2025-08-31-accounts

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (A charitable company limited by guarantee)

GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

Company Number: 00564883 Registered Charity Number: 310212

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

CONTENTS

	Page
Reference and Administrative Information	1
Governors’ Annual Report	2
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Governors
of Wells Cathedral School, Limited	21
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities	25
Consolidated Balance Sheet	26
School Balance Sheet	27
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows	28
Notes to the Accounts	29

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Governors	Mr Robert Powell (Chair)
	Mr Simon Bernal-Palmer
	Mr Martin CookeBEd
	The Revd Canon Dr Megan DaffernMA Hons (Oxon), MA Hons (Cantab), DPhil
	Mr Andrew GummerLLB
	Mr Tim LewisBA (Cantab), FCA
	Mrs Dorothy NancekievelMA, BMus, PGCE, Hon Aram
	Mr Kris RobbettsMA, MSc
	Professor Jeffrey SharkeyBM, MM, MPhil
	Mrs Elizabeth SheltonSRN
	The Revd Canon Tim Stevens
	The Very Revd Toby Wright
Head Master	Alastair TigheMA (Cantab)
Bursar & Clerk to the
Governors	Robert McCartneyBSc (Hons), FCA
(& Company Secretary)
Registered Office	Wells Cathedral School
	The Bursary
	College Road
	Wells
	Somerset, BA5 2SX
Independent Auditor	Crowe U.K. LLP
	4thFloor
	St James House
	St James Square
	Cheltenham, GL50 2PR
Bankers	National Westminster Bank PLC
	7 High Street
	Wells
	Somerset, BA5 2AD
Solicitors	Harris and Harris
	14 Market Place
	Wells
	Somerset, BA5 2RE
	Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP
	PO Box 3501
	Bristol, BS2 2FL

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS

The Governors of Wells Cathedral School, Limited (“the School”) present their annual report for the year ended 31 August 2025 under the Charities Act 2011, together with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year and confirm that they comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the School’s Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) (“the Charities SORP”).

Purpose and Charitable Objectives

The School has been in existence since 909AD. Its original purpose, which it still fulfills to this day, is to educate the Wells Cathedral choristers. Over time, the School has grown and now provides a family-oriented co-educational boarding and day education for 2-18 year olds which provides an all-round education alongside world-class specialist music training, including to the Choristers of Wells Cathedral. Its vision is to inspire every individual pupil to nurture their talents in a vibrant, creative, spiritual and stimulating environment to become a responsible global citizen.

The School aims to achieve its objectives and realise its vision through the application of the core principles set out in its Mission Statement by:

• Encouraging pupils intellectually to set themselves high expectations and aspirational goals;

• Challenging pupils to discover new passions and develop existing ones through active engagement in a range of co-curricular and sporting endeavours;

• Delivering a world-class specialist music and chorister education for those with particular talents;

• Stimulating pupils to be individuals in a uniquely creative and spiritually aware environment;

• Empowering pupils to be independent, resilient, confident and kind.

In addition, the School aims to instill in all its pupils our four Core Values, known as our CARE Values, which are Creativity, Aspiration, Responsibility and Endeavour, all of which are aimed to nurture and develop kind, caring and careful citizens.

The School’s objectives as set out in its Memorandum and Articles are as follows:

• To advance education in accordance with the doctrine of the Church of England by such means as shall be exclusively charitable and by other associated activities for the benefit of the community;

• The carrying on and development of the School;

• To provide in particular for the training and education of the choristers of the Cathedral Church of St Andrew in Wells, and the other pupils of the School through instruction in every branch of learning, in citizenship, in outdoor pursuits and in arts and crafts of all kinds, and on the basis of Christian principles and in accordance with the doctrine of the Church of England to provide such pupils with spiritual, moral, mental and physical training; and

• To do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the Association's objects or any of them.

The Governors have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the School’s aims and objectives and in the planning of future activities. In particular, the Governors consider how planned activities for the year will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Charitable Benefit

The School’s primary charitable benefit is the provision of education to the pupils at the School. The School is a co-educational learning community and its pupils consist of both boys and girls at all stages. There are no geographical restrictions upon prospective pupils and 119 pupils (2024: 129), about 17% of total pupils, (2024: 18% of total pupils) from 23 (2024: 26) different overseas nations were pupils during the year. Although education is in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England, there is no religious restriction upon those who may be admitted and pupils of all faiths are welcomed, with many different religions represented amongst the pupil body. All pupils are assessed academically on entrance to enable appropriate provision for them, and auditions are held for prospective musicians and choristers. Beyond the curriculum offered by the School, charitable benefit is also generated from the following activities:

• Community work carried out by pupils in and out of School;

• Outreach and partnership work conducted by the School, in relation to music, sports and academic activities;

• Provision of School estate and support facilities for community use at cost recovery or reduced rates;

• Links with Schools and music academies and enterprises overseas (Sierra Leone, China including Hong Kong, Malaysia and throughout Europe) to enable the pupils to extend their community work abroad and to understand the needs of pupils in different countries; and

• ● Charitable fundraising.

Bursaries, Scholarships and Discounts

The School does not have substantial reserves or endowments and relies upon its annual fee income and Foundation fundraising to support its activities. Although fees are payable by parents, an extensive bursary and scholarship support is provided to pupils. The School seeks to provide as many means tested bursaries and scholarships as can be sustained by its annual fee income. Bursaries are reviewed after each phase of education by the School. During the year, the School provided fee remissions of £4,961k (2024: £4,294k), which comprises bursaries of £837k (2024: £1,369k), scholarships of £643k (2024: £531k), a subsidy to pupils participating in the Music and Dance Scheme of £1,590k (2024: £1,369k), £1,113k (2024: £998k) of discounts (supporting members of the armed forces, clergy, siblings, Old Wellensians, employees and former choristers of the School), and £750k in VAT remissions. The School also received £20k (2024: £27k) from The Wells Cathedral School Foundation (‘the Foundation’).

Governance

The School is registered with the Charity Commission and was incorporated in 1956 as a registered company, Limited by Guarantee.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

The Governing Body

The School Governors who served during the year, and up to the date of signing the Financial Statements, are listed below. The Governors of the School are directors of the School for Companies Act 2006 purposes.

Mr David Brown MA, OBE (resigned 31 August 2025) Ms Julia Baker ● (resigned 8 December 2025) Prebendary Emeritus Barbara Bates BA, MA, FRSA $◊ (resigned 4 July 2025) Mr Simon Bernal-Palmer # Mr Martin Cooke BEd ◊$○ The Revd Canon Dr Megan Daffern MA Hons (Oxon), MA Hons (Cantab), DPhil ◊ Mr Andrew Gummer LLB * Mr Tim Lewis BA (Cantab), FCA ● Mrs Dorothy Nancekievel, MA, BMus, PGCE, Hon Aram ◊ Mr Robert Powell $●◊ Mr Kris Robbetts MA, MSc ● Professor Jeffrey Sharkey BM, MM, MPhil ◊ Mrs Elizabeth Shelton SRN $ The Revd Canon Tim Stevens $○ The Very Revd Toby Wright ●#

• Members of the Finance and Audit Committee

$ Members of the Pastoral and Recreation Committee

• Members of the Academic Committee

• Members of the Development Committee

• Members of the Chorister Sub Committee

• Parent of a pupil at Wells Cathedral School

The Governing Body currently comprises three members of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral, two of which are anticipated to be the Dean and the Precentor, and up to fifteen lay members who are appointed by the Chapter.

The Governors are appointed for three years and retire by rotation.

Group Structure and Relationships

The Wells Cathedral School Foundation (‘the Foundation’) was established in 2007 as a separate but connected charity, number 1118159, to act as the legal entity for the recording and control of all fundraising activity on behalf of the School. The Foundation’s objects are to advance the education of pupils at the School by means of:

• The provision of financial assistance towards the maintenance and development of the School;

• Raising money for awards to pupils to pursue their education at the School, including pupils whose parents or guardians are in need of financial assistance;

• The provision of facilities and equipment to support the education of pupils in the School; and

• The organisation of events to promote the good name of the School and further its educational objectives, including orchestral and choral concerts in the UK and overseas.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

The Foundation’s income is from charitable gifts, plus the related gift aid where applicable, from individuals, grant giving trusts and foundations, as well as from savings interest and returns on investments. During the year the Foundation received £240k (2024: £224k) in income and made donations to the School of £37k (2024: £138k) towards bursaries and specific projects.

Whilst the Foundation produces its own separate audited Financial Statements, these Financial Statements are then incorporated with the Financial Statements of the School into the consolidated Financial Statements of the Group.

Recruiting and Training of Governors

The School’s Lay Governors are appointed by the Chapter of Wells Cathedral on the basis of nominations agreed between the Chair and the Head Master with regard to the Governing Body’s requirements concerning eligibility, personal competence, specialist skills and availability for meetings. A small sub-committee of Governors (the Succession Planning Committee) meets with the Head Master on a regular basis to consider vacancies, names and succession. Checks are made in accordance with Charity Commission direction on each candidate’s ability and suitability to serve as a Governor/Charity Trustee. Consideration is taken of any existing or potential conflicts of interest and of their suitability to serve as a Trustee in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission and other relevant bodies. The necessary checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service are obtained and other checks consistent with the Independent Schools Inspectorate (‘ISI’) and Charity Commission direction are conducted. New Governors are inducted into the workings of the School, including Governing Body policy and procedures, by the Chair, the Head Master, the Bursar and the Assistant Clerk to the Governors. The training needs of the Governors are continually assessed and relevant updating sessions are provided, including, but not limited to, development activities provided through membership of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS).

Charity Governance Code

All Governors of the School:

• are committed to the School’s cause and have joined its Governing Body because they want to help it to deliver its purposes most effectively for public benefit;

• recognise that meeting the School’s stated public benefit is an ongoing requirement;

• are committed to good governance;

• contribute to the School’s continued improvement; and,

• understand their roles and legal responsibilities and have read and understood: o The Charity Commission’s guidance The Essential Trustee (CC3); and, o The School’s Governing document.

The Governors are familiar with, and acknowledge, the updated version of the Charity Governance Code published in August 2020.

Fundraising Disclosures

The School had no fundraising activities requiring disclosure under S162A of the Charities Act 2011.

Over the last year the Foundation has undertaken fundraising activities, as in previous years, using its database. These fundraising activities have been undertaken by staff employed by the Foundation and no external persons have been used. The Foundation voluntarily subscribes to the Fundraising Regulator which holds the Foundation to the Code of Fundraising Practice. Over the course of the financial year there have been no failures to comply with the Code, nor have any complaints been received.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Safeguarding Policy

In order to protect vulnerable people the Governing Body and Trustees of the Foundation comply with the School’s safeguarding policy to report concerns of abuse. All members of staff, as well as Governors, receive regular safeguarding training, and safeguarding is an agenda item at all Governors’ meetings. This allows Governors and staff members to raise and be aware of any concerns.

