display include stringed instruments by Stradivari and the Amati family, historic keyboards by Broadwood, Pleyel and Erard, and scores and memorabilia that belonged to significant figures from the world of music. The collections expand beyond the Museum spaces and can be found throughout the Academy: teaching rooms, corridors, offices, performance venues, curated spaces, the Library, and online. The extensive archives offer students, staff and members of the public unique insights into the creative processes of great musicians, as well as informing our knowledge of performance practice.

The Museum and Collections Department, through the Museum and Library, oversees the Academy’s collections, preserves them for the future, promotes individual and collective meaning-making, and makes them accessible to our internal and external users. During 2024/25 we improved the way expertise on care, access, digitisation, asset management and interpretation is streamlined between the Library and the Museum.

During 2024/25 we received 38 objects (all donations) for the collections: 31 allocated to the Museum, four to the Special Collections/Library, and three to the Archives. New collection assets received from January 2025, independently of being catalogued via the Library or the Museum database, were recorded in our new Collections Accession Register and received the prefix LDRAM, for example LDRAM.2025.1. The prefix is an MDA code, which are maintained by the Collections Trust on behalf of UK museums and form part of unique number systems which link museum objects to their organisations. This way the collections are better aligned with our policies regarding development, documentation, care and management. It also allows a better alignment with the Finance asset register.

We also received 144 scores, with handwritten entries by Oliver Knussen. The scores date from 1945 to 2001 and are on loan from the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel.

The Library made 383 new purchases: student-driven purchases of sheet music, books and digital resources, which are not registered under collections.

In addition to the collections owned by the Academy, we are grateful for the extraordinary Calleva Collection, on loan to the Academy and managed by the Curator of Instruments. This Collection continues to grow by commissioning instruments from today’s finest luthiers and makers, and in 2024/25 11 new instruments were added. Students may be offered the use of many of these instruments, providing an important boost to their musical development.

We aim to audit the Museum collection over a period of two years and this year, 23% of the non-instruments collection on display were audited: of the 491 objects on display, 113 had their condition and location checked. The collections of instruments (instruments, musical accessories and bows) were audited in December 2024, which covered 98% of the collection of 762 items. Of these, 415 were on loan and 347 on site. In July most instruments from the Spencer Collection were assessed and their value updated.

Digitisation is a priority for the Collections as a way of increasing access and engagement, and this service also generates some income. During 2024/25 we created 14,261 digital images from the Museum and Library and Archive collections.

The Instruments Loan Coordinator issued 214 loan contracts:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Collections Emergency and Salvage Response Plan was improved, and our salvage procedures were tested through a training exercise at the Academy with the London Fire Brigade on 22 July London Fire Brigade practises emergency rescue and salvage response at Royal Academy of Music | Royal Academy of Music. This was a successful experience which helped identify what we do well and what we can improve.

The Museum and Collections team continues to respond to internal and external enquiries: the Library dealt with 405 external enquiries, while the Museum dealt with 108 general external enquiries and 62 tour enquiries.

The Museum is open to the public on Fridays from 11am to 6pm and by appointment or through collaboration with Widening Participation and Open Academy. Overall, we received a total of 2,167 museum visitors and users:

Museum Event Visitors
Fridays (45 during the year) 1,143
General tours 432
Gallery events 155
Widening Participation events 252
Academyclasses 185

We offered 28 Museum tours to a total of 754 visitors, of which 363 were children and teenagers. Most tours include a performance aspect through instrument demonstrations by Academy students, offering an insight into the collection and Academy life. Several education providers find our collection a good resource for the history and development of musical instruments, and they also refer to the importance of our students in inspiring younger audiences. Additionally, the Museum hosted Academy classes (approximately 185 users), including a day with Junior Academy students.

The Museum and Collections team, in collaboration with students and staff, curated eight monthly displays in the Lionel Tertis Memorial display case, and 12 objects were featured via the Object of the Month see Museum and Collections | Royal Academy of Music.

We continue to acknowledge and celebrate diversity and minorities through our displays and events. In October 2024, Black History Month was celebrated with a display in the Tertis Memorial display case and wall contiguous to the cafeteria, curated by the Academy’s Africa Caribbean Society. A temporary display ‘The Oud and the Lute’ was installed in the ground floor of York Gate and opened to the public with an event in March. The display and event looked at these two instruments in the present, through the individual perspectives of two musicians from Mexico and Syria, and two makers from England and Syria who continue to develop and shape the history of these instruments.

Museum Collections are accessible via the Academy website and any of the objects on display can be viewed on our website ram.ac.uk/museum. Library Special Collections are accessible via lib.ram.ac.uk.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

3. People and Resources

Attracting and retaining outstanding teaching and professional services staff, developing our world-class facilities, embracing new technologies and carefully managing our financial resources secures the future of the Academy, ensuring it thrives in an everevolving cultural and social landscape.

Staff numbers include part-time teachers paid on an hourly basis. The overall full-time equivalent numbers were 274 on average across the year (248 2023/24), of which 56% are teaching and teaching support staff (57% 2023/24).

ESTATES

The Academy is situated on the Marylebone Road, retains practice rooms at Cross Keys, and uses St Mark’s Church mainly for recording and rehearsals. During 2024/25 we continued to invest in capital refurbishment to the main building in line with our five-year estates plan; significant projects included refurbishment of our ladies’ toilets and the completion of a new fire alarm system across the entire main building, as well as upgrades to our building management systems. We also created a new purposebuilt recording suite for composition and other students to use state of the art recording facilities at our Cross Keys site, funded by legacy donations.

On 2 July we announced plans to create new teaching and rehearsal spaces on London City Island in Docklands in a major project to expand facilities, improve the student experience and widen access to world-class musical opportunities. The Academy joins cultural organisations including the BBC, V&A and Sadler’s Wells in creating additional space in East London.

Image: AOC Architecture

Dominating the new site will be four large, acoustically separated studios (up to 160 square metres each) which will transform possibilities for students in every department and especially the training prospects of opera and musical theatre. These will be augmented with 10 teaching and practice rooms, each including a grand piano and in-built recording facilities. The studios will be inside an existing building which has been offered to the Academy on a

100-year peppercorn rent from London City Island developers EcoWorld Ballymore as part of their master plan to create a cultural hub in East London. We will cover the redevelopment costs through philanthropic support, with a generous donation of £5m already committed towards the costs. The building is on the same island peninsular as English National Ballet’s headquarters and will be designed by award-winning AOC Architecture, whose recent work includes Young V&A in Bethnal Green (winner of

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Museum of the Year 2024), The National Archives in Kew and Somerset House Studios (winner of the New London Awards Best Workplace 2022). The designs will be carbon-efficient and achieve the environmental BREEAM standard of ‘Excellent’.

The new building will create 2,000 square metres of space, provide additional opportunities for students, relieve pressure on the main building and create supplementary space for our growing Widening Participation initiatives. We also plan to develop projects with community partners in the area that work in special education needs and disability (SEND) settings, hospital patients, care home residents and staff, and people attending day centres.

Our main home on the Marylebone Road will continue as the primary location for the majority of teaching, practice and rehearsal, and all public performances will happen there.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Technology continues to underpin the Academy’s strategic priorities, supporting smarter working practices, enhancing creative output, and ensuring resilient infrastructure across all departments.

During 2024/25, the rollout of laptops to all staff was completed, supporting the Academy’s smart working policies and enabling more flexible use of physical spaces. This initiative has improved mobility, collaboration, and access to digital resources, aligning with our goals for a more agile and efficient working environment.

A major milestone was the launch of a new Composition technology recording facility at Cross Keys. This state-of-the-art space provides the next generation of composers with access to industry-standard digital tools, software libraries, and recording capabilities, fostering innovation and excellence in music creation.

In parallel, significant progress was made in upgrading and replacing legacy infrastructure and servers. These improvements have strengthened the Academy’s core systems, enhanced cybersecurity, and ensured greater reliability and scalability for future growth. Work will continue into 2025/26 to build on these foundations and further modernise our digital estate.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE (ESG)

Our aim is to limit our overall environmental impact and reduce our carbon footprint and carbon emissions, within the constraints of our listed buildings.

The Governing Body has delegated oversight of ESG matters to the Audit Committee; strategic responsibility rests with the ESG lead on behalf of the Senior Management Team, and operational responsibilities with the ESG Committee and other teams such as Estates.

The Academy’s ESG Committee was formally established in March 2024. It is chaired by the Registrar & Director of Student Operations and comprises members from a range of Academy departments including Estates, Philanthropy, Academic Studies and Research. It is also attended by student representatives from the student-led Environmental Committee.

The main focus of the ESG Committee in 2024/25 was the development and approval of the Academy’s first ESG Strategy, comprising the following target areas, each with a set of objectives for completion over its three-year timespan:

Each target area has a designated lead from the Committee and is supported by a small working group of other members. The Committee receives updates and tracks the completion of objectives at each meeting. The Strategy was approved by the Audit Committee in March 2025.

An ESG Co-ordinator was appointed in January 2025, on a fractional contract, with responsibility for exploring new initiatives for energy efficiency, liaising with partner organisations such as The Energy Consortium and keeping up to date with new developments in sustainability solutions. They also service the ESG Committee and keep track of completion of targets as set out in the Strategy.

The Academy achieved compliance with the Government’s mandatory Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) in June 2025. The resulting action plan is being delivered by the Estates Team with oversight by the ESG Committee.

The following are now embedded in the Academy’s annual cycle of activities:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The ESG Committee will continue to interrogate current practice, progress, and relevant metrics, to assess the gap between our current position and examples of good practice across the sector, and benchmark against similar institutions.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

The Academy generated an operating surplus of £0.7m before unrealised gains and losses in the financial year 2024/25 (£7.2m 2023/24). We also recognised the value of our holding in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music as an asset on our Balance Sheet for the first time; this, together with unrealised gains on investments of £4.4m (2023/24 £7.9m) supported an overall growth in Balance Sheet reserves to £244.1m (£236.7m 2023/24).

This overall surplus is due to increased earned income as well as another successful year of fundraising with £2.8m donations (£4.0m 2023/24) received for long-term endowments and £4.5m (£8.3m 2023/24) for shorter term use. These generous donations have allowed us to grow our financial awards to students to support their studies at the Academy, to invest in teaching and performance activities and to make essential improvements to our estates infrastructure, with commensurate increases in expenditure.

We are reporting an overall deficit in unrestricted comprehensive income which was anticipated for the year and was in line with budget expectations.

Summary of Income and Expenditure 2024/25
£000
2023/24
£000
Income before donations and endowments
Donations and endowments
Expenditure
Operating surplus before other gains or losses
Gain on disposal of fixed assets
Gain on investments
Actuarial gain in respect of RAM1967 pension scheme
Total comprehensive income
Represented by:
Endowment comprehensive income for the year
Restricted comprehensive income for the year
Unrestricted comprehensive (deficit) for the year
Revaluation reserve comprehensive income*		 24,164
22,606
8,993
14,900
(32,465)
(30,331)
692
7,175
137
66
4,351
7,898
-
234
5,180
15,373
6,293
10,307
63
5,484
(1,176)
(1,683)
-
1,265
5,180
15,373

Total comprehensive income includes a number of unrealised movements in the value of our investment, heritage and pension assets as well as income from endowment and restricted donations received in the year, which cannot be used for general purposes. It is also stated after charges for depreciation of assets which were funded by external donations held in reserve.

To understand the underlying operational financial outturn, the table below excludes these specific purpose income streams, as well as the unrealised gains in the pension scheme and element of depreciation costs which are funded from previous donations. This shows that the underlying operational position was a deficit of £0.4m in-year (deficit £0.2m 2023/24).

Breakdown of unrestricted comprehensive income for theyear 2024/25
£000
2023/24
£000
Operating (deficit)
Actuarial gain on RAM1967 pension scheme
Depreciation funded by external donations
Unrestricted comprehensive(deficit) for theyear		 (420)
(170)
-
234
(747)
(747)
(1,167)
(683)

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

INCOME

At £33.2m overall income reduced from £37.5m in 2023/24, with growth in earned and grant income to £24.2m (£22.6m 2023/24) and a reduction in donated income to £9.0m (£14.9m 2023/24). Donations, tuition fees and funding council grants remained the major revenue streams.

