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2024-08-31-accounts

COMPANY NUMBER: 00678091 CHARITY NUMBER: 311076

GOVERNORS' REPORT, STRATEGIC REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

CONTENTS

PAGE
GOVERNORS' REPORT (INCORPORATING STRATEGIC REPORT) 4
STATEMENT OF GOVERNORS' RESPONSIBILITIES 13
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT 14
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 17
BALANCE SHEET 18
CASH FLOW STATEMENT 19
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 20

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Governors Ms H Regan (Chairman)
Mrs L Keating (Deputy Chairman)
Mr A J Cawthorne
Mr A W G Ford
Mrs J Ginger
Mrs C Hargrove
Mr R Khiroya (Resigned 29 November 2023)
Mrs N Moola
Mr G L Palin
Dr K V Young
Headmaster J Gray
Bursar M Honeybourne
Company number 00678091
Charity number 311076
Registered office and principal address York House School
Sarratt Road
Croxley Green
Rickmansworth
WD34 4LW
Auditors HaysMac LLP
10 Queen Street Place
London
EC4R 1AG
Bankers HSBC Bank plc
73 High Street
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD17 2DS

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

The Governors, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] August 2024.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable Objects

The Object of the Trust, in accordance with its Memorandum of Association, is the education of children aged 3 to 13. In the furtherance of this object, the Governors, as the Charity’s Trustees, have complied with the duty imposed by the Charities Act, 2006 to have due regard to the Public Benefit requirements of that Act.

Aims and Intended Impact

The School’s aim is to provide a nurturing and challenging environment in a traditional school setting in 47 acres of countryside. This is combined with a modern and ambitious approach to teaching, “Growth Mind-set”, developing all pupils so that they excel in a variety of subjects and disciplines, with an impressive standard of pastoral care. This positive environment allows girls and boys between 3 to 13 years to succeed and develop as individuals. Great emphasis is placed on offering motivating, fun and inspiring school outings, events and activities throughout the School to ensure and support this development.

The School aims to stimulate, maintain and develop lively and enquiring minds; to encourage all pupils to reach their true potential and eventually become independent learners who value learning with and from others, as a life-long process.

We understand the need for support in parents’ busy daily lives with the provision of before and after school care. A wide range of sports, music, drama, languages, arts, media, public speaking and various martial arts are provided in our Pre- and After-School Clubs. A passionate aim of ours is to use and develop the unique countryside setting of the school to educate pupils with new life-skills and knowledge. York House offers a very high quality of education within a curriculum that includes both time and space – rare commodities in modern day life.

We continue to appoint, develop and retain staff of the highest quality and to develop a school community of responsible citizens which affords equal value to all of its members, is seen to be just and encourages mutual respect, truthfulness and concern for others. Part of our development of staff is carried out through encouraging a link between individual appraisals and the school’s objectives.

While carrying out our charitable purpose – the provision of education – we aim to deliver substantial benefit to all stakeholders, including the local community, through the provision of an excellent and broad education and through access to our services, facilities and expertise.

Outcomes of the 2023-24 objectives

  1. Financial – continue to navigate the challenging financial environment the sector is operating in. o The sector remained in an ever more challenging financial environment which the school continued to successfully navigate and reported a small positive surplus.

  2. Charitable Partnerships – use our new Foundation Wellbeing Garden to offer mental health interventions to partner state schools.

  3. The exciting plans for the Wellbeing Garden are underway and we anticipate the garden will formally open in May 2025.

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

  1. Political – Position the school successfully to navigate new landscape, likely Labour administration.

  2. An ongoing objective as we position ourselves, along with the rest of the sector, following the election result in July 2024.

  3. Upgrade of Art room facilities –Given the strategic decision to move to a 3-11 school from September 2026 we have paused the Modular Build project. We will now be able to create this space from our existing buildings.

The objectives set for 2024/25 are:

  1. Financial – Navigate the challenging financial environment we have been working in as it merges ever more closely with the political environment under the new Labour Government.

  2. Strategic – The school has announced its strategic decision to transition to a 3-11 school from September 2026. We will ensure this transition takes place in the most effective way ensuring that all of our fixed assets remain fully utilised.