Indemnity Insurance

As permitted by the Articles of Association, the Directors are the beneficiaries of a qualifying third party indemnity as defined by Section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. The School also purchased and maintained throughout the financial year Governors’ and Officers’ liability insurance in respect of itself, its Governors and the Trustees of the Foundation. The cost of insurance is included in the cost of public liability cover which amounted to £29k (2024: £29k) in the year for the Group.

Statement of Going Concern

The School closely monitors its cash flows and has maintained an overdraft facility to ensure that it remains a going concern. The School has successfully managed its operating costs in order to limit the extent of the deficit. The School has agreed with the Bank to revise the overdraft facility over the next twelve months to provide sufficient facilities that accommodate the anticipated cash flow limitations over that period.

In consideration of the presumption of going concern as the basis for the preparation of the report and Financial Statements, the Governing Body has concluded that no material uncertainties have been identified that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the School to continue as a going concern. The Governors therefore have a reasonable expectation that the School has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the going concern basis continues to be adopted in preparing the Financial Statements.

Organisational Management

The School’s Governors are legally responsible for the overall management and control of the School. The full Governing Body meets at least four times a year. It is responsible for determining the aims, strategy and overall conduct of the School and is accountable for the discharge of its responsibilities to pupils, parents and staff. The work of implementing the policies is carried out by a series of committees:

Finance and Audit Committee: This committee meets four times a year, usually two weeks before a full meeting of the Governing Body, and is chaired by Simon Bernal-Palmer. Its main roles are to:

• consider, monitor, challenge and recommend the annual budgets and fee increases to the board;

• monitor and direct in-year expenditure;

• authorise capital expenditure;

• scrutinise the statutory Financial Statements and recommend them to the Governing Body;

• • appoint and appraise the performance of the external auditor;

• scrutinise, monitor, challenge and endorse proposals for staffing and staff remuneration; and

• monitor and advise on the School’s human resources function.

Academic Committee: This committee meets three times a year, and is chaired by Martin Cooke. Its objectives are to:

• scrutinise, challenge, support and monitor the School’s educational aims; and

• help the School develop new and appropriate ones.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Pastoral and Recreation Committee: This committee meets three times a year, and was chaired by Prebendary Emeritus Barbara Bates. Its objectives are to:

• monitor and advise in all matters relating to pupil welfare and wellbeing, including matters concerning safeguarding;

• monitor and advise on matters relating to staff welfare;

• review the School’s provision of extra-curricular activities, including trips; and

• review and monitor the School’s boarding provision.

Development Committee: This committee meets three times a year, and was chaired by Robert Powell. This committee:

• challenges, advises and supports the Head Master in all matters concerning plant, grounds and non-core trading in order to meet the educational needs of the School; and

• monitors and supports the work of the Foundation.

Chorister Sub-Committee: This sub-committee meets three times a year and includes the Cathedral Director of Music, the Assistant Organist and the School’s Chorister Tutor. It is chaired by The Canon Precentor of Wells Cathedral, the Reverend Canon Tim Stevens. It oversees, monitors and plans all matters to do with the Choristers’ life and programme.

The running of the School is delegated to the Head Master, supported by his Senior Management Team. The Head Master reports directly to the Governors, as does the Bursar through the Head Master but with direct access to the Governors for matters relating to the roles of Company Secretary and Clerk to the Governors. The Head Master attends all meetings and committees of the Governors, and members of the Senior Management Team attend meetings according to their responsibilities and at the direction of the Head Master and Clerk to the Governors.

Senior Management Team

During the year the Senior Management Team were:

Head Master	Mr Alastair TigheMA (Cantab)
Bursar & Clerk to Governors	Mr Robert McCartneyBSc (Hons), FCA
Head of Prep School	Mr Jody WellsBEd Hons
Head of Pre-Prep Development	Mrs Rebecca PerdrixBSc (Hons), MA Ed
Director of Music	Mr Alexander LaingMA (Cantab,) DPS
Deputy Head (Pastoral) and
Designated Safeguarding Lead	Mr Martin AshtonBA (Hons), PGCE
Deputy Head (Academic)	Mrs Natalie PerryBSc (Hons), MSc, PGCE
Director of Admissions, Marketing
and Enterprises	Ms Lucy LlewelynBEd (Hons) HND

When setting the remuneration and pay structure of the Senior Management Team, a comprehensive benchmarking exercise is undertaken, using Baines Cutler salary benchmark. Governors agree the Head Master’s salary and the Head Master agrees the Senior Management Team’s salary in consultation with the Governors.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Volunteers

The School continues to be grateful to the Parents and Friends’ Association for the funds it makes available for desirable and useful extras throughout the School and its contribution in arranging social occasions. Also to the Friends of Music of Wells Cathedral School for their constant support for music in the School and for the funding they make available for instruments, musical commissions, etc. It is also grateful to the Board of Wells Cathedral School Hong Kong Music Society, which raises funds in Hong Kong to support Hong Kong scholars at Wells, and to the Trustees of the Wells Cathedral School Foundation.

Employees

Staff in their respective areas (teaching or support) attend regular term meetings/forums to discuss current whole School issues, where they are encouraged to have a voice and participate. They are regularly updated on the current developments of the School including the School’s estate projects and its financial position.

The School demonstrates best practice by following a comprehensive recruitment/retention process to ensure equal opportunities for all. Once appointments are made, regular professional development reviews are undertaken to allow all staff to develop their careers further, through training and reflective practice. This includes career development and promotion of disabled people and the continuing employment and training of employees who have become disabled whilst employed by the School. The School has demonstrated how it values all staff by making reasonable adjustments to individuals’ work commitments, to enable them to carry out their duties to the best of their ability. If they experience long term health problems and wish to return to work, assistance is provided to aid their recovery. Coaching and counselling services are available for staff.

STRATEGIC REPORT

The Strategic Vision for the School sets out our Key Strategic Focuses as being:

• to develop all-round character and talent of pupils

• creating a safe, beautiful and stimulating environment

• cultivating passions

• generating community-spiritedness and global awareness

• to provide an all-round education

• excelling academically

• excelling musically

• excelling co-curricularly

• to be responsible stewards for the future

• providing effective budgeting

• providing strategic estate management

• fostering the Wellensian Community

The information provided throughout this report gives an overview of how the School is meeting its Key Strategic Focuses. School publications provide further insight and are available from the School and our website.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Review of Developments, Activities and Achievements

The School roll (excluding Nursery) was 678 (average) during 2024-25.

During the 2024-25 academic year the School received numerous award nominations including being shortlisted in the Independent School of the Year Awards for Best Performing Arts School and Best Pre-Prep, and having our Senior School production of West Side Story nominated for Best Musical and Best ensemble in the National Schools Theatre Awards, and the National Opera and Drama Association awarding the show the South West District Achievement Award as well as nominating it for the South West: Best Youth Production and Best Company Singing. In addition, we were named the top performing school in Somerset at A level based on our summer 2024 results.

Our A level and GCSE results in summer 2025 were excellent. Despite being a non-academically selective school (certainly up to 6th Form) our pupils significantly outperformed the national statistics at both A level and GCSE. At GCSE, we also significantly outperformed all other local independent and maintained schools. Value added measures at both A level and GCSE were also pleasingly positive. Around 75% of our departing Upper Sixth pupils have gone on to a Russell Group or other leading university or conservatoire. Numerous pupils were successful in national competitions including Maths and Science Challenges, History Essay competitions and the Poetry by Heart competition. Senior and Prep School pupils participated in the Bebras Computational Challenge (with eight pupils ranked in the top 10% of the country). In the Prep School, we had our best ever performance in the national Primary Maths Challenge, and in the World Maths Challenge the Prep School ranked 362nd out of 6,460 schools worldwide; Year 3, who were the top-scoring year group ranked 158th in the world and 18th in the UK

Musically, the School continued to excel, with almost all our leaving Specialist Music pupils choosing to go onto Music Conservatoires in August 2025, the majority doing so on scholarships. Significant numbers of pupils were selected to perform with national music ensembles, including the National Youth Orchestra and National Youth Choir, and secured considerable success in local, national and international competitions. In addition, the School has received regular praise for its innovative approach to music performances with regular appearances from dancers and actors in its Performing and Expressive Arts productions and presentations.

Over 50 Senior School pupils represented their county, region or country in their chosen sport (including some pupils taking places in National teams). In the Senior School, our U16 hockey team reached the semi final of the regional hockey competition and our U15 rugby team made it to the quarter final of the National plate competition. In the Prep School, we had a U9 South West Chess Champion, two IAPS National Swimming finalists, and a South West Triathlete who is IAPS U11 Boys National Champion.

Drama continues to have a strong presence in the School, with highlights including the awardwinning Senior School production of West Side Story, the Year 7-9 production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Prep School production of Newsies, as well as the Pre-Prep productions of The Fleece Force and There’s a Sunflower in my Supper. Alongside this, Dance continues to thrive, with numerous Senior School pupils and their ensembles winning awards in the national Starz Dance Competition.

The Combined Cadet Force (‘CCF’) continues to have an active presence in the School, and numerous pupils completed either the Bronze, Silver or Gold, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme qualifications. Outdoor learning remains a core part of the Prep and Pre-Prep and Nursery Schools’ curriculums, not least via weekly ‘Wellies Wednesday’ forest school sessions for our youngest pupils.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

The School’s provision of pastoral care continues to be a priority for the School, with the aim of giving all pupils the encouragement and support necessary to ensure they are enabled not only to ‘be what you are’ (Esto Quod Es) in the words of the School motto, but become the best they can be.

This aim is threaded through our discourse whenever possible. Pupils should have a sense of belonging and be contented, balanced and confident individuals who have the necessary tools to be able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives. They should have a high level of spiritual awareness, emotional intelligence and self-control and also be active and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to the School and wider world. They should be possessed of a good moral compass and a strong sense of honesty and integrity, and be equipped to work in partnership and in teams. The School’s Mental Health leads, the School Counsellor and the pupil wellbeing champions continue to work effectively as a team. Over 40 Teaching and Support staff have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders and the introduction of the STEER programme for pupils in Prep and Senior Schools has been rolled out, with the Prep School being named a national ‘Champion’ for the programme.

Cedars Hall, our state of the art performance venue, continues to be an integral asset both for the School and in the cultural life of the City of Wells and the South West of England. The School has hosted the public for world-class classical, jazz, pop and commercial music performances, art exhibitions, drama productions, lectures and other important festivals including The Wells Festival of Literature and The Wells Comedy Festival. It is also in continued demand as a top-calibre recording venue admired by, among others, the BBC. Of particular note has been the conclusion of the first season of our professional music concert series Maestro which has attracted strong audiences and allowed pupils and the community to benefit from masterclasses alongside concerts from luminary artists including Mitsuko Uchida, Sir Stephen Hough and Steven Isserlis.