Tuition fees are stated in the accounts net of donations funding fee awards to students to avoid double counting, and in line with accounting requirements; in 2024/25 this net fee income stood at £12.7m (38% of total income, a decrease from £13.1m, which formed 35% in 2023/24. However, the underlying gross fee income was constant at £15.3m (£15.4m 2023/24). Fee levels for home status undergraduate students remain regulated and were fixed at £9,250, although we applied inflationary increases to fees for other students.

At £5.6m, funding grants remain a key revenue stream (£5.8m 2023/24). The OfS provided £5.0m (£5.0m 2023/24), including £4.9m to support the additional costs of providing teaching to a world-class level in a small specialist institution, and we received £579k (£596k 2023/24) from UKRI in support of our research and innovation work, as well as £82k (£164k 2020/24) to support our Museum and collections.

As the costs for students of studying at the Academy and the costs to the Academy of providing world-class teaching grow while other income sources have remained static, donations and endowments have become a core part of our income, and we are extremely grateful to all individuals and funding bodies who have provided us with funds.

The Philanthropy team is responsible for raising philanthropic funds, primarily from individuals (including alumni), companies, trusts and foundations. Donations were received to fund our students through scholarships and bursaries as well as general funds to offset the high cost of educating students. Philanthropic funds were also raised to support widening access programmes, to support students experiencing financial hardship, and to support student wellbeing and mental health.

Total donations and endowments received during 2024/25 amounted to £9.0m (£14.9m 2023/24). This decrease was in line with expectations after significant one-off donations in 2023/24. Over the last six years we have seen a significant growth in total donations, and a particular growth in endowment gifts as a result of our campaign, The Royal Academy of Music’s Future, and we received £2.8m in 2024/25 (£4.0m 2023/24) which we have invested in line with the intentions of donors.

In 2024/25 we benefited from £3.0m in non-endowment donations and legacies for specific purposes (£8.3m 2023/24), which we have classified as restricted funds. These are predominantly donated for student financial support (see below) and educational and artistic projects. In addition we received £0.9m other donations (£1.4m 2023/24) which we have classified as unrestricted.

This financial year also saw stable or increased levels of commercial income; we earned £0.5m (£0.5m 2023/24) from sales in our bar and canteen, and £0.4m (£0.6m 2023/24) from ticket sales and space rentals. We received £303k (£274k 2023/24) as Orchestra and Theatre tax relief against the costs of our productions and concerts.

Income distributed to the Academy as a Member of the ABRSM increased to £1.75m (£0.5m 2023/24) as a result of that organisation’s increased financial strength. This income is now reported within Investment Income totals, after reconsideration of the appropriate reporting line.

We have applied £2.0m (£1.1m 2023/24) as investment income from our long-term and current asset portfolio income.

EXPENDITURE

The 2024/25 financial year saw a planned growth in expenditure excluding depreciation to £30.3m (£29.99m 2023/24), with particular investment in teaching and student financial support.

Staff costs continued to be our largest expenditure area with gross expenditure of £17.1m in 2024/25 (£15.4m 2023/24). Employer pension contributions rose to £2.0m (£1.8m 2023/24), with contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme growing to £1.3m (£1.2m 2023/24) as a result of a full year of the 28.68% rate which took effect from April 2024.

Operating costs reduced to £13.2m (£13.4m 2023/24). This includes £3.5m in student financial support (£3.6m 2023/24). This includes the Academy funded share of awards for both fees and maintenance together with donation funded maintenance awards. Donation funded fees £2.6m 2024/25 (£2.3m 2023/24) are shown as a reduction in fee income rather than an expense, in line with accounting regulations. Total scholarships and maintenance awards totalled £5.8m in 2024/25 (£5.9m 2023/24).

Premises costs increased by 13% to £3.9m (£3.4m 2023/24) excluding depreciation, as a result of as rent increases following revaluations, utilities costs and additional spend on building maintenance.

BALANCE SHEET POSITION

Our Balance Sheet position has improved to a net asset position of £244.1m (£236.7m 31 July 2024).

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

One factor behind this increase is the inclusion within non-current assets of our holding in the ABRSM, at a cost value of £2.25m. This brings our accounting treatment into line with that of the three other Royal Schools of Music. It also reflects an appreciation in value of investments of £4.3m.

Our invested assets were managed through Cazenove and Meridiem in a mixed portfolio of bonds, equities and private equity investments. They performed well over the year in line with the global markets. We ended the year with long-term asset investment portfolio values of £84.6m (£75.7m 2023/24).

To maximise our income during the year, we chose to reduce our cash and bank holdings to £1.6m (£10.1m 31 July 2024) and invested working capital in a liquidity fund via Cazenove, which is instant access; current investments, including this fund, grew to £13.3m (£7.7m 31 July 2024).

At the start of the year we reviewed our reserve funds and identified £5.4m within the permanent endowment pool and £5.0m within the expendable endowment pool which had been incorrectly classified as endowment funds. As there are no legal restrictions attached to these reserves, we have transferred them to the General Reserves. This means that although the majority of our in-year surplus was for restricted purposes, our restricted and endowment reserves decreased to £77.7m (£78.4m 31 July 2024).

Unrestricted reserves increased to £142.9m (£131.9m 31 July 2024), with the net gain from the reclassification of funds and the recognition of the ABRSM investment asset reduced by the underlying deficit in unrestricted comprehensive income.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

FUNDRAISING

Philanthropy is integral to the Academy’s ongoing success and support from our donors impacts all aspects of our students’ experience during their studies. The overarching focus is to ensure that no student with the talent and potential to succeed in the music profession is denied the chance of studying at the Academy.

Philanthropic gifts regularly provide over a third of the Academy’s annual overall income. Our priority is to raise budget-relieving funds, which form just over 60% of the annual fundraising target. These include funding for the Awards programme (scholarships and bursaries), support for flagship public performances, recruiting and retaining the best teachers and guest artists, and gifts towards general funds.

The ‘Royal Academy of Music’s Future’ is a comprehensive fundraising campaign to secure funding for core priorities including endowed teaching posts, widening participation programmes and student support. Launched in 2022 to coincide with our Bicentenary, it passed another significant milestone in 2024/25; the initial goal of £60m – the most ambitious campaign by a conservatoire outside the USA – reached £69m by the end of July 2024. In September 2025, we announced a new target of £100m, reaching £79m by the end of July 2025. The Campaign continues at pace, making a significant impact on all aspects of Academy life.

Philanthropic income continues to come primarily from individuals and trusts, with some donations received from companies. In 2024/25 the Academy provided £5.8m in scholarships and bursaries, of which £3.1m (54%) came from donors in the form of cash donations, gifts in Wills and income from endowments. Other notable commitments this year included combined gifts of over £500,000 towards our pioneering Widening Participation programme, which aims to break down barriers for children from underrepresented backgrounds. The 2025 annual appeal also reflected broad community engagement, raising more than the previous year and doubling income raised in 2023. Our community of friends and supporters in the USA also grew again this year with fundraising staff continuing to make regular visits, host events and make new connections stateside.

In July 2025, the Academy announced the acquisition of our new building at London City Island. This facility will add brand new, cutting-edge facility for teaching and rehearsals in East London to complement our historic home on the Marylebone Road. With the building donated ‘shell and core’ by the developer on a 100-year lease with a peppercorn rent, the Academy is seeking philanthropic support to equip it with first-rate facilities, with £5.67m already raised to date. When complete, the 2,000 square metre site will contain multiple large studio spaces, practice rooms, and work and social spaces, which can be used by all Academy students to collaborate and connect. Our aim is to begin construction in early 2026, with the new site ready for use in 2027.

As a transformative investment in our estate, the new London City Island site buildings on the acquisition of the lease for 1-5 York Gate in 1999 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and private supporter, the opening in 2018 of the Susie Sainsbury Theatre and Angela Burgess Recital Hall, and in 2025 the creation of a new state of the art recording studio in Marylebone, all thanks to exceptional philanthropic support from many close friends.

Much of the Academy’s fundraising success can be attributed to the vital work of our Philanthropy Board, whose members continue to help expand our network of supporters and provide valuable guidance in all aspects of our fundraising. We were particularly pleased this year to recognise a special group of supporters by creating the ‘Wellington Benefactors’. This group comprises 17 individuals and organisations who have generously pledged £250,000 or more to our ‘Royal Academy of Music’s Future’ Campaign, and an inaugural event was held this year at Apsley House in celebration of their generosity.

Gifts in Wills have remained a vital proportion of philanthropic income. Funds received in 2024/25 totalled £4.5m through 27 estate gifts. Some of these bequests will form expendable endowments to support long-term student scholarships, with other gifts supporting the upgrading of facilities. Key innovations in our legacy marketing this year included the launch of a new free Will service, which encourages friends of the Academy to create Wills and, if they wish, to remember the Academy in their estate planning.

In 2024/25 the team delivered a return of 7:1, well above the sector average. The Academy routinely performs strongly against peers in annual benchmarking surveys by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In particularly, the Academy typically raises the most fundraising income in the conservatoire sector of the UK.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

The Corporate Governance Statement and Statement on Internal Control and Risks relate to the financial year 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025, and up to 17 November 2025 when the Annual Report and end-of-year Financial Statements were approved by the Governing Body.

The powers, duties and responsibilities of the Governing Body are laid down by the Royal Charter and its Bye-Laws. The Governing Body is also required, where appropriate, to conduct its business in line with the Statutes and Ordinances of the University of London of which the Academy is a member and, in their capacity as trustees, with the Academy’s charitable objects.

The Academy is a higher education institution, part funded by the OfS and subject to its Terms and conditions of funding for higher education institutions. The Governing Body confirms that due regard has been given to the OfS public interest governance principles in respect of:

The Academy endeavours to conduct its business in accordance with the seven principles identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and complies with the guidance provided by the Committee of University of Chairs (CUC) in The Higher Education Code of Governance and the HE Audit Committee Code of Practice. The Governing Body has had regard to the Charity Governance Code and adopted the CUC Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code.

Under the terms of the Supplemental Charter dated 1998 and its Bye-Laws, the direction of the Academy is the responsibility of the Governing Body, which makes rules, orders and regulations deemed useful and necessary for the regulation and management of the institution.

The Academy registered with the Fundraising Regulator in October 2017, displaying the badge to demonstrate adherence to the Code of Fundraising Practice. The Academy is a member of CASE and benchmarks its fundraising activities against UK universities and specialist institutions. The Academy works sensitively to protect vulnerable people and members of the public to ensure that no undue pressure is placed on a person to give money or other property. The Academy maintains a complaints log, and in the last year there were zero complaints in response to the organisation’s fundraising activities. The Academy has not worked with commercial participators or professional fundraisers in the last year.

The Governing Body is responsible for overseeing and managing the general business, finances and investments of the Academy, safeguarding its assets, setting its general strategic direction and determining its educational character and mission. It is also responsible for ensuring that academic governance is operating effectively, encouraging student engagement in academic governance; that Academy students receive a high-quality education, value for money, and that adequate provision has been made for their welfare and wellbeing.

The Governing Body comprises the President, the Principal, and the trustees: 10 to 15 independent members from whom its Chair and Deputy Chairs are drawn, and three representative members elected by the staff and students.

None of the independent members receive any payment for work they do for the Academy. A Register of Interests is maintained for members of the Governing Body, and senior officers of the Academy.

The Governing Body meets four times each academic year and much of its detailed work is delegated to senior committees, in particular the Academic Board, Audit Committee, Finance & General Purposes Committee, Nominations Committee, Remuneration Committee and Gift Acceptance Committee, which are formally constituted as Committees of the Governing Body with written terms of reference and reporting structures. In addition, working groups are constituted as required. With the exception of the Academic Board, membership of these Committees includes a significant proportion of independent members of the Governing Body, from whom the chair is selected.

Members of the Governing Body meet with the Principal and Senior Management Team at least annually to review the Academy’s strategic direction and measure progress against strategic aims.

Corporate Governance arrangements are reviewed annually and amended as the Governing Body sees fit.

GOVERNANCE

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Academic Board is the main academic committee of the Governing Body and draws its members from the academic staff and the students of the institution. It is the body responsible for the academic and academic governance work of the Academy in teaching, examining and in research, and recommending and implementing strategic academic, artistic and policy initiatives. It is responsible for the Academy’s Quality Assurance procedures which outline the principles, procedures and processes involved in our quality assurance and enhancement activities, which have been developed in accordance with the expectations set out in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. These procedures are monitored annually to ensure they remain appropriate and robust for a small specialist institution.