  3. Political – We will now reposition ourselves to respond to the political decisions upon us with independent school fees becoming subject to VAT.

  4. Mental Health & Wellbeing – We will continue to evolve the robust and purposeful activity around Mental Health & Wellbeing. This includes working towards achieving the Carnegie Gold award and the opening of our Foundation Wellbeing Garden.

Principal Activities for the Year

During the year, the School continued to provide preparatory and nursery education. There was an average of 402 (2023: 400) pupils during the year a 0.5% increase on the prior year. The number of girls again increased with girls now representing just under one third of pupils. Governors are confident that this increasing provision for co-education will continue to underpin the School’s future pupil base. A Growth Mind-set approach to teaching and learning is now fully established within the curriculum.

Governors feel that the reputation of the school increases through consistently good word of mouth and our involvement in the local area. The school’s excellent academic and co-curricular performance, placing children at the secondary school of their choice and offering in excess of 90 diverse, character building after school club activities, underpins its charitable object. This is further supported through the continual growth of partnerships with local bodies; primary schools, local societies and, providing use of the school’s facilities for local community activity.

Governors are committed to broadening access to the School by continuing to offer to eligible parent’s means-tested financial support for the payment of school fees. This is both for existing parents who come upon hard times and for new parents who wish their children to be able to benefit from the excellent facilities and education but are unable to afford the full fees.

STRATEGIC REPORT

Inspection

In January 2024 the school underwent a full ISI inspection under the new ISI framework. Grades previously used by ISI have all been removed and schools now just receive a ‘Standards are met’ or ‘not met’ outcome for each area. The inspection process was extremely positive for the school and the school received ‘Standards are met’ outcomes across all areas.

The school had previously been inspected in December 2019, where we underwent a full ISI

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

Compliance and Educational Quality inspection at which time the ISI judgement in every single available area was Excellent.

Achievements and Performance

In the 2023/2024 academic year, 13 children were awarded scholarships as follows:

School Awarded for Number of Pupils
Berkhamsted Boys School Drama 1
Milton AbbeySchool Sports 1
Merchant Taylors’ School Academic 3
St Margaret's School Music 1
Dance 1
Drama 1
Sports 3
Haberdashers' Boys’ School Academic 1
Haberdashers' Girls’ School Sports 1
Royal Masonic School for Girls Sports 1
St Helen’s School Sports 1

Year 8 Leavers destinations are listed below:

Year 8 Destinations 2024 Number of Pupils
Berkhamsted Boys School 4
Eton College 1
Milton AbbeySchool 1
Merchant Taylors’ School 5
Shiplake College 1
St Albans School 4
St Margaret's School 7
Winchester College 1

Co-curricular Activities 2023-24

The extracurricular activities programme within the 47 acres of countryside of the school along with the number and diversity of age-appropriate outings experienced by pupils continues to be a huge strength moving forwards.

The school continues to excite on the premise of delivering an all-round education with plenty of activities, trips and extra-curricular events. We have added visits to a synagogue (to include all cultures & faiths), the Barbican for a rendition of Holst’s ‘Planets’ and an Immersive Theatre

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

experience provided by the FoYH for all year groups.

The residentials and overnight camp outs continue to attract plenty of attention and excitement with huge participation from each year group and plenty of staff support available.

Pre-Prep offers a wide range of trips and visits from external organizations, providing children with diverse and enriching experiences.

Our youngest pupils in Nursery had the exciting opportunity to meet our police services one morning. The children were thrilled to sit in the vans and explore the equipment. They also had a visit from a Small World Role Play company who set up a range of shops, cafes, hairdressers & construction site in the Archdale Hall. The children loved playing in each of the areas, developing their imaginative play and communication skills.

Reception enjoyed a visit to All Saints Church in Croxley, where they learned about Easter—many of them experienced their first coach journey. Later in the summer term, they travelled to Knebworth House as part of their dinosaur topic.

Year 1 explored Bhaktivedanta Manor to deepen their understanding of Diwali and Hinduism, followed by an educational trips to Bekonscot Model Village and a Science Workshop at school where the children got to take part in exciting experiments.

Year 2 students had the chance to immerse themselves in their animal studies at Hobbledown Heath, and also visited Waddesdon Manor and the Roald Dahl Museum to support their learning across various subjects.