The School continues to maintain its historic and beautiful estate and has undertaken condition surveys of its buildings which have been used to generate a strategic masterplan for the utilisation and maintenance of the site and possible new buildings. We also undertook a masterplan exercise in 2024-25 to help inform our longer term estate development goals.

Old Wellensian activities remain buoyant, with the Association brought into the direct remit of the School’s Foundation during the course of the 2024-25 year. In addition to the annual London Reunion at the RAF Club, the Wellensian Association hosted a well-attended summer reunion at the School. Regular bulletins and other communications have been issued as well.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Public Benefit

The School has sought to maximise its public benefit via a variety of activities. Among these have been:

• The provision of substantial levels of bursaries to ensure access to the School is as wide as possible

• Delivering the Government’s Music and Dance Scheme provision for our allocation of MDSfunded musicians

• Making Cedars Hall and other School venues available to the local community, both in terms of performances and events but also for charity and other private events

• The running of parent and toddler session in term-time

• Running instrument ‘taster days’, joint concert collaborations and an A level Music Study Day

• Inviting local school pupils to matinee drama and concert performances

• Running numerous sporting community projects for local sports children

• Hosting a number of ‘Be a Mathematician’ days as well as a Primary School Maths Festival

• • Hosting a Religious Studies Conference for local schools

• Hosting a Head of Schools Conference for pupil leaders in local schools

• Running ever-popular Music Summer Courses open to young people nationally and internationally in all the key music disciplines

• Holding charitable collections in school for local, national and international causes, including the annual School Save the Children Walk, Christmas Cards for local care home residents and our pupil-led Event on the Lawn performance to raise funds for our partner school in Sierra Leone

• Providing opportunities for pupils to volunteer for local charities, schools and other organisations

• Provision of the School swimming pool for use by local residents, as well as other sporting facilities

• Facilitating staff to act as GCSE, A level, ABRSM and Trinity examiners

• Facilitating staff to be members of local schools’ Governing Bodies

• Providing for the spiritual and cultural needs of the City of Wells and County of Somerset, especially through the work of the Choristers in helping lead worship at Wells Cathedral.

• Running ‘Be a Chorister for a Day’ events for local primary school-aged children

• Financing the Outreach Singing Programme for local Primary Schools, in partnership with Wells Cathedral.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Promotion of the success of the organisation to benefit its members

The Governors confirm that in accordance with Section 172 (1) of the Companies Act 2006 they act in a way they consider most likely to achieve the purposes of the Company. In making this assessment, the Governors consider the relevant actions of the Governing Body as described throughout the report. Taking the areas required for disclosure in turn:

• a) The likely consequences of any decision in the long term

• The assessment of the long term sustainability of the School’s operations is considered by the Governors in one or more of the termly Committee meetings with papers provided in advance. All relevant matters are considered and discussed and, where appropriate, the relevant Committee makes a recommendation to the Full Governing Body before a final decision can be made. This approach ensures strategic long-term decisions are rigorously considered and made having reviewed management information and financial forecasts (including projections of the level of reserves).

• b) The interests of the Charity’s employees

The School recognises that the professional skill and commitment of its staff are essential to its success. The Governors ensure that regular opportunities exist for staff to hold discussions with Governors and management on a formal and informal basis.

Twice weekly briefings and notices help to keep staff informed and provide opportunities for involvement in the diverse activities of the School. Staff well-being and engagement is a key area of focus at all times.

• c) The need to foster the Charity’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others

• Parents are kept engaged and up to date through the parent portal, social media posts and the weekly bulletin ‘This Week in Wells’. Parent surveys are regularly undertaken. The Governors (several of whom are, or were, parents of children at the School) actively engage with the parent body and the various voluntary organisations set up by parents to support the activities of the School.

The School makes an important contribution to the local economy with many suppliers based in the local area. The School ensures that it acts with integrity in its business relationships including prompt payment of supplier invoices.

• d) The impact of the Charity’s operations on the community and the environment The School continues to develop metrics to enable monitoring and reporting of the environmental impact of its activities. These measures are outlined in more detail in the Sustainability section of the Governors’ Report. The School continues to engage extensively with the wider community through a wide range of activities described in the Strategic Report.

• e) The desirability of the Charity maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct

The School has established policies and procedures to govern the conduct of its business. These policies are regularly reviewed by management and are subject to review and validation by relevant committees of the Governing Body on a regular basis.

The School is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.

f) The need to act fairly between members of the Charity

• The School’s Code of Conduct applies to all members of School staff including Governors. In addition, there is a specific Code of Conduct that applies to Governors. The School has procedures in place to ensure Governors interests are declared and conflicts of interest avoided.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Risk Management

The Governing Body is responsible for the management of the risks faced by the School. While the Governing Body reviews risks in each of its formal meetings, the Senior Management Team is responsible for managing control procedures. A formal review of the School’s risk management process and registers is undertaken at least annually.

The top risks identified by the School are as follows:

Risk Identified	Action taken to mitigate risk
Mental Health	Given the national trend for increasing mental health needs for pupils,
	we have implemented a pre-emptive support system entitled STEER
	and enhanced staffing resource.
Maintaining pupil	Regular monitoring of pupil numbers to assess the consequences of
numbers	changes, and an active programme of recruitment and retention.
Statutory changes	Maintaining an awareness of political policy proposals and scenario
	assessment of likely impact on the School should new policies
	(including around taxation, business rates, pensions and wages) be
	enacted.
Affordability	Careful consideration of market conditions, review and control of cost
	drivers to ensure fees are set at a level that the market will bear whilst
	ensuring necessary operating costs continue to be covered. Engaging
	in affordability surveys for parents.
Estate maintenance	Establishing a programme of planned proactive maintenance and
	enhancement, informed by a series of Condition Surveys, to ensure
	that School facilities remain attractive to existing and prospective
	parents.
Staff costs	Continuous monitoring of planned and actual headcount and
	associated cost to ensure that staff costs are strictly controlled against
	Budget.

The key controls used by the School to manage identified risks include:

• A register of key risks, identifying and assessing the risks as well as a responsible manager and risk mitigation strategy for each risk;

• Clear terms of reference for all Committees;

• Formal agendas for all Committee and Governing Body activity;

• Comprehensive strategic planning, budgeting and management accounting;

• Established organisational structure and lines of reporting;

• Formal written policies;

• Clear authorisation and approval levels;

• Use of external risk assessment resources; and,

• Vetting procedures as required by law for the protection of the vulnerable.

Through the risk management processes established by the School, the Governors are satisfied that the major risks have been identified and have been mitigated as far as possible within the School’s ability. It is recognised that the risk management process can only provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that major risks have been adequately managed.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Sustainability

Under the requirements of the companies and limited liability partnerships obligations to comply with the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 (‘the 2013 Regulations’) and the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (‘the 2018 Regulations’), this report outlines the School’s plan to address environmental impacts.

A key part of the School’s sustainability strategy is the ability to understand, measure and report on its environmental performance and impact in order to devise a number of Key Performance Indicators that will assist to reduce and off-set carbon emissions now and in the future. This is not only to ensure compliance with certain regulations, but also to ensure that the school benefits from lower energy and resource costs and gains a better understanding of climate change. This also assists it to demonstrate leadership and to provide it with marketable ‘green credentials’.

Whilst the School is in the early stages of this process, including measurable reporting, it is taking small steps to carry out work that ensures sustainability and environment are considered. This year these have included:

1. A continued programme of changing lights to LED, with sensors where appropriate.

2. Working with its supplier to increase recycling collections.

3. A programme of condition surveys to identify roof & fabric concerns on its various buildings.

4. Solar panels – improved planned maintenance to ensure efficiency levels.

5. Rolling programme of replacing petrol hand held machines (leaf blowers etc.) with battery operated ones.

6. A replacement programme for the ageing grounds machines, seeking more efficient machines.

The planned engagement with an external firm to assist the School in calculating its current carbon footprint did not proceed. This activity has been deferred but the School remains committed to seeking to set out the scope of appropriate calculations i.e. what should or should not be included. This will enable the resulting strategy to break down the School’s carbon footprint into component parts so the School can achieve an aggregated net zero target. This in turn will enable the School to report fully on its environmental impact setting measured against meaningful Key Performance Indicators and to determine financial benefits.

	2024/25	2023/24
UK energy use kWh	Gas: 3,544,837 Electricity: 993,468	Gas: 3,646,577 Electricity: 965,869
Associated Greenhouse gas emissions Tonnes CO2equivalent	Gas consumption: 638.07 Electricity consumption: 188.76	Gas consumption: 656.38 Electricity consumption: 183.52
Intensity ratio Emissions per pupil Total number of pupils 678 (2023/24:727)	0.82	0.91

Associated Greenhouse gases have been calculated using the UK Government conversion factors for company reporting.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Operational Performance

The School set itself the following strategic objectives for the academic year 2024/25. Progress is indicated in italics.

1. To implement a Governance Restructure including new Articles of Association to avoid Conflicts of Interest with the Wells Cathedral Chapter

This has largely been completed in terms of Governor membership; the final legal changes to the Articles still need to be completed and we are in liaison with the Cathedral to ensure resolution.

1. To increase the School’s financial rigour and levels of reserves

The recently implemented fundraising strategy has been followed and a fundraising campaign for bursaries was launched in Autumn 2024. This includes, but is not limited to, finding external funding to plug the MDS funding shortfall. With regards to this, significant political lobbying is underway to try and secure both the long term future of MDS funding and at improved inflationary rates. The School continues to focus on its Enterprises activity to generate further funds. The in-year impact of VAT imposition added additional cost to the School finances given the School’s decision to share the cost of VAT with parents. Further challenge was then faced following the loss of Business Rate Relief and increased National Insurance Employer Contributions in April 2025. As a result, staff cost saving measures were implemented in the 2024/25 academic year to offset these additional costs.

3. To maintain teaching staff’s trust

The Governing Body continue to hold a series of ‘open chat’ opportunities and continue to find other ways of engaging directly with staff - both in person and through improved communications . Governors were also evident and engaged with staff throughout staffing efficiency consultations.

1. Expand the pupil roll of the Prep School

This remains a Strategic Objective to enable us to fill the capacity already available within the Prep School. Progress continues to be made, and the staffing:pupil ratios within the Prep School have been adjusted to make the model more efficient even though pupil numbers are not at capacity.