The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing internal controls, risk management, compliance, and the integrity of the annual Financial Statements. The Committee meets with the external auditors to discuss audit findings, and with the internal auditors to consider internal audit reports and recommendations for the improvement of the Academy’s systems of internal control, together with management’s response and implementation plans. The Committee receives reports from the OfS and monitors adherence with regulatory requirements. It provides the Governing Body and the Principal with an Annual Report on its key activities and an opinion on arrangements for risk management, safeguarding, GDPR, value for money and data integrity, environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, among others.

Until the end of March 2025, the Audit Committee benefited from the appointment of an independent external member, Linda Peka (who retired from her role as Deputy Registrar and Executive Divisional Director of Education and Academic Services at Exeter University in December 2024) and provided additional expertise and scrutiny of the Academy’s operations.

The Finance & General Purposes Committee oversees the management and control of the financial and general affairs of the Academy to ensure its short- and long-term viability. It recommends to the Governing Body the annual budget and elements of the end-of-year Financial Statements, advises on financial strategy, monitors financial performance and ensures that systems are in place for the effective and efficient management of resources and financial operations. The Investment Committee reports to and advises the Committee and the Governing Body on performance of the Academy’s investment portfolio and strategic direction.

The Gift Acceptance Committee is responsible for advising the Governing Body about whether the sources and purposes of prospective donations, fundraising, and other funded activities are ethically acceptable.

The Investment Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of the Academy’s investments in accordance with the agreed investment strategy, the appointment of investment managers, and the level of income to be drawn down from the portfolio.

The Nominations Committee is responsible for identifying fit and proper persons for nomination as independent members to ensure that the Governing Body has appropriate expertise to meet its short- and long-term needs. The priorities for recruitment are to widen the diversity of members and enhance the financial, business, professional, and fundraising expertise of the Governing Body.

The Remuneration Committee is responsible for the terms of employment and remuneration of the Principal, members of the Senior Management Team and other senior staff. The Academy adopted the CUC’s Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code and presents an annual report to the Governing Body (page 37).

The Principal is the Chief Executive Officer of the Academy, who reports to the Governing Body and is responsible for implementing its decisions and for maintaining and promoting the efficiency and good order of the Academy. Under the OfS’s Terms and conditions of funding for higher education institutions for the period to 31 July 2025, the Principal is the designated Accountable Officer of the Academy.

The Senior Management Team is the Principal’s advisory group and comprises the Deputy Principal, Director of Finance, Deputy Principal (Advancement), Dean of Students, and Registrar & Director of Student Operations.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

STATEMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK

The Governing Body has, in accordance with its Royal Charter and Bye-Laws and the OfS Terms and conditions of funding for higher education institutions for the period to 31 July 2025, responsibility for maintaining a sound system of internal control that supports the achievement of strategic aims and objectives while safeguarding public and other funds and assets for which the Academy is responsible. The system of internal control is designed to manage rather than eliminate risk and can, therefore, only provide reasonable, and not absolute, assurance of effectiveness.

The system of internal control is based on an ongoing process designed to identify the principal risks, to evaluate the nature and extent of those risks, and to manage them efficiently and effectively. This process has been in place for the financial year ended 31 July 2025 and up to the date of approval of the Financial Statements and accords with OfS guidance.

The following internal control processes have been established:

The highest rated risks currently on the register include:

All risks listed are discussed by the Senior Management Team on a regular basis with mitigating actions in place and are reviewed termly by the Audit Committee.

The Academy continues to review data management with external consultation and legal and marketing experts, to minimise the GDPR-related risks in all our activities.

The Academy is subject to review by internal audit which, for 2024/25, was carried out by Azets. The internal auditors operate to standards defined in the Audit Code of Practice set out in the OfS Terms and conditions of funding for higher education institutions for the period to 31 July 2025 and report on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Academy’s system of internal control, make recommendations for improvement and monitor implementation. No significant weaknesses in internal control were identified during the year.

The Corporate Governance Statement and Statement on Internal Control and Risks was approved by the Governing Body and the Principal on 17 November 2025, and signed on its behalf by

Sir Simon Robey Chair of Governing Body

Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Principal

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNING BODY

The Governing Body oversees the Academy’s activities, determines its future direction, and fosters an environment in which the Academy’s mission can be achieved.

In accordance with its Royal Charter, the Governing Body is responsible for the administration and management of the Academy’s affairs and is required to present an Annual Report and audited Financial Statements each financial year.

The Governing Body is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the Academy and enable it to ensure that the Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: ‘Accounting for Further and Higher Education’ and other relevant accounting standards. In addition, within the OfS Terms and conditions of funding for higher education institutions, for the period to 31 July 2025, the Governing Body, through its designated Accountable Officer, is required to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Academy and of the surplus or deficit and cash flows for that year.

In causing the Financial Statements to be prepared, the Governing Body ensures that:

The Governing Body is satisfied that the Academy has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future despite reporting a loss on Total Comprehensive Income for the year. For this reason, the going concern basis continues to be adopted in the preparation of the Financial Statements.

The Governing Body is also responsible for:

The key elements of the Academy's system of internal control, which is designed to discharge the responsibilities set out above, include the following:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of Financial Statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Governing Body is responsible for the oversight and integrity of the Academy’s website.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

SENIOR STAFF REMUNERATION ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25

THE HIGHER EDUCATION SENIOR STAFF REMUNERATION CODE

The Governing Body adopted the HE Senior Staff Remuneration Code in June 2018 and is committed to fair and appropriate remuneration for all staff.

The Remuneration Committee

The Remuneration Committee’s terms of reference state that the Committee is responsible for matters relating to the remuneration of the Principal as Head of Institution (HoI), the Senior Management Team, senior staff with remuneration over £100,000, and other pertinent matters relating to senior staff. It also scrutinises the annual Gender Pay Gap Report.

Members of the Remuneration Committee, including its Chair, are appointed by the Governing Body. The Committee comprises three Independent Members and the Director of Human Resources: Lord Blackwell as Chair; Dame Jenny Abramsky and Sir Simon Robey; Rehmet Kassim-Lakha; and Cengiz Ali, Director of Human Resources. The Principal is not a member of the Committee but may be invited to attend to discuss matters relating to the remuneration of senior members of staff, but not his own.

The Committee reports its business to the Governing Body and presents an annual report which forms the basis of the Senior Staff Remuneration Report in the Financial Statements.

The Committee met twice during the reporting period, on 7 November 2024 and 24 September 2025.

Approach to Senior Staff Remuneration

The Academy is recognised as a world-class institution, welcoming students from over 50 countries, which contributes to a vibrant and cosmopolitan learning environment, and reflects the global music profession. We are dedicated to offering the very best education to students from all over the world; we train versatile and resourceful musicians with the skills they need in the continually changing profession and to enable them to become independent and creative musicians. We foster a research environment that encourages collaboration between students and staff, promoting innovative creative work in all our taught and research degree programmes. Both of these rely heavily on the quality of our teachers, and we aim to recruit and retain the very best, supporting them with professional development opportunities. The Academy also relies on an infrastructure of talented and committed professional services staff.

A number of factors will be considered when determining reward for senior staff:

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Sources of data for the Remuneration Committee

Sources of comparative data include:

Pay awards

The Academy subscribes to the Universities & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which negotiates the nationally agreed annual cost-of-living pay award with unions, on behalf of its members. Once agreed, the cost-of-living pay award is applied to all staff.

The pay award for 2024/25 was 2.5 to 5.7%, weighted to the lower end of the pay spine, with all staff receiving 2.5% from 1 August 2024, with the remainder payable from 1 March 2025. The Academy decided to implement the increase in full from 1 August 2024, ensuring that all employees benefited from the uplift in their salaries with immediate effect.

The pay award for 2025/26 was 1.4% for all staff, implemented on 1 August 2025.

Non-Senior Management Team remuneration

For non-Senior Management Team roles, the Academy subscribes to the HERA system, through which all roles are evaluated and assessed to determine the pay grade and salary range against the national pay scales, based on transparent criteria and to ensure pay equity and the elimination of discrimination.

Market forces supplements may be applied, where necessary, to attract and retain staff, upon provision of evidence of external market rates.

Additional staff pay awards, including incremental awards and one-off payments for exceptional work are evaluated on a termly basis by the Salary Review Group and its recommendations are scrutinised by the Senior Management Team.

Pay Multiples

The pay multiple of the HoI basic salary against the median of all staff is 6.46 for 2024/25 (5.39 2023/24). During the last five years the pay multiple has varied between 5.07 and 6.46.

External appointments

The Academy has some of the world’s finest teachers who provide inspiring tuition to our students and we encourage and support staff to continue their professional performance careers and to develop links with other institutions through flexible working arrangements. Staff who have visiting professorships or fellowships and other positions raise the profile of the Academy, and this is a useful means of identifying and sharing good practice in the sector. In addition, a significant number of our staff work as Special External Assessors and External Examiners at other institutions which benefits the Academy by adding an extra layer of externality in our ongoing monitoring and review of the quality and standards of our principal study disciplines, programmes and awards. This externality is also valuable in providing reassurance in respect of standards across the conservatoire sector. We do not therefore have a policy on the retention of income generated from external bodies but ask staff to inform us of any potential conflict of interest.

Expenses

All staff are expected to adhere to principles of seeking value for money, in hospitality, business travel, accommodation or otherwise. Expenses are expected to be reasonable and not excessive.

The expenses of the Principal are authorised by the Chair of the Governing Body. The expenses of the Director of Finance are authorised by the Principal. All other staff expenses are authorised by the Director of Finance.

The Principal’s contract was renewed during the period and extended to 2028. Information about the Principal’s remuneration is published on page 53.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE ACADEMY’S GOVERNING BODY

Opinion

We have audited the Financial Statements of Royal Academy of Music (the 'Academy') and its subsidiaries (‘the Group’) for the year ended 31 July 2025 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure, Consolidated and Academy Statement of Financial Position, Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, Consolidated and Academy Statement of Changes in Reserves and the related notes, including a summary statement of accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting for Further and Higher Education 2019 in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations, The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.

This has been done in order for the accounts to provide a true and fair view in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015. In our opinion the Financial Statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Statements section of our report.

We are independent of the Group and Academy in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the Financial Statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the Financial Statements, we have concluded that the Governing Body’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the Financial Statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group’s and Academy’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the Financial Statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Governing Body with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the Financial Statements and our Auditor's Report thereon. The Governing Body are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the Financial Statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the Financial Statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the Financial Statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Responsibilities of the Governing Body

As explained more fully in the Responsibilities Statement of the Governing Body, the Governing Body are responsible for the preparation of the Financial Statements which give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Governing Body

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

determine is necessary to enable the preparation of Financial Statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the Financial Statements, the Governing Body are responsible for assessing the Group and Academy’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Governing Body either intend to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Financial Statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor's Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Financial Statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the Financial Statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the Financial Statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor's Report.

Report on other legal and regulatory

We are required to report on the following matters by the Accounts Direction dated 25 October 2019 issued by the Office for Students (‘the Accounts Direction’).

In our opinion, in all material respects:

We are also required by the Accounts Direction to report where the results of our audit work indicate that the Academy’s grant and fee income, as disclosed in the notes to the Financial Statements, has been materially misstated. We have nothing to report in these respects.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Governing Body, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Governing Body those matters we are

40

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

required to state to them in an Auditor's Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Group and Academy and its Governing Body, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

MHA

Statutory Auditor London, United Kingdom

Date 10 December 2025

MHA is the trading name of MHA Audit Services LLP, a limited liability partnership in England and Wales (registered number OC455542).