We have again offered a huge range of both internal and external clubs across the year for our pupils, averaging 1.8 internal clubs for PP and 2.6 internal clubs for Years 3-8. Additional offerings including shot-gun shooting at Holland and Holland, Scuba diving sessions, mountain biking trips to Swinley Forest and coaching at Badminton England have again been very popular.

We look forward to a ski trip next term, the re-introduction of ballet to the clubs programme and a trip to the Yonex Badminton Championships in Birmingham.

It has been another productive year on the sports front with weekly sporting fixtures across the board in a wide range of sports, covering all ability levels. New sports such as water-polo and pop lacrosse have gone down well with the pupils with inter-school fixtures in both scheduled for after Christmas.

Team success was enjoyed in the U11 boys’ football and hockey groups, who won the P4S tournaments at St. George’s Park and Bisham Abbey, while our U11 girl hockey players, made their own piece of history by reaching the quarter final stage of the IAPS regional tournament. Five pupils (2 girls, 3 boys) also gained major sporting scholarships to senior schools in the local area. New links with Southgate HC and OMT HC have also been formed while we continue to run three primary school events per term.

Financial Review

In the year, average pupil numbers were 402 (2023: 400) pupils a 0.5% increase on the prior year. Gross Fee Income was £6.25M (2023: £5.69M).

Expenditure was £6.32M (2023; £5.63M), which reflects the unprecedented increases seen in Energy costs along with inflationary increases across many other budget lines.

The Reserves Policy of the School is based on the School's objectives and an annual assessment of risk. Therefore the School specifically aims to hold reserves for the following reasons:

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

Public Benefit 2023-24 Supporting the local community

York House is committed to supporting local state schools, children’s sports clubs, and other youth organizations by hosting events that provide these communities with access to our beautiful grounds, excellent facilities, and staff expertise. Through these initiatives, we aim to foster strong community connections and create enriching opportunities for young people to grow and thrive.

The charity work carried out by the school, includes offering of the grounds to various schools and Scouts’ programmes, pupils going to local centres to help out or sing to them, raising money through different events – and a lot more.

Local State Schools

York House School continues to support a large number of students from local schools and local Scouts groups.

In the Spring Term, the OBHN triathlon (shoot, swim, run and ride) was hosted by the school.

Over the course of the year, the following events have taken place at YHS.

Sport

Autumn Term

Spring Term

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

Music

ICT

In the 2023-24 academic year, Mr Presky (Head of Computing) has led various workshops, conferences and events.

Spring Term

Summer Term

Outdoor Education and Smallholding

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

Fundraising for local, national and global charities .

The total raised by the York House community in the 2023-24 academic year was £7006.37 Autumn Term ‘23

The whole school participated in supporting Children in Need on 17[th] October 2023. This was a highly successful day in which pupils enjoyed dressing up in stripes and contributing to a wonderful cause. On this day, the school raised £942.88 in total.

We wore Christmas jumpers in December on the last day of term. We supported Action Aid (Secret Santa Charity), a local charity that helps vulnerable children to have a better and more magical Christmas by donations in the form of food, gifts and shelter to name a few. On this day, we raised £965.90 for such a brilliant cause and helped make Christmas that little bit more special for these children.

The Harvest Festival assembly and donations collection that is done by Year 3 was done in October 2023. During this, they were able to gather in abundance of essential items that go a long way in supporting our local community at the Trussell Trust Rickmansworth Foodbank to greatly replenish any shortfalls they may have.

In the Poppy Appeal, with a donation of £65.50 was made to the Royal British Legion.

During our wonderful Christmas Carol Service, donations of £122.50 were collected for All Saint’s Church in Croxley. .

Spring Term ‘24

In the Spring Term, during our House Day, we supported the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity supports families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness. When a child has a serious illness, family life is turned upside down and time becomes more precious than ever. Rainbow Trust pairs each family with an expert Family Support Worker who enables them to make the most of time together, giving them practical and emotional support, whenever they need it, for as long as is needed. For this charity, we raised £614.32 – an amount that has surely gone a long way in helping these children.