1. Improve retention of current pupil rates.

The increased cost of fee affordability as a result of VAT imposition means that the School has been focused on finding ways of ensuring current pupils can be retained as a way of managing the pupil roll. This focus has been partly successful, although our bursary remission funds are not always sufficient to meet the fee financing needs of some current parents.

6. A review of SEND provision and needs

While this remains ongoing, the School has made the level of provision available to parents/pupils clearer and established more regular forums for parental feedback about their experiences. In addition, the School continues to ensure all teaching and pastoral staff are in receipt of regular training and sharing of best practice advice. A change of leadership in Senior School SEND provision will be effected from September 2025.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

7. 6th Form Curriculum Provision

The School remains committed to finding ways of increasing pupil accessibility to more vocational 6th Form subject options distinct from A level. However, with the current Government still not making the future of BTECs clear, and given its introduction of a national curriculum review due to report in late 2025, no finite progress on determining those curriculum options has been made. As soon as the national curriculum review outcomes are known, vocational curriculum options will be explored and implemented.

8. Estate Management

A masterplan survey of the School site has been completed by architects which has identified larger estates projects for delivery once the stabilisation of finances/pupil roll has settled post-VAT implementation. In addition, the whole Estate has undergone Condition Surveying and a prioritised programme to ensure the upkeep of all buildings is now in place.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial performance for the year has been influenced by a challenging operating environment. Nonetheless the School has seen increased enrolment. The average pupil numbers have declined from last year by 49 pupils (2024: increased pupils by 3) across the Prep and Senior Schools. The demand for bursary and other fee remissions has risen by £667k (2024: £355k). The School is determined to maintain the quality of its provision whilst ensuring that it operates at a financially sustainable level.

Consolidated Operating Results

Senior school pupil numbers decreased by 6.74% (2024: increased by 0.92%); bursaries and discounts increased by 15.53% (2024: increased by 8.87%); and donations received by the Foundation decreased by 1.53% (2024: increased by 160.38%). The scholarships awarded increased to £643k (2024: £531k), an increase of 21.09% (2024: increase of 2.71%). The level of gross fee income, the School’s charitable income, has increased to £23,832k (2024: £22,936k). The School has continued to invest in staffing and infrastructure in order to maintain the quality of its provision.

The consolidated net result for the year was a deficit of £948k (2024: deficit of £210k) which is composed of the net deficit of the School of £1,064k (2024: deficit of £340k) and a net surplus from the Foundation of £115k (2024: surplus of £130k). The consolidated results for the year are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) on page 25. Under accounting rules for charities this statement combines transactions of a capital and revenue nature. The operating results for the two constituent charities are outlined below.

Consolidated Activities

During the year the School produced an operating deficit of 548k (2024: surplus of £590k) before depreciation and non-recurring premises projects. After depreciation and non-recurring premises projects its operating result was a deficit of £1,170k (2024: deficit of £47k).

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

The consolidated activities are summarised below:

The consolidated activities are summarised below:
	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Income from charitable activities
(charitable activities per SOFA plus the School bursaries and discounts)	23,832	22,936
Operating costs of School
School bursaries and discounts	(4,961)	(4,294)
Expenditure on charitable activities (excluding depreciation)	(19,419)	(18,052)
Operating (deficit)/surplus of the School	(548)	590
Less:
Depreciation	(619)	(634)
Premises - non recurring projects	(3)	(3)
Net operating deficit	(1,170)	(47)
Income from generated funds	831	801
Realised gain on investments	43	125
Cost of generating funds	(643)	(598)
Cost of charitable activities not part of operating costs	(9)	(71)
Net deficit in SOFA	(948)	(210)

Analysis of the business using Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

KPI	2025	2024	2023
Net fee income (decline)/growth %	(1.7)%	5%	6%
Bursaries, scholarships and discounts as % of gross fees	23%	20%	19%
Donations and legacies as a % of gross fees	0.7%	0.4%	1%
Teaching staff costs as a % of gross fees	38%	38%	35%
Welfare costs as a % of gross fees	6%	6%	5%
Premises costs at a % of gross fees	22%	21%	21%
Net Operating (deficit)/surplus of the School as % of gross fees (4.8)%		(0.2)%	4%

The gross fee for these KPIs is £21,949k (2024: £21,578k) (note 3).

The net fee received is £16,988k (2024: £17,284k) (note 3).

The Net Operating deficit of the School is £(1,064)k (2024: deficit of £(47)k).

Operating result of Wells Cathedral School Foundation

During the year the Foundation received £124k (2024: £126k) in financial contributions in the form of income from donations and legacies. The Foundation continued to make donations to the School, which in the year under review totalled £37k (2024: £138k). Its operating costs of £84k (2024: £70k), including staff costs and other direct costs associated with the Foundation, were borne by the School. The net movement in funds of the Foundation was a surplus of £115k (2024: surplus of £130k).

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Investment Policy, Powers and Performances

In accordance with the Trust Deed, Governors of the School and Trustees of the Foundation may authorise the funds of the Foundation to be invested in any stocks, shares or insurance policies. The Trustees’ aim is to generate long-term total return from endowment funds invested, combining both capital growth and income.

The Foundation’s endowment funds have been entrusted to Evelyn Partners to invest in a portfolio of equities, funds, bonds and cash. The investment is classed as a non-current asset as it will be held for longer than 12 months. The investment objectives and risk parameters are reviewed every year by the Foundation’s Investment Committee.

The Foundation adopts the “Total Return” approach to investments which are considered to be permanent endowments under which, once the value of the permanent endowments reaches a sufficient amount, the total return will be available to be used to award bursaries to pupils of the School, consistent with the Foundation’s objectives.

Political and Charitable Contributions

The Foundation made no political or charitable contributions during the year under review (2024: £nil) other than donations to the School of £37k (2024: £138k), as disclosed in the Foundation’s Statement of Financial Activities. The Foundation’s grant making policy is to make donations only to the School.

Reserves Policy

The total funds held by the Group at the year-end were £19,048k (2024: £19,996k). The Governors have designated an asset fund so that a framework exists for them to assess appropriate levels of free reserves, as recommended in the Charity Commission guidance paper, “Charities Reserves”. Free reserves are defined in the guidance paper as excluding not only funds that are for restricted purposes but also those designated by the Governors for a particular purpose, and any funds only realisable by disposing of fixed assets held for charity use. One thrust of the guidelines is to highlight those charities that are carrying excessive free reserves. The free reserves in the Consolidated Balance Sheet, as defined by the guidelines, are a deficit of £6,293k (2024: deficit of £5,265k) at the end of the financial year. The Governors take comfort from the fact that the School holds significant designated reserves of £19,563k (2024: £19,692k). The Governors believe that, over time, a prudent level of free reserves, consistent with the business risks of the School, equivalent to six months operating costs should be accumulated. The proposed level of such a reserve has yet to be determined, but is considerably higher than the current level of free reserves. It is unlikely that the target will be achieved for many years because of the previous and ongoing policy of the Governors to improve the facilities of the School through the investment of surpluses in School assets.

Restricted Funds

The balance of the restricted funds at the end of the year was £4,603k (2024: £4,445k). These funds are held for capital projects, bursary funds and projects funded by the Department for Education. The balance includes the restricted fund net movement of surplus £81k (2024: deficit £37k) from the Foundation.

Endowment Funds

The endowment funds represent donations received to provide bursaries. Total endowment funds were £1,175k (2024: £1,124k) at the end of the year. Endowment funds are defined as donations made to the School in perpetuity, the income from which is to be used for the benefit of future pupils.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Bursaries, Scholarships and Fee Discounts

The following fee discounts were provided to parents of pupils at the School during the academic year:

Number of pupils 2025 2024 School bursaries 150 203 Bursaries from the Foundation 4 4 Music and Dance Scheme 80 80 Scholarships VAT Remission 180 189 Value of fee reductions provided to children of: Members of the Clergy of the Church of England Members of the Armed Forces Former pupils of the School Parents with more than one child at the School Employees of the School Special circumstances Ex-choristers of the School Total

Value £’000 % of Gross Fee Income 2025 2024 2025 2024 845 1,366 3.82% 6.33% 20 27 0.13% 0.13% 1,590 1,369 7.24% 6.34% 643 750 531 2.93% 3.42% 2.46% 13 13 0.06% 0.06% 48 38 0.22% 0.18% 44 44 0.20% 0.20% 243 233 1.11% 1.08% 594 604 2.71% 2.80% 117 26 0.53% 0.12% 54 58 0.25% 0.27%

4,961 4,309 22.62% 19.97%

The bursaries from the School and Foundation are awarded on the basis of parental need and are all means tested. The total of £865k includes £28k of restricted Foundation bursaries.

The level of support included 4 free places (2024: 6) worth £130k (2024: £205k).

The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) discounts are subsidies provided to parents of pupils whose places are funded by the MDS, as such funding is capped by the Department for Education (DfE). Support by the DfE to these pupils is also means tested.

Scholarships are awarded to recognise a pupil’s academic or sporting achievement, and are not means tested, although additional means tested support in the form of a bursary might also be considered where appropriate.

Statement of Governors’ Responsibilities

The Governors are responsible for preparing the Governors’ report and the Financial Statements in accordance with the going concern basis under the historic cost convention, with the exception of listed investments which are held at fair value, in accordance with applicable accounting standards in the United Kingdom including the Financial Reporting Standard 102, ‘the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’ (FRS 102) Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ (“the Charities SORP”), the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS (cont’d)

Company law requires the Governors to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year. Under company law the Governors must not approve the Financial Statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the Group for the year. In preparing these Financial Statements, the Governors are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• Observe the methods and principles set out in the Charities SORP;

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements; and

• Prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the School will continue in business.

The Governors are responsible for ensuring that adequate accounting records are kept by the School that are sufficient to show and explain the Group’s transactions, disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the provisions of the School’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the provision and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Statement on Disclosure of Information to the Auditor

So far as each Governor is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the School’s auditor is unaware. The Governors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

The Governors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the School’s website.

Independent Auditor

Crowe U.K. LLP have indicated their willingness to accept reappointment as the School’s auditors and a resolution for their reappointment will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

Approved by the Governing Body on 10 March 2026 and signed on their behalf:

Mr Robert Powell

Chair of the Governing Body

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Wells Cathedral School, Limited for the year ended 31 August 2025 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and charity balance sheets, the consolidated cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2025 and of the Group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’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 Governors 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 charitable company’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 Governors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The Governors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED

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 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit

• the information given in the Governors’ report, which includes the directors’ report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the Governors’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the Governors’ report.