MHA Audit Services LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

EXPENDITURE
Note Consolidated
Academy
Consolidated
Restated
Academy
Restated
2025
2025
2024
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Income
Tuition Fees
1
OfS and Funding Council Grants
2
Research Grants and Contracts
3
Other Income
4
Investment Income
5
Total Income before Donations and Endowments
Donations and Endowments
6
Total Income
Expenditure
Staff Costs
7
Other Operating Expenses
8
Depreciation
9
Total Expenditure
Operating Surplus before Other Gains or Losses
Gain on disposal of Fixed Assets
Gain on Investments
Surplus for the year
Actuarial Gain/(Loss) in respect of RAM1967 Pension
Scheme
Total Comprehensive Income for the year
Represented by:
Endowment comprehensive income for the year
Restricted comprehensive income for the year
Unrestricted comprehensive income for the year
Revaluation reserve comprehensive income for the
year		 12,715
12,715
13,104
13,104
5,622
5,622
5,806
5,806
30
30
1
1
2,003
2,003
2,037
2,037
3,794
3,794
1,658
1,658
24,164
24,164
22,606
22,606
8,993
8,993
14,900
14,900
33,157
33,157
37,506
37,506
17,105
17,105
15,114
15,114
13,193
13,193
13,357
13,357
2,167
2,137
1,860
1,830
32,465
32,435
30,331
30,301
692
722
7,175
7,205
137
137
66
66
4,351
4,351
7,898
7,898
5,180
5,210
15,139
15,169
-
-
234
234
5,180
5,210
15,373
15,403
6,293
6,293
10,307
10,307
63
63
5,484
5,484
(1,176)
(1,146)
(1,683)
(1,653)
-
-
1,265
1,265
5,180
5,210
15,373
15,403

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

CONSOLIDATED AND ACADEMY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Consolidated Academy
Consolidated Academy Restated Restated
2025 2025 2024 2024
Note £000 £000 £000 £000
Non-Current Assets
Fixed Assets:
Heritage 9 91,103 90,563 91,148 90,578
Operational 9 55,168 55,168 53,325 53,325
146,271 145,731 144,473 143,903
Non-Current Investments 10 86,858 86,858 77,968 77,968
233,129 232,589 222,441 221,871
Current Assets
Trade and Other Receivables 11 1,221 1,221 2,863 2,863
Current Investments 12 13,311 13,311 7,681 7,681
Cash and Cash Equivalents 1,590 1,590 10,115 10,115
16,122 16,122 20,659 20,659
Creditors:Amounts falling due within one year 13 (5,123) (5,123) (4,152) (4,152)
Net Current Assets 10,999 10,999 16,507 16,507
Total Assets less Current Liabilities 244,128 243,588 238,948 238,378
Restricted Reserves
Endowment Funds:
Income and Expenditure Reserve - Endowment 14 64,281 64,281 68,508 68,508
Income and Expenditure Reserve - Restricted 15 8,424 8,424 9,940 9,940
72,705 72,705 78,448 78,448
Unrestricted Reserves
Income and Expenditure Reserve - Unrestricted 142,902 142,362 131,975 131,405
Revaluation reserve 28,521 28,521 28,525 28,525
171,423 170,883 160,500 159,930
Total Funds 244,128 243,588 238,948 238,378

The Notes on pages 52 to 67 form part of these Financial Statements.

The Financial Statements were approved by the Governing Body and authorised for issue on 17 November 2025.

Sir Simon Robey

Chair of Governing Body

Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Principal

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Note 2025
2024
Restated
£000
£000
Cash flow from operating activities
Surplus for the year
Adjustments for non-cash items
Depreciation/Impairment of Fixed Assets
9
Gain on investments
10
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
11
Increase in creditors
13
Decrease in pension provisions
Decrease in other provisions
Receipt of donated equipment
6
Adjustment for investing or financing activities
Investment income
5
New endowments
14
(Profit) on sale of fixed assets
Capital grant income
Net cash outflow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds from sale of operational tangible assets
Capital grant receipts
Disposal of non-current asset investments
(Addition)/withdrawal of current asset investments deposits
Investment income
Purchase of operational tangible fixed assets
New non-current asset investments
New current asset investment deposits
Net cash outflow from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
New endowments received
14
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 August 2024
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July 2025		 5,180
15,139
2,167
1,859
(4,351)
(7,898)
1,642
(1,144)
971
351
-
(867)
-
(343)
(47)
(102)
(3,794)
(1,658)
(2,847)
(4,003)
-
(31)
(370)
(5,117)
(1,449)
(3,814)
137
66
370
5,117
41,545
35,662
(143)
519
3,794
1,658
(3,922)
(1,902)
(46,074)
(35,705)
(5,630)
(5,651)
(9,923)
(236)
2,847
4,003
(8,525)
(47)
10,115
10,162
1,590
10,115

The Group has not included an analysis of movement of net debt table as it did not have any net debt during the year.

44

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

CONSOLIDATED AND ACADEMY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN RESERVES

CONSOLIDATED
Note		 Income and expenditure Account (Restated)
Endowment
£000
Restricted
£000
Unrestricted
£000
Revaluation
Reserve
£000
Total
£000
Balance at 1 August 2023 (as previously stated)
Recognition of investment in ABRSM (restated)
Balance at 1 August 2023 (as restated)
Surplus/(deficit) from the Income and Expenditure
statement
Transfers between revaluation and Income and
Expenditure reserve
Total comprehensive income for the year
Transfer between Endowment and Restricted
reserves
Release of restricted capital funds spent in year
Restated balance at 1 August 2024
Surplus/(deficit) from the Income and Expenditure
statement
Transfers between revaluation and Income and
Expenditure reserve
Total comprehensive income for the year
Transfer between Endowment and Unrestricted
reserves
Release of restricted capital funds spent in year
Balance at 31 July 2025		 58,260
4,602
130,908
27,530
221,300
-
-
2,275
-
2,275
58,260
4,602
133,183
27,530
223,575
10,307
5,484
(1,683)
1,265
15,373
-
-
274
(274)
-
10,307
5,484
(1,409)
991
15,373
(59)
55
-
4
-
-
(201)
201
-
-
68,508
9,940
131,975
28,525
238,948
6,293
63
(1,176)
-
5,180
-
-
4
(4)
-
6,293
63
(1,172)
(4)
5,180
(10,520)
-
10,520
-
-
-
(1,579)
1,579
-
-
64,281
8,424
142,902
28,521
244,128
ACADEMY
Note		 Income and Expenditure Account (Restated)
Endowment
£000
Restricted
£000
Unrestricted
£000
Revaluation
Reserve
£000
Total
£000
Balance at 1 August 2023 (as previously stated)
Recognition of investment in ABRSM (restated)
Balance at 1 August 2023 (as restated)
Surplus/(deficit) from the Income and Expenditure
statement
Transfers between revaluation and Income and
Expenditure reserve
Total comprehensive income for the year
Transfer between Endowment and Restricted
reserves
Release of restricted capital funds spent in year
Restated balance at 1 August 2024
Surplus/(deficit) from the Income and Expenditure
statement
Transfers between revaluation and Income and
Expenditure reserve
Total comprehensive income for the year
Transfer between Endowment and Unrestricted
reserves
Release of restricted capital funds spent in year
Balance at 31 July 2025		 58,260
4,602
130,308
27,530
220,700
-
-
2,275
-
2,275
58,260
4,602
132,583
27,530
222,975
10,307
5,484
(1,653)
1,265
15,403
-
-
274
(274)
-
10,307
5,484
(1,379)
991
15,403
(59)
55
-
4
-
-
(201)
201
-
-
68,508
9,940
131,405
28,525
238,378
6,293
63
(1,146)
-
5,210
-
-
4
(4)
-
6,293
63
(1,142)
(4)
5,210
(10,520)
-
10,520
-
-
-
(1,579)
1,579
-
-
64,281
8,424
142,362
28,521
243,588

45

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES

FRS 102 is the single comprehensive Financial Reporting Standard and SORP 2019 is the education sector’s interpretation of FRS 102.

1. Accounting Convention

The Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified for the revaluation of the Academy’s listed investments, in accordance with Statement of Recommended Practice: ‘Accounting for Further and Higher Education’ (SORP), published in January 2019, and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards (FRS 102). The Academy is a public benefit entity and has therefore applied the relevant public benefit requirement of FRS 102.

The Governing Body has reviewed the financial position of the Academy and its plans for the future as set out in the Operating Plan and Financial review, outturn in 2024/25 as set out in the planned operation and activities of the Academy and is satisfied that it has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future.

The Governing Body reviews the annual budgets and plans which the Academy prepares as part of its annual planning cycle; these reflect the aims and objectives of the Strategic Plan 2023 to 2026, and feed into the five-year forecast. The budgets, plans and forecasts show that the Academy is expected to be able to continue to meet its working capital requirements from cash and liquid investments. The budgets and forecasts consider the impact of key external factors including the impact of Brexit on student recruitment as well as possible changes in government funding. The Senior Management Team and Governing Body consider the impact of changes in assumptions in these key areas before approving budgets and forecasts.

For this reason, the Governing Body considers that the Academy has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and is not aware of any material uncertainties which would prevent the Academy from continuing as a going concern. These Financial Statements have therefore been prepared on a going concern basis.

2. Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated Financial Statements comprise the Academy’s activities and those of its charitable subsidiary undertaking, the RAM Collections Trust. RAM Collections Trust is a registered charity established in 2004. It makes available the Foyle Menuhin collection for the Royal Academy of Music, which nominates its two Directors. RAM Development Company Limited was dormant during the year. The consolidated Financial Statements do not include those of the Students’ Union because the Academy does not control those activities as it is a separate entity. Intra-group transactions are eliminated on consolidation.

3. Recognition of Income

Income from the sale of goods or services is credited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure when the goods or services are supplied to the external customers or the terms of the contract have been satisfied.

Fee income is credited to income over the period in which students are studying. Bursaries funded from external donations or endowment income are omitted from expenditure and fee income and recognised as donations or interest receivable accordingly. Bursaries funded from general funds are included within bursary expenditure and fee income.

Funds the Academy receives and disburses as paying agent on behalf of a funding body are excluded from income and expenditure where the Academy is exposed to minimal risk or enjoys minimal economic benefit related to the transaction.

GRANTS AND DONATIONS

A Performance Related Condition (PRC) is a condition that requires the performance of a particular level of service or units of output to be delivered with payment of, or entitlement to, the resources conditional on that performance.

Grants and donations without PRC or any other type of restriction are recognised in full within the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure on entitlement to the income. This includes donations of assets.

Government and non-government grants with PRCs include annual grants such as OfS or UKRI teaching and research grants and bursary grants where the academic year and/or students to whom the grants relate are stipulated. They may also include grants for specific research projects to fund academic posts over a number of years. These grants are deferred on the Balance Sheet until the PRC has been met, at which point the grant is released to income.

Where no PRC attaches to a government or non-government grant but there are nevertheless restrictions imposed on the use of funds, the grant income is recognised in full when the Academy is entitled to the income. It is retained within a restricted reserve until being used in line with the restriction, at which point a reserve transfer is made to release the reserve to general funds.

Capital grants are treated in the same way as revenue grants.

ENDOWMENTS

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

An endowment fund is a form of charitable trust retained for the benefit of the Academy for the long-term and is subdivided into a capital and accumulated income element. A donation to establish an endowment fund which prohibits conversion of capital to income creates a 'permanent' endowment fund and such funds must generally be held indefinitely. If the Academy has power to use the capital then the endowment fund is 'expendable' although the Academy would be unlikely to use this power in the shortterm.

The investment income from permanent endowment funds may be restricted or unrestricted in use depending on the requirements of the donor whereas investment income from expendable endowment funds will always be restricted in use.

New endowment funds are credited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure on entitlement and then transferred to an endowment fund within the Balance Sheet. Investment income is credited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure and, if restricted, reserved within the endowment fund for future spend in accordance with restrictions. Expenditure against the restricted endowment fund is debited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure and charged to the endowment fund.

Appreciation/depreciation of endowment investments is recorded within the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure and then transferred to the capital element of the endowment funds.

OTHER INVESTMENT INCOME

Other investment income is credited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure on a receivable basis. Appreciation/depreciation of investments is credited/debited to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure and then transferred to the General Fund or Endowment funds, as appropriate.

4. Accounting for Retirement Benefits

The Academy contributes to four different pension schemes for current employees: the TPS; a Group Personal Pension Scheme (GPPS); the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST); and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The TPS and USS are defined benefit schemes and each fund is valued every three years by professionally qualified independent actuaries. The GPPS and NEST are defined contribution schemes.

The assets of the TPS are held in separate trustee-administered funds. Because of the nature of the Scheme, its assets are not hypothecated to individual institutions and Scheme-wide contributions are set. The Academy is therefore exposed to actuarial risks associated with other institutions’ employees and is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the Scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. Therefore, it accounts for the Scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. As a result, the amount charged to the Income and Expenditure Account represents the contributions payable to the Scheme in respect of the accounting period.