We had a Sports for Schools Assembly, in which our guest speaker was Saffron Severn (a gymnast) who helped lead fitness trials for pupils in Years 1 to 8, we were able to raise £1600 – all towards a great cause in helping athletes in the country.

Summer Term ‘24

In the summer, after the sad news of one of our teachers having been diagnosed with Leukaemia, we decided to raise money for Leukaemia UK. This was the charity that was supported during our House Day and also in raising money by Mr Lopez in his 100 mile run over the summer holidays. We were able to raise £1955.82 for this wonderful charity. The charity brings together the leukaemia community, and helps to accelerate progress through life-changing research, awareness and advocacy, doing everything they can to make sure that the next person with leukaemia has the best possible experience of diagnosis, treatment and care.

The Year 2 Charity Nativity Collections helped raise £30.95 for the Chorleywood Aid for Ukraine.

Of note, we continued to offer a York House Just Giving Page for each fundraising activity, in addition to parents being able to send in cash donations.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Governors present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024.

The accounts comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

GOVERNOR RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

Governors are appointed on the basis of nominations received from members of the Board and others, based on specifications in line with the Trust’s objectives, eligibility, personal competencies, specialist skills and local availability. New and existing Governors are made aware of specialist training opportunities and new Governors receive induction in respect of Board Policies and Procedures, as well as familiarisation with current Strategic and Financial Planning. Governors also have regular visits to the School and generally familiarise themselves with school life. Most Governors also take an interest in and responsibility for a certain area, such as Health and Safety, Finance, Education, Special Needs and Early Years. To aid them in this they have regular meetings with those Teachers or other personnel who are directly involved in the areas concerned and in some cases chair termly meeting on the subjects.

ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT

The Governors, as the Trustees of the Charity, are legally responsible for the overall management and control of the School. To discharge this duty they meet as a full Board at least three times a year. In addition, there are a number of Board Committees with specific responsibilities; these include: the Finance and General Purposes Committee, the Health and Safety Committee and the Education Committee. Sub-committees are set up as and when necessary for special areas such as building projects.

The operational management of the School is delegated to the Headmaster, who together with the Bursar, is supported by the Senior Leadership Team. The Headmaster and Bursar attend all Board and Board Committee meetings.

The remuneration of key management personnel is set as follows: the Headmaster’s and the Bursar’s remuneration, is set by the Board whilst the remuneration of the Deputy Headmaster is set by the Headmaster. This is carried out with the policy objective of rewarding individual contributions to the School’s success fairly and responsibly and providing incentives, as appropriate, to encourage enhanced performance.

The School, through its officers, is represented on a number of relevant organisations including the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS), the Independent Schools’ Bursars’ Association (ISBA) and the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools. (AGBIS).

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Board of Governors is responsible for the management of risks faced by the School. The Headmaster, Bursar and the Finance and General Purposes Committee identify and assess risks on an annual basis and implement controls to mitigate against these. Input is given by the Senior Leadership Team where necessary.

A risk management document is in place and is reviewed by Governors on an ongoing basis to ensure that all foreseeable, major risks have been identified. Major risks are seen as follows:

Where possible, these are managed appropriately by control procedures and monitoring processes as stated in the Risk Management document. It is, of course, recognised by the Governors that systems can provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that major risks have been adequately identified and

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) GOVERNORS’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)

managed. This document will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure it is up to date with the next review to be completed by November 2024.

Approved by the board and signed on their behalf by:

Ms H Regan (Chairman) …………………………. Date: …………….

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(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) STATEMENT OF GOVERNORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

The Governors, who are also the Directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Governors' Report (including the Strategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

Company law requires the Governors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements the Governors are required to:

The Governors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS

We have audited the financial statements of York House School Trust Ltd (‘the charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows 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:

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 charity 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 trustees’ 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 trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Governors’ Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Governors’ Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ 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:

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Governors’ responsibilities statement on page 13 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.

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.

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS

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:

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to ISI regulations, safeguarding regulations, health and safety law, GDPR and employment law and we considered the extent to which noncompliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, and payroll tax.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to revenue and management bias in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

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

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

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.