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the Governors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• the parent company has not kept adequate accounting records; or

• the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Governors

As explained more fully in the Governors’ responsibilities statement on page 18, the Governors (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Governors 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 Governors are responsible for assessing the charitable company’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 Governors either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charity and Group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Charities Act 2011, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charity’s and the Group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the Group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of Governors and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be with the completeness and accuracy of, bursaries, scholarships and allowances, and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, the Bursar and the Finance & Audit Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, designing audit procedures over fee concessions above, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission; Independent Schools Inspectorate; and, reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non- compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are 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 charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Tara Westcott Senior Statutory Auditor

For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor 4th Floor, St James House St James Square Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL50 3PR

Date : 16 March 2026

24

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account)

Note	Note	EndowmentRestrictedUnrestricted	EndowmentRestrictedUnrestricted	EndowmentRestrictedUnrestricted	EndowmentRestrictedUnrestricted	Total	Total
			funds	funds	funds	2025	2024
			£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
INCOME FROM:
Charitable activities:
Fees receivable	3		-	-	16,988	16,988	17,284
Other educational
income	4		-	-	1,105	1,105	1,246
Other ancillary
trading income	4		-	-	156	156	139
Donations &
legacies	5		-	141	17	158	170
Other trading
activities	5		-	-	552	552	528
Income from
investments	6		26	-	95	121	103
Total Income			26	141	18,913	19,080	19,470
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds	7		(9)	-	(634)	(643)	(598)
Charitable activities	7		-	(7)	(19,419)	(19,426)	(19,203)
Other expenditure	7		-	(2)	-	(2)	(4)
Total Expenditure			(9)	(9)	(20,053)	(20,071)	(19,805)
Gain/(Loss) on Investments13			43	-	-	43	125
Net (deficit)/income	10		60	132	(1,140)	(948)	(210)
Transfers between funds	18, 19, 20		(9)	26	(17)	-	-
Net movement in funds			51	158	(1,157)	(948)	(210)
Fund balances brought forward at
1 September 2024	18, 19, 20		1,124	4,445	14,427	19,996	20,206
Fund balances carried forward at
31 August 2025	18, 19, 20		1,175	4,603	13,270	19,048	19,996

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year.

The notes on pages 29 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

25

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2025

	Note		2025		2024
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	12		22,215		22,563
Investments	13		1,367		1,303
Current assets
Stocks	14	16		15
Debtors	15	5,558		1,352
Cash at bank and in hand		2,139		4,099
Total current assets		7,713		5,466
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year	16	(8,889)		(5,164)
Net current (liabilities)/assets			(1,176)		302
Total assets less current liabilities			22,406		24,168
Creditors: Amounts falling due
After more than one year	17		(3,358)		(4,172)
Total Net assets			19,048		19,996
The funds of the Group
Endowment funds	18		1,175		1,124
Restricted funds	19		4,603		4,445
Unrestricted funds	20		13,270		14,427
Total funds			19,048		19,996

These financial statements were approved by the Governing Body on 10 March 2026, and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr Simon Bernal-Palmer Mr Robert Powell Governor Chair of Governors

Company Registration No.: 00564883

The notes on pages 29 to 56 form part of these accounts.

26

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

SCHOOL BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2025

	Note		2025		2024
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	12		22,215		22,563
Current assets
Stocks	14	16		15
Debtors	15	5,551		1,307
Cash at bank and in hand		1,622		3,672
Total current assets		7,189		4,994
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year	16	(8,876)		(5,151)
Net current liabilities			(1,687)		(157)
Total assets less current liabilities			20,528		22,406
Creditors: Amounts falling due
After more than one year	17		(3,358)		(4,172)
Total Net assets			17,170		18,234
The funds of the Group
Restricted funds	19		4,016		3,938
Unrestricted funds	20		13,154		14,296
Total funds			17,170		18,234

The net movement in funds for the School in the year is a deficit of £1,064k (2024: Deficit of £339k).

These financial statements were approved by the Governing Body on 10 March 2026, and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr Simon Bernal-Palmer Mr Robert Powell Governor Chair of Governors

Company Registration No.: 00564883

The notes on pages 29 to 56 form part of these accounts.

27

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

	Note		2025		2024
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Net cash provided by operating
activities	24		(1,488)		1,980
Cash flows from investing activities
Income received from investments	6	115		103
Proceeds from sale of investments	13	521		265
Purchase of tangible fixed assets	12	(271)		(659)
Proceeds from sale of tangible
fixed assets	12	-		-
Purchase of investments	13	(186)		(310)
Net cash used in investing activities			179		(601)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayments of borrowings	26	(142)		(128)
Payment of interest	11	(155)		(179)
Net cash used in financing activities			(297)		(307)
Change in cash and cash equivalents
in the reporting year	25, 26		(1,606)		1,072
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting year	25		4,110		3,038
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the reporting year			2,504		4,110
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand	25		2,139		4,099
Cash held by investment manager	13		365		11
			2,504		4,110

The notes on pages 29 to 56 form part of these accounts.

28

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

1. Company status

The school is a charitable company, registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 00564883) limited by guarantee, and not having any share capital. The members undertake to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up, either whilst members or within one year of their membership ceasing. The maximum contribution required from each member would be £1. The school is also a charity registered in England and Wales (Charity Number: 310212).

The school is a public benefit entity and its functional and presentational currency is the pound sterling.

The School’s registered and principal address is The Bursary, College Road, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2SX.

2.

Accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis under the historic cost convention with the exception of listed investments which are held at fair value, in accordance with applicable accounting standards in the United Kingdom including the Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’ (FRS 102), Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS102) 2015 ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ (“the Charities SORP”), the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

i) Going concern

The accounts have been prepared on the going concern basis as the Governing Body consider this to be appropriate.

The Governing Body has prepared cash flow forecasts for a period of more than twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. These indicate that, taking account of reasonable possible downsides, the Group will have sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they become due.

In preparing the forecasts, the Governing Body has considered further severe, but plausible, downside scenarios. None of the scenarios indicates that the Group would have insufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due, however, it is anticipated that there will be a breach of one of the School’s existing banking covenants.

As a result, conversations have taken place with our bankers who have agreed to extended existing facilities to support the School as it addresses the impact of the recent regulatory changes (imposition of VAT on Independent School Fees; removal of Business Rates relief; and, increase in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions) on the Group’s cash flow position.

The School has, since January 2025, been implementing a significant programme of cost control and savings realization, including a formal redundancy consultation process to offset the significant financial impact of the recent regulatory changes outlined above.

29

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

• i) Going concern (cont’d) Future pupil numbers are a critical aspect of the forecasts that have been prepared. Additional resources have therefore been directed to the School’s Admissions and Marketing departments in order to support ongoing pupil recruitment and retention activity.

As a result, the Governing Body considers that it remains appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements.

• ii) Basis of consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Wells Cathedral School, Limited (‘the School’) and The Wells Cathedral School Foundation (‘the Foundation’).

The Foundation is not a direct subsidiary of the School but has been consolidated into the School’s financial statements. Under accounting standard FRS102, the Foundation is classified as a quasi-subsidiary as the School indirectly controls and directs the Foundation’s activities from which the School benefits. The Charities SORP states that where the objects of the Charity (the Foundation) are substantially or exclusively confined to the benefit of another charity (i.e. the School), and where the School influences the Foundation in its operational plans, i.e. the nature and timing of support, then the criteria for consolidation of the financial statements are deemed to have been met.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the School and the Foundation on a line by line basis. The results of the Foundation are disclosed in note 29 of these financial statements.

In accordance with the provisions of s408 of the Companies Act 2006 and paragraph 397 of the Charities SORP, the School is exempt from the requirement to present its own income and expenditure account and statement of financial activities.

iii) Income

Income in furtherance of the School’s activities represents the amounts (excluding value added tax), derived from the provision of educational services and boarding facilities to the pupils during the year, and is accounted for on a receivable basis.

School fees received in the current year in respect of the next or subsequent academic year are not recognised as income in the current year but are transferred to fees received in advance and included in creditors in the balance sheet.

Deposits received from pupils’ parents are held in creditors and are classified as falling due within one year. Deposits are repaid when the pupil leaves the School.

30

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

iii) Income (cont’d)

Other income (excluding fee income) in furtherance of the Group’s activities is represented by:

• Donations, which comprise primarily donations and charitable gifts from individuals, grant giving trusts and foundations, are accounted for on an accruals basis. Such income is recognised when there is a legally binding commitment to the Foundation for the transfer of funds. Donations of assets are brought into the balance sheet and statement of financial activities at market value, at the date of acquisition. Gift aid on donations is subsequently applied for where applicable;

• Legacies, which are accounted for at the earliest of receipt of estate accounts or cash received. As assessment is performed post year end of up to two months. Any legacies received are considered, their value reliably measured and then accounted for appropriately;

• Income from investments, which represents the interest and dividends earned during the year from bonds, deposits, and the endowment funds and any realised gains on their disposal. Income is accounted for on an accruals basis;

• Other educational income, which comprises educational income other than fees;

• Ancillary trading income, which comprises income associated with the provision of education by the School such as provision of the School bus service and external concerts; and,

• Other trading activities, which comprise income generated from lettings, hire of the School’s facilities and external functions.

iv) Accrued Income

When, as a result of performing a service or otherwise meeting the requirements of any arrangements with a third party, income falls due but has not been invoiced at the year end, an accrual is made for this income.

v) Grants

Grants received in respect of revenue expenditure are credited to income when there is evidence that entitlement to the grant receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably.

Grants in respect of fixed assets are recognised in the statement of financial activities when they are receivable, i.e. when the School is entitled to the income. Grant income is included in deferred income in the balance sheet where preconditions exist that require the expenditure to be incurred in a future year or where there is uncertainty as to whether the School will be able to fulfil the preconditions attached to the grant or part thereof.

vi) Scholarships, Bursaries and Discounts

Scholarships, bursaries and discounts are awarded to certain pupils who attend the School and are accounted for as a reduction in fees. Each award made is matched against fee income for that pupil at the time the fee invoice is raised. Each award is reviewed annually.

31

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

vii) Expenditure

All expenditure is included in the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis. Costs directly attributable to a specific expense heading are allocated to that heading. Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred, and in the following categories:

• Expenditure on raising funds, which consists of costs incurred in attracting voluntary income;

• Charitable activities, which comprise expenditure incurred in teaching, boarding and music programmes, and including both the direct costs and support costs relating to these activities;

• All expenditure, including support costs, is classified under activity heading that aggregates all costs related to the category. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of expenditure for which it is incurred;

• Termination/redundancy payments are accounted for as soon as the School is aware of the obligation to make payments.

viii) Redundancy and termination payments

Redundancy and termination costs are recognised as an expense immediately at the point where the School is demonstrably committed to either: terminate the employment of an employee or group of employees before the normal retirement date; or provide termination benefits as a result of an offer made in order to encourage voluntary redundancy. The School is considered to be demonstrably committed only when it has a detailed formal plan for the termination and is without realistic possibility of withdrawal from the plan.

ix) Pension costs

Some of the teaching staff are members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (‘TPS’), which is a defined benefit scheme. Under the definitions set out in FRS102, the teachers’ pension scheme is a multi-employer pension scheme.