The USS is a multi-employer hybrid scheme, providing defined benefits (for all members) as well as defined contribution benefits. The assets of the Scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. Because of the mutual nature of the Scheme, the assets are not attributed to individual institutions and a scheme-wide contribution rate is set. The Academy is therefore exposed to actuarial risks associated with other institutions’ employees and is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. As required by Section 28 of FRS 102 “Employee benefits”, the Academy therefore accounts for the Scheme as if it were a wholly defined contribution scheme. As a result, the amount charged to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure represents the contributions payable to the Scheme. Since the Academy has entered into an agreement (the recovery plan) that determines how each employer within the Scheme will fund the overall deficit, a liability for the contributions payable that arise from the agreement (to the extent that they relate to the deficit) and therefore an expense is recognised. The Academy had nine members in the USS at the end of 2024/25.

The Academy also operates a defined benefit pension scheme, The Royal Academy of Music Pension Scheme 1967 (RAM1967), which is closed to new members, and which provides retirement benefits based on the length of service and final pensionable salary for certain employees. The operating and financing costs of the Scheme are recognised separately in the Income and Expenditure account. Service costs are spread over the service lives of the employees and financing costs are recognised in the period in which they arise. The cost of past service benefit enhancements, settlements and curtailments are also recognised in the period in which they arise. The differences between actual and expected returns during the year, including changes in actuarial assumptions are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure. The Academy’s net obligation in respect of the RAM1967 Scheme is calculated by estimating the amount of future benefits that employees have earned in return for their service in the current and prior periods: that benefit is discounted to determine its present value, and the fair value of any plan assets (at bid price) and any unrecognised past service costs are deducted. Any resulting surplus is subject to an impairment charge.

5. Employment Benefits

Short-term employment benefits such as salaries and compensated absences, in particular annual leave, are recognised as an expense in the year in which the employees render service to the Academy. Any unused benefits are accrued and measured as the additional amount the Academy expects to pay as a result of the unused entitlement.

47

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

6. Leases

Rental costs under operating leases are charged to expenditure in equal annual amounts over the term of the lease. Any lease premiums or incentives are spread over the lease term.

7. Fixed Assets

Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Where components of a fixed asset have different useful lives, they are accounted for as separate items of fixed assets.

Musical Instrument Collection assets which were revalued to fair value prior to 1 August 2014, the date of transition to the revised SORP, are measured on the basis of deemed cost, being the revalued amount at the transition date.

Impairment reviews are carried out if changes in conditions or events indicate the carrying amount of a fixed asset may not be recoverable.

Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at the date of preparation of each Balance Sheet.

Donations received towards the cost of buildings or other assets are released to income on entitlement or when PRCs, if they exist, have been met (refer to income recognition policy for further details). The income is then transferred to a restricted reserve to fund remaining asset purchase costs.

LAND AND BUILDINGS

Expenditure that adds value to the main Academy property is capitalised and depreciated over 40 years on a straight line basis.

Academy buildings are being depreciated over 90 years, in line with the length of the lease.

A componentisation approach has been applied to the completed Susie Sainsbury Theatre and Angela Burgess Recital Hall. The structures are being depreciated over 50 years but other components are being depreciated over between 10 and 25 years.

The York Gate building was acquired with the aid of a specific grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and was subsequently refurbished. The refurbishment costs of the York Gate building and the cost of the David Josefowitz Recital Hall have also been capitalised and are being depreciated over 71 and 28 years respectively.

Fit-out costs for York Gate are being depreciated over 13 years. The depreciation for the York Gate buildings was recalculated on transfer of the assets to the Academy in 2013.

The fit-out costs of the Cross Keys practice rooms are being depreciated over 10 years, this being the length of the lease.

Buildings under construction within the Academy are accounted for at cost based on the value of architects’ certificates and other direct costs incurred to 31 July. They are not depreciated until they are brought into use.

48

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

EQUIPMENT AND COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Expenditure on the purchase of equipment and other items is depreciated on a straight line basis as follows:

DONATED ASSETS

Donated fixed assets are capitalised on donation and included in the Balance Sheet at fair value, this being insurance value of the cost to the donor.

8. Heritage Assets

Since its foundation in 1822, the Academy has acquired important collections of instruments, manuscripts, paintings, photographs, busts, drawings, teaching aids and artefacts, batons, furnishings, memorabilia and other objects which have been bought or donated over the years. The majority of the instruments have been valued and are recorded in the Balance Sheet, most as working assets but a few, primarily stringed instruments made by Stradivari and Amati, are considered to be of such cultural international importance that they are not generally used for educational or musical purposes but are on display in the Academy's Museum, which is open to the public. Consequently they fall to be treated as heritage assets as they are held primarily for their contribution to knowledge and culture. The Spencer Collection and the Menuhin Collection were both purchased by the Academy and are also included in the Balance Sheet as heritage assets. The other items of the type described above are numerous and many have relatively low intrinsic values, however many of them have unique associations with their original owner or with the Academy. These assets are not considered to be of a heritage nature but are nevertheless an important part of the Academy's history and assist in preserving its reputation and attraction to current and potential students and teachers. Full details of the collections, which are fully catalogued and include both heritage and non-heritage assets, together with opening times for the Museum and Access policy, are given on the Academy's website at www.ram.ac.uk/Museum.

The key stringed instruments that are held as heritage assets are included in the Balance Sheet at fair value as at 1 August 2014, the date of transition to the SORP, and are no longer generally revalued. The ten most valuable instruments were revalued in 2020/21, as they account for 95% of the heritage assets. The carrying amounts are reviewed annually for impairment. Donated heritage assets are not depreciated as, given their long economic life and high residual value, depreciation would not be material. Heritage assets purchased by the Academy are included in the Financial Statements at cost and are depreciated over 40 years. Costs in connection with the preservation and conservation of heritage assets are charged to the Income and Expenditure Account as they are incurred.

9. Investments

Listed investments held within Non-Current investments are stated at fair value at the Balance Sheet date. Gains or losses are attributed to the appropriate fund.

Investments are recognised initially at fair value which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs. Subsequently, they are continuously measured at fair value with changes recognised in ‘net gains/(losses) on investments’ in the Statement of Financial Activities, if the shares are publicly traded or their fair value can otherwise be measured reliably. As investments are continuously revalued there are no realised gains or losses recorded.

Current asset investments are held at fair value with movements recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expenditure. They include bank and broker account deposits with a deposit term greater than 90 days.

The Academy has a 25% interest in the ABRSM which is carried at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. Under FRS 102, an associate is an entity, other than a subsidiary or joint venture, over which an investor has significant influence that is, the power to participate in the financial and operating policy decisions of the entity, but not to control or jointly control those policies. Significant influence is generally presumed to exist when an investor holds 20% or more of the voting power of another entity, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that such influence does not exist. The ABRSM is not considered to be an associate; although the Academy holds an effective 25% interest in the ABRSM, it controls less than 20% of the votes on the Board, and as a result does not have significant influence over ABRSM’s financial and reporting policies, including the level of distributions it receives. This holding is treated as a non-current asset.

49

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

10. Financial Instruments

The Academy has considered FRS 102 sections 11 and 12, identifying and classifying financial instruments as ‘basic’ and ‘other’. The Academy only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the Academy are as follows:

11. Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash flows comprise increases or decreases in cash. Cash includes cash in hand and cash deposits repayable on demand. Deposits are repayable on demand if they are in practice available within 24 hours without penalty. No investments, however liquid, are included as cash.

Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash with insignificant risk of change in value. They include building society deposits with a deposit term less than 90 days and no material penalty for early withdrawal.

12. Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

Provisions are recognised when:

The amount recognised as a provision is determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at a pre-tax rate that reflects risks specific to the liability.

A contingent liability arises from a past event that gives the Academy a possible obligation whose existence will only be confirmed by the occurrence of otherwise uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the Academy. Contingent liabilities also arise in circumstances where a provision would otherwise be made, but either it is not probable that an outflow of resources will be required or the amount of the obligation cannot be measured reliably.

A contingent asset arises where an event has taken place that gives the Academy a possible asset whose existence will only be confirmed by the occurrence or otherwise of uncertain future events not wholly within its control.

Contingent assets and liabilities are not recognised in the Balance Sheet but are disclosed in the Notes.

MAINTENANCE OF PREMISES

The Academy has a provision for the maintenance of its buildings which it is required to carry out in accordance with the terms of its lease. This is based on a 15-year maintenance plan which is reviewed on an annual basis. The provision represents the estimated cost, at the Balance Sheet date, of maintenance work falling due within the cyclical programme under the lease.

The cost of routine corrective maintenance is charged to the Income and Expenditure Account as incurred.

13. Taxation Status

The Academy is an exempt charity within the meaning of Part 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is therefore potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by section 478-488 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010) or section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income is applied exclusively for charitable purposes. The Academy is partially exempt in respect of Value Added Tax (VAT) so it can only recover a minor element of VAT charged on its inputs. Irrecoverable VAT on inputs is included in the cost of such inputs. Any irrecoverable VAT allocated to tangible fixed assets is included in their cost.

14. Reserves

Reserves are allocated between restricted and unrestricted reserves. Restricted reserves include endowments (see Note 16) and non-endowment funds which the donor has designated for a specific purpose.

50

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

15. Significant Estimates and Accounting Judgements

In the preparation of the 2025 consolidated Financial Statements, it is the responsibility of management to make informed judgements and estimates that affect the reported values for assets, liabilities, income and expenditure.

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The following key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation and uncertainty at the reporting date of 31 July 2025, are listed as follows:

DEFERRED BENEFIT SCHEME PENSION PROVISION

The Academy is the sole member of the RAM1967 Pension Scheme which is a defined benefit scheme, and for which a provision is recorded within the Balance Sheet. The recognised liability is based on the valuation provided by professionally qualified independent actuaries which is based on a number of assumptions. These include the future cash flows of the Scheme, the discount rate used (which is based on average AA rated UK corporate bond rates that reflect the duration of our liability), the pensionable salary growth going forward and proposed price inflation (which is based on the RPI). Further details can be found in Note 18.

Management review the assumptions made to derive the provisions recorded within the Balance Sheet to ensure that they are reasonable.

16. Post Balance Sheet Events

Since 31 July, there has been one significant post-Balance Sheet event, which is that on 5 November 2025, the Academy entered a lease to occupy a vacant property on London City Island. The building is currently a shell, and the Academy will fund its fit-out through philanthropic fundraising. £5.4m has been secured to date. The building is planned to open in 2027 and will provide much needed additional capacity for teaching and learning. We plan to subsidize its running costs by renting out spaces outside term times; the net cost is projected to be no greater than the savings from reduced hire of external spaces.

Restatement of Comparative Information

During the current financial year, we identified that the Academy’s prior year Financial Statements did not fully recognise the Academy’s investment in the ABRSM. In accordance with the requirements of FRS 102 Section 10: Accounting Policies, Estimates and Errors, the comparative figures have been restated to reflect the recognition of this investment.

As a result of the restatement:

This adjustment affects only non-current assets and reserves and has no impact on the reported surplus or deficit for the prior financial year.

Distributions received from the ABRSM are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as Investment Income. During the year the Academy received £1.75m of investment income (£0.5m 2023/24, previously included in other operating income).

51

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
1. Tuition fees
Full-time UK and EU
Full-time international
Junior, Intermediate and Other		 4,519
4,519
4,560
4,560
7,096
7,096
7,414
7,414
1,100
1,100
1,130
1,130
12,715
12,715
13,104
13,104
2. OfS and funding council grants
Recurrent teaching grant
Recurrent research grant
Other special funding
Capital grant		 4,958
4,958
4,995
4,995
582
582
597
597
82
82
164
164
-
-
50
50
5,622
5,622
5,806
5,806
We are satisfied that we meet the performance conditions set out in the grants above.
3. Research grants and contracts
Other grants and contracts
30
30
1
1
30
30
1
1
30
30
1
1
The source of grant and fee income, included in Notes 1 to 2 is a
Grant and fee income
Grant income from the OfS
Grant income from other bodies
Fee income for research awards (exclusive of VAT)
Fee income from non-qualifying courses (exclusive of VAT)
Fee income for taught awards (exclusive of VAT)		 s follows:
4,958
4,958
5,045
5,045
664
664
761
761
209
209
219
219
1,100
1,100
1,130
1,130
11,406
11,406
11,755
11,755
18,337
18,337
18,910
18,910
Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
Restated
2024
£000
Academy
Restated
2024
£000
4. Other income
Residences and catering
Other operating income		 549
549
528
528
1,454
1,454
1,509
1,509
2,003
2,003
2,037
2,037
5. Investment income
Investment income
ABRSM investment income
Other interest receivable		 1,897
1,897
818
818
1,750
1,750
500
500
147
147
340
340
3,794
3,794
1,658
1,658
Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
6. Donations and endowments
New endowments
Performance Related Condition income utilised
Restricted donations
Unrestricted donations
Donation of assets (non-cash)		 2,847
2,847
4,003
4,003
1,635
1,635
1,557
1,557
2,964
2,964
8,275
8,275
1,500
1,500
963
963
47
47
102
102
8,993
8,993
14,900
14,900

52

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
7. Staff
Staff costs
Wages and salaries
Social Security costs
Pension costs net of pension provision adjustment		 13,640
13,640
12,408
12,408
1,428
1,428
1,165
1,165
2,037
2,037
1,541
1,541
17,105
17,105
15,114
15,114

Members of Governing Body do not receive remuneration for their work as Trustees.