…………………………………………………. 10 Queen Street Place Thomas Wilson (Senior Statutory Auditor) London for and on behalf of HaysMac LLP, Statutory Auditors EC4R 1AG Date:

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

Notes
INCOME FROM:
Investments
Charitable activities
6
Total income
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
7
Net income for the year / net movement in
funds
Fund balances brought forward
Fund balances carried forward		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2024
2023
£
£
19,049
-
19,049
3
6,309,680
-
6,309,680
5,668,386
6,328,729
-
6,328,729
5,668,389
196,836
-
196,836
180,676
6,122,085
-
6,122,085
5,447,818
6,318,921
-
6,318,921
5,628,494
9,808
-
9,808
39,895
4,360,007
-
4,360,007
4,320,112
4,369,815
-
4,369,815
4,360,007

All income and gains for the year are recognised above. All of the school's activities are classed as continuing.

The Statement of Financial Activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

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Company Number

00678091

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets
9
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Creditors due within one year
11
NET CURRENT ASSETS/(LIABILITIES)
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
LONG TERM LIABILITIES
Creditors due after one year
12
NET ASSETS
REPRESENTED BY:
Unrestricted general funds		 2024
2023
8,318,340
8,370,091
349,581
361,985
1,203,153
382,428
1,552,734
744,413
(1,523,134)
(1,347,065)
29,600
(602,652)
8,347,940
7,767,439
(3,978,125)
(3,407,432)
4,369,815
4,360,007
4,369,815
4,360,007
4,369,815
4,360,007		 2024
2023
8,318,340
8,370,091
349,581
361,985
1,203,153
382,428
1,552,734
744,413
(1,523,134)
(1,347,065)
29,600
(602,652)
8,347,940
7,767,439
(3,978,125)
(3,407,432)
4,369,815
4,360,007
4,369,815
4,360,007
4,369,815
4,360,007
1,552,734
(1,523,134)

7,767,439
(3,407,432)
4,360,007
4,360,007
4,360,007

The accounts were approved by the board and signed on their behalf by:

………………………………………………… Ms H Regan (Chairman)

Date:………………………………………..

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YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

AS AT YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

Notes 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income for the year 9,808 39,895
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 271,099 269,487
Interest paid on loan 196,341 180,065
Loss on disposal - 333
Dividends, interest and rents from investments (19,049) -
Decrease/ (Increase) in debtors 12,404 (221,466)
Increase/ (Decrease) in creditors (excluding composition (201,059) 310,682
fees)
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities 269,544 578,996
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments 19,049 -
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (219,348) (216,983)
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities (200,299) (216,983)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Interest paid on loan (196,341) (180,065)
Repayments of borrowing (142,313) (138,693)
Increase in composition fees 1,090,134 171,134
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities 751,480 (147,624)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 820,725 214,389
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 382,428 168,039
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 1,203,153 382,428
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand 1,203,153 382,428
Total cash and cash equivalents 1,203,153 382,428
Analysis of changes in net debt
At 1 September
2023		 Cash flows Non-cash
movement		 At 31 August 2024
£ £ £ £
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash 382,428 820,725 - 1,203,153
382,428 820,725 - 1,203,153
Borrowings
Debt due within one year (141,707) 142,313 (142,919) (142,313)
Debt due after one year (2,923,155) - 142,920 (2,780,235)
Composition fees due within one year (152,044) 1,090,134 (1,441,656) (503,566)
Composition fees due after one year (272,052) 171,134 (909,746) (1,010,664)
(3,488,958) 1,403,581 (2,351,401) (4,436,778)
Total (3,106,530) 2,224,306 (2,351,401) (3,233,625)

19

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

1 STATUTORY INFORMATION

The charity is a charitable company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The registered office, company number and charity number are detailed in the Legal and Administrative Information.

2 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

2.1 Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the Companies Act 2006 and in accordance with the Charities' Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP (FRS102)) and Financial Reporting Standard 102.

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

After reviewing the charity's forecasts and projections, the governors have a reasonable expectation that the school has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

2.2 Income

Fees receivable and charges for services, less any allowances, scholarships and bursaries granted by the school against those fees are accounted for in the period in which the service is provided. Where fees are received for a future service period they are included in deferred income, including those fees received under an advance fee payment scheme.

Investment income is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Donations, grants and other voluntary income are accounted for as and when entitlement arises, the amount can be reliably measured and the economic benefit is considered probable.