Accordingly, the School has taken advantage of the exemptions available to multiemployer pension schemes and contributions to the scheme are charged to the statement of financial activities when they are payable.

Some other employees, including teachers are members of a money purchase pension scheme operated by an insurance company on behalf of the School. The amounts charged against income represent the contributions payable to the schemes in respect of the accounting year.

x)

Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

All tangible fixed assets are accounted for at cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes the original purchase price of the asset plus the costs attributed to bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use. Depreciation is provided by the School to write off the cost less the estimated residual value of tangible fixed assets by instalments over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:

Freehold buildings - 1%-10% per annum Long leasehold land and buildings - 1%-2% per annum Fixtures and fittings - 5%-12.5% per annum Musical instruments and machinery - 10% per annum Information and communications technology equipment (including computer and data communications equipment) - 10%-25% per annum Motor vehicles - 12.5% per annum

32

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

x) Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation (cont’d)

The useful economic lives and residual value of fixed assets are reviewed annually. No depreciation is provided on freehold land, and the capitalisation threshold is £2,500. Items under this level are expensed to the statement of financial activities.

Assets in the course of construction are not depreciated until they are completed and brought into use.

xi) Investments

In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Trustees of the Foundation may authorise its funds to be invested in any stocks, shares, or insurance policies. The Trustees’ aim is to generate long-term total return from endowment funds invested, combining both capital growth and income, and to invest other funds received in bank deposits and bonds at attractive rates of interest. The basis for determining fair value is the quoted market price in an active market.

Any gains and losses on sale or revaluation of investments are recorded within the statement of financial activities.

The Foundation has adopted the “Total Return” approach to investments which are considered to be permanent endowments under which, once the value of the permanent endowments reaches a sufficient amount, the total returns earned on the investments will be available to be used to award bursaries to pupils at the School.

xii) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value and using the “first in first out” method. Cost represents the invoice value charged by suppliers. Stocks are reviewed annually and a provision created for any slow moving stock where necessary.

xiii) Debtors

Other debtors, intercompany debtors and accrued income are recognised at the settlement amount due after any discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

xiv) Cash and cash equivalents

Cash is represented by cash in hand.

xv) Fees Received in Advance

Fees received in advance of education to be provided in future years is treated as deferred income until either taken to income in the School term when used or otherwise refunded.

xvi) Leases

Where the company enters into a lease which entails taking substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of an asset, the lease is treated as a ‘finance lease’. The asset is recorded in the balance sheet as a tangible fixed asset and is depreciated over its estimated useful life or the term of the lease, whichever is the shorter. Future instalments under such leases, net of finance charges, are included within creditors. Rentals payable are apportioned between the finance element, which is charged to the income and expenditure account, and the capital element which reduces the outstanding obligation for future instalments.

33

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

xvi) Leases (cont’d)

All other leases are accounted for as operating leases and the rental charges are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the life of the lease.

xvii) Repairs provision

In accordance with the requirements of the block lease, the School commissions a five yearly survey of the state of the repair of the leased buildings. The surveyor’s suggestions and recommendations for repairs are then categorised into major repair works and ongoing repairs. The School undertakes the major repair work within its ongoing programme of maintenance over a five year period.

xviii) Endowment funds (restricted)

Endowment funds are defined as donations made to the School in perpetuity, the income from which is to be used for the benefit of future pupils.

xix) Restricted funds

These funds have been donated for specific purposes, such as bursaries, scholarships or capital projects.

xx) Capital fund (restricted)

The capital fund represents the cost of buildings that were funded by the Wells Cathedral School Development Trust (“the Trust”) and transferred to the School prior to 2005, when the Trust was closed, and contributions by the Trust towards capital projects undertaken by the School ceased. The capital fund also includes amounts received by the School towards specific fixed assets from other organisations and is subject to an attributable depreciation charge.

xxi) Revenue fund

The revenue fund represents the working capital of the School. Part of this fund has been designated as an asset fund.

xxii) Designated Asset fund

The Governing Body has elected to designate funds equal to the value of land and buildings which are not held within the restricted funds. The asset fund therefore represents the net book value of the tangible fixed assets not funded by the capital fund, less outstanding loans secured on specific assets.

xxiii) Transfers between reserves

Transfers between revenue and designated funds are made at the Governing Body’s discretion to set aside funds as required. Expenditure on new tangible fixed assets not funded by the capital fund, less any outstanding loans secured on these assets, is transferred to designated reserves. Transfers between revenue and restricted funds reflect the depreciation charge on the capital fund and any purchases of restricted assets.

xxiv) Financial instruments

The Group has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. These are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their amortised cost or fair value depending on the nature of the financial instrument.

34

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

2. Accounting policies (cont’d)

xxv) Critical Accounting Judgements and Estimation of Uncertainty

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.

• Critical judgements The Governing Body do not believe that any critical judgements have been made in preparing the financial statements. The accruals and prepayments are calculated based on firm or historical evidence, except pledges, which are included based on a firm judgement by the Foundation.

• Estimates and assumptions The estimates and assumptions made by the Group consist mainly of an allocation of the School’s development department’s operating costs associated with the Foundation and the useful economic lives and residual values of the School’s fixed assets. These reasonable estimates are based on the knowledge of key management personnel.

xxvi) Taxation

The School and Foundation, which are registered charities, are not liable to taxation on the net revenue from their primary activity or investment income and gains.

The School is registered for Value Added Tax and is subject to the partial exemption rules.

3. Fees receivable

3. Fees receivable
	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Fees receivable consist of:
Tuition and boarding fees	19,968	19,512
Music tuition fees	1,981	2,066
Total fees	21,949	21,578
Less:
DfE cap – Tuition and boarding fees	(1,590)	(1,369)
Bursaries, scholarships and other discounts	(3,371)	(2,925)
	16,988	17,284

The Department for Education (‘DfE’) cap is the contribution by the School to cover the shortfall which arises because the fees eligible for the Music and Dance Scheme are lower than the full fees. The bursaries include the restricted bursaries donated from the Foundation of £20k (2024: £27k).

35

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

4.	Income from Charitable Activities
		2025	2024
		£’000	£’000
	Other educational income:
	School activities	796	958
	Extra tuition	256	231
	Wells Music College income	6	8
	Registration fees	28	34
	Other income	19	15
		1,105	1,246
	Other ancillary trading income:
	Bus service for pupils	112	96
	Concert income	20	18
	Other income	24	25
		156	139

5. Income from Donations and Legacies

5. Income from Donations and Legacies
		Group		School
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Unrestricted:
Donations and legacies	17	77	-	-
		Group		School
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Restricted / Endowed
Donations:
Donations (restricted)	122	61	64	8
Donations to Music (restricted)	19	32	-	32
	141	93	64	40
	158	170	64	40

Donations to the School from the Foundation totalled £17k (2024: £111k), plus bursaries of £20k (2024: £27k). Net restricted donations received by the Foundation totalled £110k (2024: £49k) and donations to endowed funds were £Nil (2024: £Nil).

36

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

5. Income from Donations and Legacies (cont’d)

5. Income from Donations and Legacies (cont’d)
	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Other trading activities:
Lettings	196	101
Hire of facilities	249	266
Functions/Concert income	75	118
Solar panels	22	21
Rental	8	26
Surplus/(Deficit) on fixed asset disposals	2	(4)
	552	528

6. Income from investments

				Group		School
			2025	2024	2025	2024
			£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
	Interest from short-term deposits		95	80	90	74
	Income earned on endowment funds		26	23	-	-
			121	103	90	74
7.	Expenditure
	Staff costs		OtherDepreciation		Total	Total
					2025	2024
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
	Expenditure on raising funds:
	Fundraising trading costs	324	171	-	495	496
	Foundation operating costs	78	70	-	148	102
	Total expenditure on raising funds	402	241	-	643	598
	Expenditure on charitable activities:
	Teaching costs	7,821	337	74	8,232	8,235
	Welfare costs	1,094	260	-	1,354	1,209
	Premises – general	1,883	2,402	545	4,830	4,634
	Premises – non recurring projects	-	3	-	3	3
	Support costs	2,458	1,449	-	3,907	3,776
	School activities	-	796	-	796	958
	Ancillary trading	85	219	-	304	388
	Total expenditure on charitable
	activities	13,341	5,466	619	19,426	19,203

37

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

7. Expenditure (cont’d)

7. Expenditure (cont’d)
	Staff costs	OtherDepreciation		Total	Total
				2025	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Other expenditure:
Other expenditure	-	2	-	2	4
Total expenditure	13,743	5,709	619	20,071	19,805

8. Support costs

8. Support costs	8. Support costs
Costs of		Other
generating		charitable	Total	Total
funds		activities	2025	2024
£’000		£’000	£’000	£’000
Staff costs:	402	2,458	2,860	2,776
Other support costs:
Staff expenses/development	-	75	75	106
Office	241	1,069	1,310	1,195
Professional advice	-	120	120	91
Finance costs	-	155	155	179
Services provided by the School’s auditor:
Fees payable for the audit (including the Foundation) -		29	29	26
Fees payable for the Teachers’ Pension Certificate	-	1	1	1
	643	3,907	4,550	4,374

Included within the support costs are governance costs of £68k (2024: £122k), which mainly comprise the costs of administering the School, auditor’s remuneration and Governing Body meeting expenses.

9. Staff numbers and costs

The monthly average headcount number of persons employed by the Group during the year, analysed by category, was as follows:

The monthly average headcount number of year, analysed by category, was as follows:	persons employed by the Group	during the
	2025	2024
Teaching staff	176	164
Non-teaching staff	265	246
	441	410

38

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

9. Staff numbers and costs (cont’d)

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Wages and salaries	10,756	10,651
Redundancy & termination payments	104	-
Social security costs	1,164	1,004
Pension costs (see note 23)	1,719	1,683
	13,743	13,338

The number of employees earning in excess of £60,000 gross salary per year:

	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
£160,001 - £170,000	1	1
£130,001 - £140,000	1	-
£120,001 - £130,000	-	1
£80,001 - £90,000	3	2
£70,001 - £80,000	1	2
£60,001 - £70,000	21	5

Of the above employees, 9 (2024: 10) were members of the Teachers’ Superannuation Pension Scheme which is a defined benefit scheme. The School’s contribution to this was £197k (2024: £199k). The remaining 17 employees (2024: 1) were members of a money purchase pension scheme for which the School’s contribution was £157k (2024: £13k).