Principal's emoluments 2025
£
2024
£
Salary
Benefits
Pension contributions and pay in lieu of pension contributions
Compensation for change in tax treatment of accommodation *
Accommodation – taxable		 230,482
209,842
7,441
5,102
37,833
36,911
14,722
14,778
24,118
24,592
314,596
291,225

The Principal is not a member of a pension scheme therefore his salary contains a pension equivalent, now rolled into a single sum. This is shown separately above.

The Principal is required as part of his contract to live on the Academy premises. The premises are an integral part of the main Academy building and the apportioned costs associated with the Principal’s use of the residence are £24,118 (£24,592 2023/24). The space is also used by chamber groups for rehearsal and coaching, for visiting performers, for cataloguing by the Library staff, and for quiet working.

The Principal’s remuneration is set by the Remuneration Committee (of which he is not a member) after consideration of his performance as Principal approaching 20 years, his success in meeting strategic objectives, and of salaries at other comparable higher education institutions, which includes particular reference to other conservatoires and specialist institutions. He has continued to strengthen the quality of student and staff recruitment, achieving high rankings in relevant league tables, as well as attracting considerable philanthropic income. He has also generated an international profile, as reflected in the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme and other major artistic and industry collaborations. The salary is set according to comparable UK conservatoires and does not match a corporate-world equivalent but rather takes into account the skills required to run a highlevel and complex institution, with long working hours. The Principal’s contract and remuneration were reviewed in 2024.

The Principal's basic salary is 6.1 times (5.39 times 2023/24) the median pay of staff, where the median pay is calculated on a fulltime equivalent basis for the salaries paid by the Academy to its staff.

The Principal's total remuneration is 7.0 times (6.50 times 2023/24) the median total remuneration of staff, where the median total remuneration is calculated on a full-time equivalent basis for the total remuneration paid by the Academy to its staff.

Severance payments of £6.8k were made to two members of staff in 2024/25, of which £3.6k was non-contractual (two members of staff £26k of which £10k was non-contractual 2023/24).

The Academy adheres to the CUC Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code.

53

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

There were 32 members of staff, including the Principal, who received emoluments (including taxable benefits and allowances but excluding employer’s pension contributions) in excess of £60,000, in the following ranges:

**Range ** 2025 2024
£60,000-£70,000 10 7
£70,001-£80,000 8 8
£80,001-£90,000 4 3
£90,001-£100,000 5 5
£100,001-£110,000 2 2
£120,001-£130,000 1 1
£150,001-£160,000 1 1
£260,001-£270,000 1 1

The average number of persons employed by the Academy and the Group during the year, expressed as full-time equivalents (FTE), are shown in the table below:

(FTE), are shown in the table below:
Staff numbers 2025
FTE
2024
FTE
Teaching and academic provision *
Student projects, performances and wellbeing
Central administration and services
Premises		 154
142
49
44
55
47
15
15
273
248
* The figures above include the following Junior Academy teaching staff
Compensation for loss of office payable to a senior post holder
Compensation payable recorded within staff costs		 16
16
-
-
-
-

KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

Key Management Personnel comprises the Senior Management Team, including the Principal, being those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Academy.

authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Academy.
2025
£000
2024
£000
Key management personnel compensation
Headcount		 1,017
964
6
6
WIDENING PARTICIPATION STAFFING COSTS
2025
£000
2024
£000
Access investment
Financial support
Disability support (excluding expenditure included in the two categories above)
Research and evaluation		 266
164
53
-
108
148
29
13
456
325

54

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

PUBLIC SECTOR TRADE UNION FACILITY TIME

The Academy is required to report on the paid time off during working hours for trade union representatives to carry out trade union duties. This data covers the period 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025.

2025 2024
Total number and FTE of union officials employed 0 no and 0 FTE 0 no and 0 FTE
Percentage of time spent on facility time 0% 0%
Total cost of facility time £0 £0
Total pay bill £13,640k £12,408k
Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time 0% 0%
Time spent onpaid trade union activities as apercentage of totalpaid facilityhours 0% 0%

8. Other operating expenditure

Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Restated
Consolidated
2024
£000
Restated
Academy
2024
£000
Teaching
Support
Other academic services
Central administration and services
General education Awards
General education excluding Awards
Student/staff facilities
Premises
Catering and Residence
Other expenses		 2,185
2,185
2,169
2,169
370
370
54
54
158
158
183
183
1,591
1,591
1,895
1,895
3,517
3,517
3,636
3,636
585
585
910
910
73
73
154
154
3,860
3,860
3,409
3,409
854
854
937
937
-
-
10
10
13,193
13,193
13,357
13,357
Other operating expenses include:
External auditors' remuneration in respect of audit services
relating
External auditors' remuneration in respect of audit services
relating to 2023/24
Internal auditors' remuneration
Operating lease rentals:
Land and buildings
Other		 80
70
1
37
24
811
723
11
20
Access and Participation Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
Access investment
Financial support
Disability support (excluding expenditure included in the two
categories above)
Research and evaluation		 359
359
234
234
425
425
338
338
108
108
152
152
31
31
14
14
923
923
738
738

£456,000 (£325,000 2023/24) of these costs are included in the overall staff costs figures in the Financial Statements, see Note 7.

55

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

9. Tangible fixed assets

a) CONSOLIDATED

a) CONSOLIDATED
OPERATIONAL HERITAGE TOTAL
Cost or valuation Operational
Long
Leasehold
Land and
Buildings
Assets
in the
Course of
Cons-
truction
Equipment
Instrument
Collection
Cost
Cost
Cost
Valuation
£000
£000
£000
£000		 Subtotal
Operational
Assets
£000

Heritage
Instrument
Collection
Spencer
Collections
Valuation
Cost
£000
£000		 Subtotal


Heritage
Assets
£000

Grand
Total
£000
At 1 August 2024
Additions
Disposals
Transfer
At 31 July 2025
Depreciation
As at 1 August 2024
Disposals
Charge for the year
At 31 July 2025
Net book value
At 31 July 2025
At 31 July2024		 56,713
1,579
9,902
7,593
-
3,513
409
43
-
-
(216)
-
3,625
(3,625)
-
-		 75,787
3,965
(216)
-		 90,145
2,103
-
-
-
-
-
-
92,248
-
-
-		 168,035
3,965
(216)
-
60,338
1,467
10,095
7,636		 79,536 90,145
2,103		 92,248 171,784
17,418
-
5,044
-
-
-
(216)
-
1,808
-
314
-		 22,462
(216)
2,122		 -
1,100
-
-
-
45		 1,100
-
45		 23,562
(216)
2,167
19,226
-
5,142
-		 24,368 -
1,145		 1,145 25,513
41,112
1,467
4,953
7,636		 55,168 90,145
958		 91,103 146,271
39,295
1,579
4,858
7,593		 53,325 90,145
1,003		 91,148 144,473

99% of the value of instruments held as heritage assets is represented by 22 stringed instruments, including 7 made by Antonio Stradivari.

There were no disposals of heritage assets during the year (nil 2023/24).

During the year there were 34 donated items (22 2024/25). Due to their unique nature and minimal market value, these heritage items have not been included in the Financial Statements. While they are of significant cultural value, their fair market value is considered minimal and therefore do not affect the Financial Statements.

b) ACADEMY

b) ACADEMY
OPERATIONAL HERITAGE TOTAL
Cost or valuation Operational
Long
Leasehold
Land and
Buildings
Assets
in the
Course of
Cons-
truction
Equipment
Instrument
Collection
Cost
Cost
Cost
Valuation
£000
£000
£000
£000		 Subtotal
Operational
Assets
£000

Heritage
Instrument
Collection
Spencer
Collections
Valuation
Cost
£000
£000		 Subtotal


Heritage
Assets

£000

Grand
Total
£000
At 1 August 2024
Additions
Disposals
Transfer
At 31 July 2025
Depreciation
At 1 August 2024
Disposals
Charge for the year
At 31 July 2025
Net book value
At 31 July 2025
At 31 July2024		 53,941
1,579
9,902
7,593
-
3,513
409
43
-
-
(216)
-
3,625
(3,625)
-
-		 73,015
3,965
(216)
-		 90,145
905
-
-
-
-
-
-		 91,050
-
-
-		 164,065
3,965
(216)
-
57,566
1,467
10,905
7,636		 76,764 90,145
905		 91,050 167,814
14,646
-
5,044
-
-
-
(216)
-
1,808
-
314
-		 19,690
(216)
2,122		 -
472
-
-
-
15		 472
-
15		 20,162
(216)
2,137
16,454
-
5,142
-		 21,596 -
487		 487 22,083
41,112
1,467
4,953
7,636		 55,168 90,145
418		 90,563 145,731
39,295
1,579
4,858
7,593		 53,325 90,145
433		 90,578 143,903

56

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

10. Non-current investments

10. Non-current investments
At Market Value Consolidated and Academy
Fixed
Assets
Restricted
Investments
Unrestricted
Investments
Endowment
Assets
Total
Investments
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
At 1 August 2024 (as previously stated)
ABRSM investment restated 1 August 2023
At August 2024 (restated)
Reclassification on 1 August 2024
Purchases of investments
Proceeds from sales of investments
Appreciation/(depreciation) on disposal/revaluation
At 31 July 2025
Represented by:
Equities
Fixed Interest Stocks
Property and alternatives
Other
ABRSM investment		 10,961
848
-
63,884
75,693
-
-
2,275
2,275
10,961
848
2,275
63,884
77,968
-
-
11,229
(11,229)
-
8,028
617
6,360
31,069
46,074
(7,382)
(567)
(6,150)
(27,446)
(41,545)
277
21
681
3,382
4,361
11,884
919
14,395
59,660
86,858
7,043
545
7,877
38,915
54,380
-
-
1,720
8,816
10,536
3,657
282
1,549
7,179
12,667
1,184
92
974
4,750
7,000
-
-
2,275
-
2,275
11,884
919
14,395
59,660
86,858

11. Trade and other receivables

11. Trade and other receivables
Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 254
254
559
559
967
967
2,304
2,304
1,221
1,221
2,863
2,863

12. Current investments

12. Current investments
Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
Short-term deposits
91 days to less than 1 year
Short term deposits		 13,311
13,311
7,681
7,681
13,311
13,311
7,681
7,681

During the 2023/24 financial year the Investment Committee decided to consolidate all our investments under Cazenove Capital. As a result, a £7m Working Capital Liquidity Fund was set up with Cazenove Capital.

During the 2024/25 financial year, investments continued to be managed by Cazenove Capital. As at year end, a balance of £11,012k was held within the Working Capital Liquidity Fund, with an additional £2,299k held as a cash deposit within the investment portfolio.