Where a donor or an appeal has imposed restrictions the income is credited to a restricted fund.

2.3 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis with irrecoverable VAT included with the item to which it relates.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

All costs are allocated between expenditure categories and departments on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly.

20

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

2.4 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets other than freehold land are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life as follows:

Freehold land is not depreciated Freehold buildings - 2% straight line Fixtures, fittings and equipment - 10% reducing balance Motor vehicles - 25% reducing balance

Minor items of capital expenditure up to £500 are written off to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred.

2.5 Leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged against income on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

2.6 Pensions

Teaching staff are members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), a defined benefit scheme administered by the Teachers' Pension Agency. Contributions to the scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as they fall due. The TPS is an unfunded scheme. Contributions on a 'pay as you go' basis are credited to the exchequer under arrangements governed by the Superannuation Act 1972. Actuarial valuations are carried out on a notional set of investments. Under the definitions set out in FRS 102 the TPS is a multi-employer pension scheme. The charity is unable to identify its share of the underlying (notional) assets and liabilities of the scheme. Accordingly, under FRS 102 the scheme is accounted for as if it were a defined contribution scheme.

The school also contributes to personal pension schemes for its non-teaching staff.

2.7 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments. The Governors seek to use short and medium term deposits where possible to maximise the return on monies held at the bank and to manage cash flow.

2.8 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due.

21

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2.9 Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in a transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

2.10 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Governors.

Designated funds comprise those funds set aside by the Governors out of general funds for specific purposes or projects.

Restricted funds are those funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes in accordance with the wishes of the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

3 TURNOVER

The turnover of the charity is wholly attributable to the objects of the charity as stated in the Governors' Report and is earned entirely within the UK.

4 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
This is stated after charging: 2024 2023
£ £
Operating lease payments 90,949 90,949
Depreciation 271,099 269,487
Auditors' remuneration - audit services 16,500 15,040
Auditors' remuneration - non-audit services 1,900 1,760

5 TAXATION

The charitable company is registered as a charity and all of its income falls within the exemptions under Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

22

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

6 INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Gross school fees
less bursaries and allowances
Net school fees
Add:
Registration fees
Fees in lieu of notice
Extras income
Other ancillary income
Recharged income		 TOTAL
TOTAL
2024
2023
£
£
6,253,629
5,690,047
(244,817)
(257,754)
6,008,812
5,432,293
5,596
8,900
7,991
10,690
-
14,355
133,625
91,837
153,656
110,311
6,309,680
5,668,386

23

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

7 ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE
2024 Charitable activity
Cost of raising funds:
Financing costs
Total cost of raising funds
Charitable expenditure
Education
Teaching
Welfare
Premises
Support and governance
Total charitable expenditure
Total expenditure
2023 Charitable activity
Cost of raising funds:
Financing costs
Total cost of raising funds
Charitable expenditure
Education
Teaching
Welfare
Premises
Support and governance
Total charitable
expenditure
Total expenditure		 Staff
Depreciation
Other
Total
Total
Costs
£
£
costs
£
2024
£
2023
£
-
-
196,836
196,836
180,676
-
-
196,836 196,836
180,676
3,243,527
88,558
331,000
3,663,085
3,416,780
-
-
406,235
406,235
378,382
135,441
182,541
869,817
1,187,799
908,483
462,699
-
402,267
864,966
741,946
3,841,667
271,099
2,009,319
6,122,085
5,445,592
3,841,667
271,099
2,206,155
6,318,921
5,626,268
Staff
Depreciation
Other
Total
Total
Costs
£
£
costs
£
2023
£
2022
£
-
-
180,676
180,676
109,508
-
-
180,676 180,676
109,508
3,013,336
89,314
314,130
3,416,780
3,259,829
-
-
378,382
378,382
332,636
111,135
180,173
617,175
908,483
781,010
425,285
-
316,661
741,946
864,277
3,549,755
269,487
1,626,349
5,445,592
5,237,752
3,549,755
269,487
1,807,026
5,626,268
5,347,260