None of the Governing Body received any emoluments or benefits during the year (2024: Nil). See note 28 for further information. The total amount earned by the Senior Management Team for the year was £746k (2024: £723k).

Settlement payments of £2k (2024: £Nil) were made to 1 (2024: 0) employee in the year.

39

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

10. Net income before transfers

**10. **	Net	income before transfers
			2025	2024
			£’000	£’000
	Net	income before transfers is stated after charging:
	Services provided by the School’s auditor:
	Audit Fees
	-	School	29	26
	-	Foundation (included in the School Audit Fee)	-	-
	Other services
	-	Music and Dance Scheme grant audit	1	-
	-	Teachers’ Pension certificate audit	2	1
	-	VAT Consultancy	6	-
	-	School Corporation Tax return	2	-
	-	Foundation Corporation Tax return	2	-
	Rentals payable under operating leases
	-	Land and buildings	91	91
	-	Other	180	164
	Depreciation
	-	Owned assets	605	620
	-	Leased assets	14	14
**11. **	Interest payable
			2025	2024
			£’000	£’000
	Interest on bank loans and overdraft		155	183

40

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

12. Tangible Fixed Assets

Group and School	Group and School
	Freehold	Assets in Leasehold Information			Fixtures	Motor	Total
	Land &	the course	land & & computer		fittings, vehicles
buildings		of	buildings	technology machinery,
	construction		equipment		& musical
				instruments
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Cost
At 1-9-24	25,238	65	1,571	475	3,032	35	30,416
Additions	44	-	145	7	75	-	271
Transfer	(265)	(47)	111	-	201	-	-
Disposals	-	-	-	(91)	(17)	(10)	(118)
At 31-8-25	25,017	18	1,827	391	3,291	25	30,569
Depreciation
At 1-9-24	4,259	-	961	339	2,262	32	7,853
Charge	379	-	51	36	153	-	619
Transfer	(31)	-	11	-	20	-	-
Disposals	-	-	-	(91)	(17)	(10)	(118)
At 31-8-25	4,607	-	1,023	284	2,418	22	8,354
Net book value
At 31-8-25	20,410	18	804	107	873	3	22,215
At 31-8-23	20,979	65	610	136	770	3	22,563

The School has a finance lease on properties leased from Wells Cathedral, which date back to 1983. Due to the age of the lease, there is insufficient data to be able to accurately disclose the net amount of the associated asset and depreciation for the year. This is not considered to be material to the financial statements.

There is £662k (2024: £662k) in leasehold land and buildings which relates to long term lease improvements.

The £18k (2024: £65k) in “assets in the course of construction” is the continued capitalisation of the “New Entrance”; Nursery improvements; and, Sixth Form development.

41

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

13. Investments

Group
Non-current investments	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Investment management portfolio comprises:	1,367	1,303

The investments are represented by the following funds: Endowed funds £1,185,091 (2024: £1,127,980) Restricted funds £181,677 (2024: £175,022)

The investments consist of a portfolio of equities, funds, bonds and cash managed by Evelyn Partners, the majority of which comprise UK assets. They are categorized as noncurrent assets as they are held for longer than twelve months.

The objective of the portfolio is to grow the capital over time, such that, in the future, the portfolio is of sufficient size to meaningfully contribute towards the advancement of education. The portfolio achieved a positive return, net of all costs, of 6.1% over the twelve months to the end of August, compared with a return of 12.3% in the prior year. Over the same timeframe the MSCI PIMFA Growth Index increased by 10.5%. The portfolio of investments was well balanced and diversified in line with the agreed medium level of risk and the criteria set out in the wider investment policy. It should be noted that equity indices remain heavily concentrated in a small number of interconnected digital businesses which are perceived to be beneficiaries of Artificial Intelligence, and over this twelve-month period market index performance was primarily driven by these companies. Since the end of August the portfolio has been liquidated in order to provide a cash reserve.

	Group 2025 2024 £’000 £’000 Investmentsat valuation At 1 September 2024 1,303 1,161 Additions at cost 186 310 Disposal proceeds (521) (276) Gain/(Loss) on investment portfolio 43 125 Cash management movement 354 (16) Gain/(Loss) on cash 2 (1)
	1,367 1,303
	These balances can be further analysed as: Cash held 365 11 Investments 1,002 1,292
	At 31 August 2025 1,367 1,303

42

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

14. Stocks

These consist of catering supplies and school shop supplies.

15. Debtors

15. Debtors
		Group		School
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Trade debtors – amounts due from parents	5,034	777	5,034	777
Other debtors	173	186	173	141
Prepayments	351	389	344	389
	5,558	1,352	5,551	1,307

Amounts due from parents' balance includes fees raised in the year in respect of Autumn 2025 fees recognised at the VAT tax point. The corresponding entry is included within Accruals and deferred income and Taxation and social security in Creditors.

16. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

		Group		School
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Bank loans and overdrafts	155	136	155	136
Fees received in advance	1,211	1,496	1,211	1,496
Pupil deposits	1,105	1,291	1,105	1,291
Fees In Advance Scheme	618	650	618	650
Trade creditors	90	62	90	62
Taxation and social security	1,071	224	1,071	224
Finance lease	11	27	11	27
Other creditors	568	586	568	576
Accruals and deferred income	4,060	692	4,047	689
	8,889	5,164	8,876	5,151

Fees In Advance Scheme:

Fees In Advance Scheme:
Group and School	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
At 1 September 2024	2,398	1,375
New contracts	268	1,323
Refunds issued	(278)	-
Amounts utilised in payment of fees to the School	(664)	(300)
At 31 August 2025	1,724	2,398

43

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

16. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (cont’d)

Fees In Advance Scheme received – aged breakdown:	Fees In Advance Scheme received – aged breakdown:
Group and School		2025	2024
		£’000	£’000
Fees falling due within:
-	1 year	618	650
-	1-2 years	414	517
-	2-5 years	448	881
-	After 5 years	244	350
		1,724	2,398

17. Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Group and School	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Bank loan	2,252	2,413
Finance lease	-	11
Fees In Advance Scheme	1,106	1,748
	3,358	4,172

Bank loans are instalment debts and fees received in advance are non-instalment debts.

There are three (2024: three) bank loans secured on School properties.

The capital for the loans is repayable in monthly instalments which vary from £1k to £10k. The interest rates on these loans vary from 0.9% to 1.95% above base rate. There is an interest offset arrangement in place with the bank for two of the loans whereby a sweep of the loans and cash balances is made daily. A net interest adjustment is then made reflecting the balance of interest received on cash held and the interest to be paid on the outstanding loan balances.

The bank loans are repayable as follows:
Group and School	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Within:
1 year	155	136
1 – 2 years	164	145
2 – 5 years	550	498
After 5 years	1,538	1,770
	2,407	2,549

44

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

18. Endowment funds

Group

Group
		Alan				Ashley
	Chandler	QuilterDulvertonCarnegieVandervell Jones					Bursary
	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	Total
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
At 1-9-24	80	6	40	25	249	14	710	1,124
Additions	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	17
Gain on investment -		-	-	-	-	-	34	34
At 31-8-25	80	6	40	25	249	14	761	1,175

The Chandler fund represents an endowment, the income from which is to be used for music bursaries.

The Alan Quilter fund provides scholarships and bursaries.

The Dulverton fund is to fund bursaries for former boy choristers at Wells Cathedral. The Carnegie fund is to fund a folk singing scholarship.

The Vandervell fund is to fund scholarships and bursaries.

The Ashley Jones fund represents an endowment, the income from which is to be used to fund bursaries.

The Bursary fund represents donations which are to be used to fund bursaries.

Comparative statement of Endowment Funds for the year ended 31 August 2024

Group

Group
		Alan				Ashley
	Chandler	QuilterDulvertonCarnegieVandervell Jones					Bursary
	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	Total
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
At 1-9-23	80	6	40	25	249	14	588	1,002
Additions	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	14
Gain on investments -		-	-	-	-	-	108	108
At 31-8-24	80	6	40	25	249	14	710	1,124

45

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

19. Restricted Funds

Group and school	Group and school
Project		Bursary	Capital	Other	SchoolConsolidatedFoundationGroup
	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	Total
£’000		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Donations and
other receipts	-	-	61	-	61	(30)	110	141
Expenditure	-	-	-	-	-	30	(39)	(9)
Surplus/(Deficit)
for year	-	-	61	-	61	-	71	132
Transfers	-	-	17	-	17	-	9	26
At 1-9-24	74	71	3,484	309	3,938	88	419	4,445
At 31-8-25	74	71	3,562	309	4,016	88	499	4,603

The Project Fund comprises funds from the DfE in respect of specific education based projects with State sector schools.

The Bursary Fund represents restricted bursaries received and awarded during the year.

The Capital Fund represents the cost of buildings that were funded by the Wells Cathedral School Development Trust (“the Trust”) and transferred to the School prior to 2005, and contributions by the Trust towards capital projects undertaken by the School. This Trust closed in July 2005. The Capital Fund also includes amounts received by the School towards specific fixed assets from other organisations and is subject to an attributable depreciation charge.

The Other Fund comprises funds from the Foundation and other specific educational based projects such as Sierra Leone.

The transfers from the Restricted Fund of £26k (2024: £124k) comprise the following:

	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Transfer from the Designated Asset Fund to Capital Fund for assets
Funded by Friends of Music and the Foundation	26	97
Transfer from revenue fund in respect of restricted bursaries from
the Foundation	-	27
Total	26	124

46

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

19. Restricted Funds (cont’d)

Comparative Statement of Restricted Funds for the year ended 31 August 2024: Group and school

Group and school	Group and school
Project		Bursary Capital		Other	SchoolConsolidatedFoundationGroup
	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund	fund		Total
£’000		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000		£’000
Donations and
other receipts	-	-	155	-	155	(111)		49	93
Expenditure	-	-	(10)	-	(10)	102	(106)		(14)
Surplus/(Deficit)
for year	-	-	145	-	145	(9)		(57)	79
Transfers	-	-	124	-	124	-		20	144
At 1-9-23	74	71	3,215	309	3,669	97		456	4,222
At 31-8-24	74	71	3,484	309	3,938	88		419	4,445
20. Unrestricted Funds
	Balance at							Balance at
	Sept 2024		Interest Incoming			OutgoingTransfer		Aug 2025
		£’000	£’000		£’000	£’000	£’000		£’000
Group
Revenue Fund		(5,265)		95	18,818	(19,528)	(413)		(6,293)
Designated Fund		19,692		-	-	(525)	396		19,563
		14,427		95	18,818	(20,053)	(17)		13,270
School
Revenue Fund		(5,314)		90	18,802	(19,511)	(413)		(6,346)
Designated Fund		19,610		-	-	(506)	396		19,500
		14,296		90	18,802	(20,017)	(17)		13,154

The transfer deficit of £413k (2024: £893k) is the accumulation of the restricted fund £17k (2024: £124k) and the Designated Fund £396k (2024: £769k).