13. Creditors

Consolidated
2025
£000
Academy
2025
£000
Consolidated
2024
£000
Academy
2024
£000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade creditors
Fees in advance
Deferred revenue (Performance Related Conditions)
Taxation and social security
Other creditors and accruals		 482
482
593
593
1,022
1,022
779
779
2,078
2,078
1,803
1,803
406
406
389
389
1,135
1,135
588
588
5,123
5,123
4,152
4,152

57

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Deferred revenue includes the following items of income which are deferred until specific performance related conditions are met:

et:
Consolidated Academy Consolidated Academy
2025 2025 2024 2024
£000 £000 £000 £000
Teaching grants 2,058 2,058 1,768 1,768
Other grants 20 20 35 35
2,078 2,078 1,803 1,803

14. Endowment Reserve

Unrestricted
Permanent
£000
Restricted
Permanent
£000		 Subtotal
Permanent
£000		 Restricted
Expendable
£000
Grand
total
£000
Capital
At 1 August 2024
Reclassification on 1 August 2024
At 1 August 2024 post reclassification
Transfer to General Funds (Note 16)
Increase/(decrease) in market value of investment
New endowments received
Capital applied for distribution
At 31 July 2025
Accumulated Income
At 1 August 2024
Reclassification on 1 August 2024
At 1 August 2024 post reclassification
Transfer to General Reserves (Note 16)
Capital applied for distribution
Investment income
Expenditure
Net income accumulated/(utilised) in current year
At 31 July 2025
Total Funds
At 1 August 2024
At 31 July 2025
Analysis by fund-type
Bursary and prize funds
Teaching and masterclass funds
Other funds		 6,900
34,813
(59)
(94)		 41,713
(153)		 25,574
67,287
153
-
6,841
34,719
(5,431)
-
122
3,049
-
337
-
-		 41,560
(5,431)
3,171
337
-		 25,727
67,287
(5,001)
(10,432)
701
3,872
2,510
2,847
(445)
(445)
1,532
38,105		 39,637 23,492
63,129
-
605
59
94		 605
153		 616
1,221
(153)
-
59
699
(47)
-
-
-		 758
(47)
-		 463
1,221
-
(47)
445
445
29
708
(41)
(616)		 737
(657)		 201
938
(748)
(1,405)
(12)
92
-
791		 80
791		 (547)
(467)
361
1,152
6,900
35,418
1,532
38,896		 42,318
40,428		 26,190
68,508
23,853
64,281
1,532
30,504
-
8,392
-
-		 32,036
8,392
-		 11,588
43,624
12,238
20,630
27
27
1,532
38,896		 40,428 23,853
64,281
Analysis by asset
Investments
Cash
Other current assets/liabilities		 61,122
2,922
237
64,281

There are no deficit balances on any endowment fund.

*During the year, following approval by the Governing Body, a transfer of investments was made from the endowment to general funds. This reallocation was undertaken in line with the Academy’s financial policies and governance framework, to support the operational priorities and ensure the effective use of resources. The transfer was duly authorised by the Finance & General Purposes Committee and has been appropriately recorded and disclosed in the Financial Statements for the year.

Consolidated and Academy Prior Year

58

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Unrestricted
Permanent
£000
Restricted
Permanent
£000
Subtotal
Permanent
£000
Restricted
Expendable
£000
Grand
total
£000
Capital
At 1 August 2023
Increase/(decrease) in market value of investments
New endowments received
Capital applied for distribution
At 31 July 2024
Accumulated income
At 1 August 2023
Capital applied for distribution
Investment income
Expenditure
Net income accumulated/(utilised) in current year
At 31 July 2024
Total funds
At 1 August 2023
At 31 July 2024
Analysis by fund-type
Bursary and prize funds
Teaching and masterclass funds
Development funds
Other funds
Analysis by asset
Investments
Cash
Other current assets/liabilities		 6,218
30,816
37,034
20,083
57,117
682
3,161
3,843
2,701
6,544
-
836
836
3,167
4,003
-
-
-
(377)
(377)
6,900
34,813
41,713
25,574
67,287
-
612
612
531
1,143
-
-
-
377
377
137
632
769
139
908
(137)
(639)
(776)
(431)
(1,207)
-
(7)
(7)
(292)
(299)
-
605
605
616
1,221
6,218
31,428
37,646
20,614
58,260
6,900
35,418
42,318
26,190
68,508
1,423
27,807
29,230
8,043
37,273
-
7,611
7,611
13,119
20,730
5,466
-
5,466
-
5,466
11
-
11
5,028
5,039
6,900
35,418
42,318
26,190
68,508
65,895
2,186
427
68,508

There are no deficit balances on any endowment fund.

59

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

ENDOWMENT FUNDS – CONSOLIDATED AND ACADEMY

Details of major funds (with income or balances exceeding £500,000) and the total value of other invested funds are presented below:

Market
At 1 August Revaluation and Investment At 31 July
2024 Donations Income Expenditure 2025
Fund Name **Fund type ** Fundpurpose £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Christopher Hogwood Scholarship Unrestricted
Permanent		 Income designated for postgraduate
student awards		 1,422 122 29 (41) 1,532
Development Fund Unrestricted
Permanent		 In support of general operations 5,477 470 123 (169) 5,901
Derek Butler Scholarship Restricted
Permanent		 To supply scholarships for students 693 59 14 (12) 754
Elton John Scholarship (senior academy fund) Restricted
Permanent		 A scholarship fund for UK students 1,928 164 40 (32) 2,100
Sir Lawrence Robson Award Restricted
Permanent		 To supply awards for students of
exceptional merit or in financial need		 843 72 17 (14) 918
Alec Rowley Memorial Fund Restricted
Permanent		 To supply awards for students intending
to pursue a career in classical music		 621 54 13 (10) 678
Academy Permanent Endowment Awards Restricted
Permanent		 To support deserving Academy Students 7,473 636 153 (109) 8,153
Academy Permanent Endowment Bursary Restricted
Permanent		 To support Academy students in financial
need		 6,030 661 124 (101) 6,714
Academy Permanent Endowment Scholarship Restricted
Permanent		 To make awards to Academy students for
exceptional merit		 4,214 359 86 (68) 4,591
San Martino Trust Restricted
Permanent		 To provide scholarships for musical
education		 978 83 20 (16) 1,065
The Gatsby Chair of Musical Theatre Restricted
Permanent		 To support the Gatsby chair of Musical
Theatre		 7,386 640 154 (154) 8,026
Albert Butler Memorial Scholarship Restricted
Permanent		 To supply award to UK home piano
students		 760 66 1 - 827
Violet Irene Strutton Award Restricted
Permanent		 To supply scholarships for students 465 40 10 (8) 507
Academy Expendable Endowment Awards Restricted
Expendable		 To supply awards for deserving Academy
students		 2,106 75 21 (73) 2,129
Academy Expendable Endowment Scholarship Restricted
Expendable		 To supply awards to Academy students
for exceptional merit		 349 450 4 (16) 787
Expendable Endowment Junior Academy
awards		 Restricted
Expendable		 To supply awards for Junior Academy
students		 965 17 10 (6) 986
Alexander Technique Fund Restricted
Expendable		 To support operational costs of the
Alexander Technique department		 589 15 6 (18) 592

60

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Junior Academy Fund
Restricted
Expendable
To support operational costs of the Junior
Academy department
York Gate Fund
Restricted
Expendable
To support the running costs of the York
Gate estate
Aud Jebsen Endowed Professorship of Piano
Restricted
Expendable
To support a professorship of piano
William Lawes Endowed Chair of Chamber
Music
Restricted
Expendable
To support the Chair of Chamber Music
and Head of Strings
Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano
Restricted
Expendable
To support the Chair of Piano
John Baker Opera Scholarship
Restricted
Expendable
To supply awards to PG opera students
Suresh & Richard McMillan Scholarship for
Opera and Music
Restricted
Expendable
To supply awards to opera and clarinet
students
Sulamita Aronovsky Piano Department/Piano
students
Restricted
Expendable
To support Piano Department and Piano
students
Nina Drucker, Strings, fellows, masterclasses
and competition prize
Restricted
Expendable
To support the Strings department
Elisabeth and George Wells scholarship for
Organ
Restricted
Expendable
To supply awards to Organ students
Total value of funds below £500,000
Restricted
Expendable
To supply awards to students, and in
support of educational and general
purposes
Total value of funds below £500,000
Restricted
Permanent
To supply awards to students, and in
support of educational and general
purposes
Total value of restricted funds invested
Restricted Fund
Invested
To supply general awards and prizes to
students
Total value of designated funds invested
Designated
Funds Invested
Funds invested to supply awards to
students and for general purpose		 1,468
22
12
(1)
1,501
5,001
128
(60)
59
5,128
1,408
40
10
(42)
1,416
3,000
96
30
(109)
3,017
3,008
125
30
(139)
3,024
726
85
4
(22)
793
1,110
37
1
(32)
1,116
875
167
8
-
1,050
3,703
137
36
(111)
3,765
-
1,077
8
-
1,085
1,879
859
22
(171)
2,589
4,030
552
76
(92)
4,566
925
19
9
(17)
936
11,983
128
121
(130)
12,102
81,415
7,455
1,132
(1,654)
88,348

The reserve invested funds detailed above are primarily backed by non-current investment assets, with additional balances held as current assets. The funds are of sufficient value and liquidity to enable them to be applied in accordance with their associated restrictions. The invested funds comprise endowment funds £64.3m; general funds invested £11.0m; restricted funds invested £0.94m; and designated funds invested £12.1m.

61

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

15. Restricted Reserves

15. Restricted Reserves
Consolidated and Academy
Unspent
Capital
Grants
£000
Other
Restricted
Funds
£000
2025
Total
£000
2024
Total
£000
At 1 August 2024
Reclassification
At 1 August 2024
Transfer from endowments (Note 14)
Donations
Investment income
Appreciation of restricted investments
Capital grants utilised
Transfer to other funds to restricted funds
Expenditure
At 31 July 2025
Analysis of other restricted funds by type of purpose:
Bursary and prize funds
Teaching funds
Other funds		 5,092
4,850
9,942
4,602
302
(302)
-
-
5,394
4,548
9,942
4,602
-
-
-
59
370
2,979
3,349
8,288
-
8
8
5
-
19
19
43
(1,791)
-
(1,791)
(201)
-
(162)
(162)
-
-
(2,941)
(2,941)
(2,854)
3,973
4,451
8,424
9,942
2,476
2,198
518
711
1,457
1,941
4,451
4,850

16. General Funds

16. General Funds
Consolidated and Academy
Unspent
Capital
Grants
£000
Other
Restricted
Funds
£000
2025
Total
£000
At 1 August 2024
Transfer from endowments (Note 14)
 Transfer from Endowments Funds to General Funds (Note 14)
Capital applied for distribution
Investment income
Appreciation of investments
Income utilised
At 31 July 2025
Analysis of other restricted funds by type of purpose:
Other funds		 -
-
-
5,431
5,001
10,432
47
-
47
-
60
60
123
57
180
470
127
597
(170)
(117)
(287)
5,901
5,128
11,029
-
-
11,029
-
-
11,029

62

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

17. Pension Scheme costs

Superannuation contributions are paid to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for teaching staff, to the USS for a small number of teaching and administrative staff, to a GPPS for administrative staff or to the NEST for those not eligible for other schemes. The assets of these schemes are held separately from the assets of the Academy in independently administered funds.

The Royal Academy of Music Pension Scheme 1967 (RAM1967) for administrative staff was closed to future accruals of pension benefit on 31 March 2005, however the Scheme continues to be operated by the Prudential Assurance Company and the Academy is undertaking deficit funding.

is undertaking deficit funding.
Totalpension cost for theyear was: 2025
£000
2024
£000
TPS: employer's contributions paid
GPPS: employer’s contributions paid
USS: employer's contributions paid
NEST: employer's contributions paid
Totalpension cost*		 1,269
1,117
624
557
107
124
20
23
2,020
1,821

TEACHERS PENSION SCHEME

The TPS is a statutory, unfunded, defined benefit occupational scheme, governed by the Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 (as amended), and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (as amended). These Regulations apply to teachers in schools and other educational establishments, including academies, in England and Wales that are maintained by local authorities. In addition, teachers in many independent and voluntary aided schools and teachers and lecturers in some establishments of further and higher education may be eligible for membership. Membership is automatic for full-time teachers and lecturers and, from 1 January 2007, automatic too for teachers and lecturers in part-time employment following appointment or a change of contract. Teachers and lecturers are able to opt out of the TPS.

Although members may be employed by various bodies, their retirement and other pension benefits are set out in regulations made under the Superannuation Act (1972) and Public Services Pensions Act (2013) and are paid by public funds provided by Parliament. The TPS is an unfunded scheme and members contribute on a ‘pay as you go’ basis – contributions from members, along with those made by employers, are credited to the Exchequer under arrangements governed by the above Acts.

The Teachers’ Pension Regulations 2010 require an annual account, the Teachers’ Pension Budgeting and Valuation Account, to be kept of receipts and expenditure (including the cost of pension increases). From 1 April 2001, the Account has been credited with a real rate of return, which is equivalent to assuming that the balance in the Account is invested in notional investments that produce that real rate of return.

The 2020 valuation of the TPS has now been published. TPS employers paid a contribution rate of 23.68%, including the administration levy of 0.8% during the first 8 months of 2023/24. This rose to 28.68% from 1 April 2024, on the basis of the 2020 valuation.

https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/employers/2023/10/valuation-result.aspx.