47

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

20. Unrestricted Funds (cont’d)

Comparative Statement of Unrestricted Funds for the	Comparative Statement of Unrestricted Funds for the	Comparative Statement of Unrestricted Funds for the	Comparative Statement of Unrestricted Funds for the	year ended	31 August 2024	31 August 2024
	Balance at					Balance at
	Sept 2023	Interest	Incoming	OutgoingTransfer		Aug 2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Group
Revenue Fund	(4,450)	81	19,274	(19,277)	(893)	(5,265)
Designated Fund	19,432	-	-	(509)	769	19,692
	14,982	81	19,274	(19,786)	(124)	14,427
School
Revenue Fund	(4,528)	74	19,223	(19,275)	(808)	(5,314)
Designated Fund	19,432	-	-	(506)	684	19,610
	14,904	74	19,223	(19,781)	(124)	14,296

21. Financial Instruments

Financial assets that are measured at fair value:

		Group
	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Investments	1,367	1,303

22. Commitments

Group and School

Operating leases

The total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases were as follows:

		2025		2024
	Land and	Other	Land and	Other
	buildings		buildings
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Operating lease commitments:
In less than one year	77	175	91	197
In the second to fifth years inclusive	-	194	-	387
	77	369	91	584

48

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

22. Commitments (cont’d)

The leases of land and buildings are subject to rent reviews which occur over 1 to 7 years. The rent for the properties in Vicars Close is £69,800 per annum (2024: £69,800). The leases on 17 and 18 Vicars Close expired in June 2024 and the leases on 16 and 26 Vicars Close expired in September 2024.

Finance leases

The total commitments under non-cancellable finance leases were as follows:

		2025		2024
	Land and	Other	Land and	Other
	buildings		buildings
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Finance lease commitments:
In less than one year	140	11	140	27
In the second to fifth years inclusive	257	-	397	11
	397	11	537	38

Commitments under finance leases relate to the rental properties from Wells Cathedral. The lease agreement dated back to 1983 and there is insufficient data to be able to accurately disclose the finance lease creditor amount. This is not considered to be material to the financial statements.

23. Pension Scheme

The School operates three pension schemes.

• a) Teachers

The School participates in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (“the TPS”) for its teaching staff. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to the TPS of £1,141k (2024: £1,989k) and at the year-end £117k (2024: £162k) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

The TPS is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefits pension scheme governed by The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 (as amended) and The Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (as amended). Members contribute on a “pay as you go” basis with contributions from members and the employer being credited to the Exchequer. Retirement and other pension benefits are paid by public funds provided by Parliament.

The employer contribution rate is set by the Secretary of State following scheme valuations undertaken by the Government Actuary’s Department. The most recent actuarial valuation of the TPS was prepared as at 31 March 2020 and the Valuation Report was published in October 2023. The Valuation Report shows notional assets of £222.2bn and liabilities of £262bn, resulting in a scheme deficit of £39.8bn.

The employer contribution rate for the TPS is 28.6%, and employers are also required to pay a scheme administration levy of 0.08% giving a total employer contribution rate of 28.68%.

49

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

23. Pension Scheme (cont’d)

• b) Teaching staff

Teaching staff are given the option to be members of a defined contribution scheme.

• c) Non-teaching staff

• Most of the non-teaching staff are members of a defined contribution scheme.

The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the School to the funds (Employer’s Contribution) analysed as follows:

	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Non-teaching staff	232	232
Teaching staff	1,487	1,451
	1,719	1,683
Contributions outstanding at 31 August were as follows:
Non-teaching staff	31	32
Teaching staff	155	162
Net contributions outstanding	186	194

24. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash outflow from operating activities

	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Net movement in funds	(948)	(210)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation	619	634
Loss on sale of fixed assets	-	6
Cash held for re-investment	(27)	11
(Gain)/Loss on investments	(43)	(125)
Increase in stocks	(1)	(8)
(Increase)/Decrease in debtors	(4,206)	319
Increase in creditors	3,053	1,277
Income from investments	(90)	(103)
Interest payable	155	179
Net cash provided by operating activities	(1,488)	1,980

50

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

25. Analysis of changes in cash balances

25. Analysis of changes in cash balances
	Sep	Cash	Aug
	2024	flows	2025
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Cash in hand and at bank	4,099	(1,960)	2,139
Cash held by investment manager	11	354	365
Debt due within one year	(136)	(19)	(155)
Debt due after one year	(2,413)	161	(2,252)
Total	1,561	(1,464)	97

26. Reconciliation of Net Debt

26. Reconciliation of Net Debt
	2025	2024
	£’000	£’000
Increase in cash in the year	(1,606)	1,072
Cash inflow from repayment of loans	142	129
Change in net funds resulting from cash flow	(1,464)	1,201
Net debt at start of year	1,561	360
Net debt at end of year	97	1,561

51

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

27. Allocation of Net Assets for the year ended 31 August 2025

The net assets are held for the various funds as follows:

Group

Group
	Fixed	Net current	Long term	Total
	assets	assets/	liabilities
		(liabilities)
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Endowment Funds	1,175	-	-	1,175
Restricted Funds	5,826	(1,223)	-	4,603
Unrestricted Funds	16,581	47	(3,358)	13,270
	23,582	(1,176)	(3,358)	19,048

School

School
	Fixed	Net current	Long term	Total
	assets	assets/	liabilities
		(liabilities)
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Restricted Funds	5,371	(1,355)	-	4,016
Unrestricted Funds	16,844	(332)	(3,358)	13,154
	22,215	(1,687)	(3,358)	17,170

Comparative Statement of Allocation of Net Assets for the year ended 31 August 2024 Group

Group
	Fixed	Net current	Long term	Total
	assets	assets/	liabilities
		(liabilities)
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Endowment Funds	1,124	-	-	1,124
Restricted Funds	5,612	(1,167)	-	4,445
Unrestricted Funds	17,130	1,469	(4,172)	14,427
	23,866	302	(4,172)	19,996

52

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

27. Allocation of Net Assets for the year ended 31 August 2024 (cont’d)

School

School
	Fixed	Net current	Long term	Total
	assets	assets/	liabilities
		(liabilities)
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Restricted Funds	5,452	(1,514)	-	3,938
Unrestricted Funds	17,111	1,357	(4,172)	14,296
	22,563	(157)	(4,172)	18,234

28. Related Parties

• a) Connected Persons

• The Chapter of Wells Cathedral (“the Chapter”) is a connected person within the terms of the Charities SORP. At the School’s Governors meeting in December the Members will include an agenda item to ratify the appointment of new Governors. The articles provide for four Chapter members to be Governors.

During the year:

• Rent was paid to the Chapter of £210k (2024: £210k) under a repairing lease expiring in 2063 in respect of certain School buildings. At the year end, there was a prepayment of £14k (2024: £14k).

• Property insurance was paid to the Chapter of £20k (2024: £Nil). At the year end, there was a prepayment of £Nil (2024: £Nil).

• The Chapter contributed £122k (2024: £98k) towards the fees of the Cathedral choristers.

• The School paid £42k (2024: £37k) to the Chapter in respect of the use of the Cathedral facilities for events.

Veale Wasbrough Vizards, of which a Governor is a partner, received £32k (2024: £80k) from the School; Patterson Bristol, of which a Governor is a shareholder, received £29k (2024: £57k) from the School; ABRSM, of which a Governor is a director, received £9k (2024: £9K); and Bristol Music Trust Ltd, of which a Foundation Trustee is a director, received £125 (2024: £Nil) from the School.

The School received bursaries of £13k (2024: £15k) from The Sir Keith Showering Trust, of which a Senior Management Team member is a Trustee.

The School received bursaries of £44k (2024: £52k) from The Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust, of which a Governor is a Trustee.

53

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

28. Related Parties (cont’d)

• b) Transactions with Governors and Trustees

• During the year, 0 (2024: 2) of the Governors received reimbursement for expenses of £Nil (2024: £794).

During the year, 2 Governors (2024: 1) and 2 Trustees (2024: 1) were parents of pupils at the School and paid fees on the same terms as any other parent and received the benefits of Clergy and sibling discounts where appropriate.

• c) Transactions with Wells Cathedral School Foundation

• The Foundation, which is a charitable company registered in England & Wales (company number: 02804495) is not a directly owned subsidiary of the School, however, the results of the Foundation have been consolidated into the School’s financial statements as the Foundation is indirectly controlled and influenced by the School.

The School has funded the initial set up costs of the Foundation and will fund certain ongoing costs of operation of the Foundation as agreed in the ‘memorandum of understanding’ between the School and the Foundation. In 2024/25, the Foundation’s operating costs of £84k (2024: £70k) were recharged to the School.

During the year the School received £37k (2024: £138k) from the Foundation representing donations for bursaries and specific projects.

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WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

29. The Wells Cathedral School Foundation

The Wells Cathedral School Foundation was established in 2007 as a separate but connected charity, charity number 1118159, to act as the legal entity for the recording and control of all fundraising activity on behalf of the School.

Registered and principal office:

Wells Cathedral School, Limited College Road Wells Somerset BA5 2SX

A summary of its results for the year is shown below:

Endowment	Endowment	Restricted Unrestricted	Restricted Unrestricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds	2025
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Income:
Income from charitable activities	25	110	105	240
Expenditure on raising funds	(9)	(38)	(121)	(168)
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments	43	-	-	43
Net movement in funds	59	72	(16)	115
Transfers between funds	(9)	9	-	-
Balance brought forward	1,125	418	222	1,765
Balance carried forward	1,175	499	206	1,880

The net assets and liabilities were:

The net assets and liabilities were:
	2025
	£’000
Fixed assets:
Investments	1,367
Total current assets	536
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(23)
Net current assets	513
Net assets	1,880
Total charity funds	1,880

55

WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LIMITED (Limited by Guarantee) GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (cont’d)

29. The Wells Cathedral School Foundation (cont’d)

Comparative results for the year ended 31 August 2024:

Endowment	Endowment	Restricted Unrestricted	Restricted Unrestricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds	2024
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Income:
Income from charitable activities	22	48	154	224
Expenditure on raising funds	(6)	(105)	(109)	(220)
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments	125	-	-	125
Net movement in funds	141	(57)	45	129
Transfers between funds	(20)	20	-	-
Balance brought forward	1,003	456	177	1,636
Balance carried forward	1,124	419	222	1,765

The net assets and liabilities were:

The net assets and liabilities were:
	2024
	£’000
Fixed assets:
Investments	1,303
Total current assets	472
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(10)
Net current assets	462
Net assets	1,765
Total charity funds	1,765

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