UNIVERSITIES SUPERANNUATION SCHEME

The USS is a contributory, defined benefit scheme. At the end of the year the Academy had nine members.

The Scheme is a multi-employer scheme and given the mutual nature of the scheme, is unable to identify individual employers' shares of assets and liabilities. Consequently, individual employers are unable to apply defined benefit accounting. Section 28 of FRS 102 states that if sufficient information is not available to use defined benefit accounting for a multi-employer plan that is a defined benefit arrangement, an entity shall account for the plan as if it was a defined contribution arrangement.

The total cost charged to the profit and loss account is £106,703 (£124,000 2024) as shown above.

A deficit recovery plan was put in place as part of the 2020 valuation. It required payment of 6.2% of salaries over the period 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2024, at which point the rate would increase to 6.3%. No deficit recovery plan was required under the 2023 valuation because the scheme was in surplus on a technical provisions basis. The institution was no longer required to make deficit recovery contributions from 1 January 2024 and accordingly released the outstanding provision to the statement of income and expenses in the prior year.

The latest available complete actuarial valuation of the Retirement Income Builder is as at 31 March 2023 (the valuation date), and was carried out using the projected unit method.

Since the institution cannot identify its share of USS Retirement Income Builder (defined benefit) assets and liabilities, the following disclosures reflect those relevant for those assets and liabilities as a whole.

63

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The 2023 valuation was the 7th valuation for the scheme under the scheme-specific funding regime introduced by the Pensions Act 2004, which requires schemes to have sufficient and appropriate assets to cover their technical provisions. At the valuation date, the value of the assets of the scheme was £73.1bn and the value of the scheme’s technical provisions was £65.7bn indicating a surplus of £7.4bn and a funding ratio of 111%.

The key financial assumptions used in the 2023 valuation are described below. More detail is set out in the Statement of Funding Principles (https://www.uss.co.uk/fundprinciples-sfs).

Price inflation – Consumer Prices 3% pa (based on a long term average expected level of CPI, broadly consistent with long Index (CPI) term market expectations) RPI/CPI gap 1.0% pa to 2030, reducing to 0.1% pa from 2023 Discount rate (forward rates) Fixed interest gilt yield curve plus: Pre-retirement: 2.5% pa Post retirement: 0.9% pa Pension increases (all subject to a Benefits with no cap: floor of 0%) CPI assumption plus 3bps Benefits subject to a ‘soft cap’ of 5% (providing inflationary increases up to 5%, and half of any excess inflation over 5% up to a maximum of 10%): CPI assumption minus 3bps

The main demographic assumption used relates to the mortality assumptions. These assumptions are based on analysis of the Scheme's experience carried out as part of the 2023 actuarial valuation. The mortality assumptions used in these figures are as follows:

2023 valuation

Mortality base table 101% of S2PMA “light” for males and 95% of S3PFA for females Future improvements to mortality CMI 2021 with a smoothing parameter of 7.5, an initial addition of 0.4% pa, 10% w2020 and w2021 parameters, and a long-term improvement rate of 1.8% pa for males and 1.6% pa for females

As at As at
The current life expectancies on retirement at age 65 are: 31 July 2025 31 July 2024
Males currently aged 65 (years) 23.80 23.70
Females currently aged 65 (years) 25.50 25.60
Males currently aged 45 (years) 25.70 25.40
Females currentlyaged 45(years) 27.20 27.20

GROUP PERSONAL PENSION SCHEME

A GPPS was started on 1 April 2005 for all administrative staff. This Scheme is a defined contribution scheme with employee and employer contributions based on length of service. £55,220 of contributions were outstanding at the Balance Sheet date and the amount of employer contributions paid during the year was £624k (£557k 2023/24).

ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC PENSION SCHEME 1967

The Academy operates a defined benefit scheme which is managed by the Prudential Assurance Company Ltd and was closed to future accruals of pension benefit on 31 March 2005. A formal actuarial valuation was carried out as at 31 December 2021. Following the actuarial valuation, the Employer agreed to make contributions to the Scheme at the rate of £418,504 pa from 2 February 2023 to 28 February 2023, followed by £273,035 pa from 1 March 2023 to 21 October 2026, with an inflationary increment.

increment.
As at As at
Main assumptions used to value RAM1967 Scheme liabilities under FRS 102: 31 July 2025 31 July 2024
Discount rate 5.80% 5.05%
Inflation assumption – RPI pre 2030 3.20% 3.35%
Inflation assumption – CPI post 2030 3.00% 3.15%
Rate of increase in salaries 0.00% 5.00%
Increases to deferred pensions in excess of GMP before retirement 5.00% 5.00%
Increases to pensions in payment for all members in respect of service up to
31 December 2003		 In line with RPI assumptions
As at As at
Demographic assumptions: 31 **July ** 2025 31 July 2024

Mortality base table

S4PA

S3PA

64

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Adjustment to mortality base tables 100% (M/F) 100% (M/F)
Projection to mortality rates CMI 2024 1.25% M/F CMI 2023 1.25% M/F
Commutation No allowance No allowance
Retirement age Normal retirement age Normal retirement age
Proportion married 80% 80%
Spouse age difference Females are 3 years Females are 3 years younger
younger than males than males
GMP equalisation 1.5% liabilities 1.5% liabilities
As at As at
31 July 2025 31 July 2024
Aged 65 at year end:
Males		 86.60 86.30
Females 88.80 88.70
Aged 45 at year end:
Males		 87.80 87.50
Females 90.30 90.10
2025 2024
Analysis of amount charged to operating profit £000 £000
Analysis of amount (charged)/credited to other finance income
Expected return on pension scheme assets 492 474
Interest on pension scheme liabilities (450) (448)
Net charge to other finance income 42 26
Analysis of other comprehensive income/(loss)
Actual return less expected return on pension scheme assets (322) 255
Experience gains and losses arising on scheme liabilities 791 (231)
Impairment charge (811) (319)
Total other comprehensive income/(loss) (342) (295)
Amounts recognised in the statement of financial position
Present value of scheme liabilities 8,372 9,101
Fair value of scheme assets 9,873 9,791
Accumulated impairment charge 1,501 690
Deficit in scheme – netpension liability - -
Reconciliation of scheme assets and liabilities 2025
Assets
£000
Liabilities
£000
Impairment
£000
Net
£000		 2024
Assets
£000
Liabilities
£000
Impairment
£000
Net
£000
Deficit in scheme at beginning of the year
Movement in the year:
Contributions
Other finance income/(charge)
Benefits paid
Actuarial gain/(loss)
Deficit in scheme at end of theyear		 9,791
(9,101)
(690)
-
300
-
300
492
(450)
42
(388)
388
-
(322)
791
(811)
(342)		 9,163
(8,792)
(371)
-
269
-
269
474
(448)
26
(370)
370
-
255
(231)
(319)
(295)
9,873
(8,372)
(1,501)
-		 9,791
(9,101)
(690)
-
Actuarial return on scheme assets 2025
£000
2024
£000
Expected return on pension scheme assets
Actuarial gain/(loss)
Actual return on scheme assets		 492
474
(322)
255
170
729
Long Term ROR Long Term ROR
Expected (incl Expected (incl
Analysis of scheme assets annuities) annuities)
Equities 1,197 1,148
65

ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Bonds
Property
Cash
Total market value of invested assets
Secured pensions in payment		 5,353
5,118
297
279
34
37
6,881
6,582
2,992
3,209
9,873
9,791
Long term ROR expected (excluding annuities) 5.80%
5.05%
History of experiencegains and losses 2025 2024
2023
2022
2021
Actuarial gain/(loss) recognised in other comprehensive income
Amount (£000)
Percentage of scheme assets
Experience adjustments on scheme liabilities
Amount (£000)
Percentage of scheme liabilities
Actuarial gain/(loss) recognised in other comprehensive income
Amount (£000)
Percentage of scheme liabilities
Cumulative actuarial gain/(loss) recognised in other comprehensive income
History of defined benefit scheme
Present value of defined benefit obligation
Fair value of scheme assets
Impairment
Surplus/(deficit)arisingin the scheme		 (322)
255
(1,759)
(1,752)
-
-3.3%
2.6%
-19.2%
-16.6%
0.0%
(791)
231
(3,247)
(3,923)
(799)
9.4%
-2.5%
36.9%
33.2%
5.0%
(342)
(295)
1,488
2,171
799
4.1%
3.2%
-16.9%
-18.4%
-5.0%
(5,900)
(4,868)
(4,202)
(5,690)
(7,861)
(8,372)
(9,101)
(8,792) (11,831) (15,933)
9,873
9,791
9,163
10,555
12,152
(1,501)
(690)
(371)
-
-
-
-
-
(1,276)
(3,781)

18. Capital Commitments

Provision has been made for the following capital commitments at 31 July:

Consolidated Academy Consolidated Academy
2025 2025 2024 2024
£000 £000 £000 £000
Capital commitments contracted for 1,123 1,123 1,048 1,048

19. Lease Obligations

Total rentals payable under operating leases:

Total rentals payable under operating leases:
Land and
Buildings
£000
Plant and
Machinery
£000
2025
Total
£000
2024
Total
£000
Payable during the year
Future minimum lease payments due:
Not later than 1 year
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years
Later than 5 years
Total leasepayments due		 811
11
822
743
908
11
919
917
3,193
37
3,230
3,285
27,602
-
27,602
28,145
32,514
59
32,573
33,090

20. Contingent asset

The Academy has been notified of eight legacies to the Academy with a potential total value of £3,235,758 which have not been recognised as income during the year, on the basis that amounts to be received may vary from the estimated values. The Academy has also been notified of one legacy to which it cannot attribute a potential value due to a lack of reliable documentation.

21. Related party transactions

The Independent Members of the Academy’s Governing Body and the staff and student members are the Trustees for charitable purposes. Due to the nature of the Academy’s operations and the members of the Governing Body being drawn from large public and private sector organisations, it is inevitable that transactions may take place with organisations in which a member of the

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ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Governing Body may have an interest. A Register of Interests is maintained for members of the Governing Body, senior officers of the Academy and directors of fully owned subsidiaries. The Register of Interests has been reviewed by the Director of Finance and is published on the Academy’s website. All transactions involving organisations in which a member of the Governing Body may have an interest are conducted at arm’s length and in accordance with the Academy’s Financial Regulations and usual procurement procedures.

No Trustee (member of the Governing Body) received any remuneration for their work during the year. The Academy paid a total of £nil (£nil 2023/24) to Governors in reimbursement of travel expenses. On occasions Trustees may make donations for specific purposes but they receive nothing in exchange. The value of such donations from Trustees and related parties was £1,078k (£6,268k 2023/24).

Three trustees retired on 31 July 2025 and were presented with small gifts amounting to £23 (£705 2023/24).

The RAM Student Union is an unincorporated association which is classed as a related party for the purposes of these Financial Statements. The Student Union is a separate entity, an independent group run by and for our students, funded by an annual grant from the Academy for its work in supporting students. In accordance with the Charter, the Governing Body reviews the RAM SU Constitution at least five-yearly and receives regular reports on activities as part of its overall responsibility for the welfare of students. A grant of £47k (£44.7k 2023/24) was paid to the RAM SU for their work in supporting students during the year.

The Academy holds a 25% participation in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) which is carried at cost less impairment. The ABRSM is a registered charity (number 292182) and a company limited by guarantee (registered number 1926395) established by four Royal Schools of Music for the benefit of music education. The ABRSM has no share capital and the liability of the members in the event of winding up is limited to £1 per member. In the event of winding up, the ABRSM's constitution requires its governing body to consider, in the first instance, transfer of surplus assets to another body that is equipped to carry on the work of the ABRSM.

In the financial year 2024/25, the Academy received a distribution of £1.75m (£500k 2023/24). In addition, discretionary scholarships totalling £283k were awarded (£234k 2023/24)

There were no other related party transactions.

22. Events after the reporting period

Since 31 July, there has been one significant post-Balance Sheet event, which is that on 5 November 2025, the Academy completed on a 100 year lease for a vacant property on London City Island. The building is currently a shell, and the Academy will fund its fit-out through philanthropic fundraising. Tenders have been issued for the building works, and we plan to open the building with new studios and teaching rooms in 2027. They will provide much needed additional capacity for teaching and learning. We plan to subsidise its running costs by renting out spaces outside term time; the net cost is projected to be no greater than the savings from reduced hire of external spaces.

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