24

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

K HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED
TED BY GUARANTEE)
ES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Analysis of support and governance costs:
Governance costs:
Auditors remuneration for audit services
Total governance costs
Support costs:
Auditors' remuneration for non-audit services
Support staff wages, national insurance and pension
Other support costs		 2024
£
2023
£
16,500
15,040
16,500
15,040
1,900
1,760
462,699
425,285
383,867
314,901
864,966
741,946

25

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

8 STAFF COSTS

The average monthly headcount was – 85 staff (2023: 82 staff) and the average monthly number of full time equivalent employees during the year was:

Teaching
Premises
Support
The aggregate payroll costs for the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2024
Number
2023
Number
63
61
5
4
8
9
76
74
2024
£
2023
£
3,027,198
2,810,538
318,643
297,780
495,826
441,438
3,841,667
3,549,755

The aggregate payroll costs for the year were as follows:

None of the governors received any remuneration or other benefits from the school or any connected body.

Staff earning in excess of £60,000 per annum in the following bands are:

2024 2023
Number Number
£60,000 - £69,999 4 2
£70,000 - £79,999 - 1
£80,000 - £89,999 1 -
£130,000 - £139,999 1 1
6 4

Of the employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000 – 6 (2023: 4) have benefits accruing under defined benefits schemes. Contributions payable by the company to those schemes for higher paid employees were:

higher paid employees were:
2024 2023
£ £
Defined benefits schemes 51,048 47,582
51,048 47,582
The key management personnel of the school are detailed in the Governors' Report and Legal
and Administrative Information.
2024 2023
£ £
Aggregate employee benefits of key management personnel 540,001 546,334
(including employer pension contributions)

The key management personnel of the school are detailed in the Governors' Report and Legal and Administrative Information.

Termination payments were made during the year totalling £Nil (2023: £Nil).

26

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

9 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost
At 1 September 2023
Additions
Disposals
At 31 August 2024
Depreciation
At 1 September 2023
Charge for year
Accumulated depreciation on disposals
At 31 August 2024
Net Book Value
At 31 August 2024
At 31 August 2023		 Freehold
Property
£
Fixtures &
Fittings
£
Total
£
9,100,187
1,631,458
10,731,645
143,222
76,126
219,348
-
-
-
9,243,409
1,707,584
10,950,993
1,562,278
799,276
2,361,554
182,541
88,558
271,099
-
-
-
1,744,819
887,834
2,632,653
7,498,590
819,750
8,318,340
7,537,909
832,182
8,370,091

27

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

10 DEBTORS

DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Other debtors		 2024
2023
£
£
182,106
250,095
120,497
60,288
46,978
51,602
349,581
361,985

11 CREDITORS: due within one year

Bank loan (see note 13)
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals
Fees in Advance
Composition fees
Deposits
Other taxes and social security		 2024
2023
£
£
142,313
141,707
233,519
138,897
56,860
64,472
20,000
17,306
470,082
761,680
503,566
152,044
19,425
-
77,369
70,958
1,523,134
1,347,065

Fees in advance represent fees received for the Autumn term 2024 and some for the whole of the 2024/25 academic year.

12 Creditors: due after one year

Deposits
Composition fees
Bank Loan		 2024
2023
£
£
187,226
212,225
1,010,664
2,780,235
272,052
2,923,155
3,978,125
3,407,432

Fees in advance (long term) represent fees received for academic years 2025/26 and beyond.

28

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

13 BANK LOANS

Bank loans are repayable in capital instalments as follows:
Less than one year
Between one & five years
Over five years		 2024
2023
£
£
142,313
141,707
569,252
566,828
2,210,983
2,353,313
2,922,548
3,061,848

The School has two long term repayment loans.

Loan 1: Interest is charged on the loan at 2.80% per annum over the Bank of England base rate. The loan is repayable after a 15 year term. The total balance repayable on this loan at year end is £1,475,078.

Loan 2: Interest is charged on the loan at a fixed rate of 4.99% per annum. The rate is fixed for a 5 year term. The loan is repayable over a 15 year term. The total balance repayable on this loan at year end is £1,447,471.

The bank loans are secured by a first legal mortgage over the freehold property known as Redheath House, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 4LW, as well as fixed and floating charges over all the assets and undertakings including all present and future freehold and leasehold property, book and other debts, chattels, goodwill and uncalled capital, both present and future.

14 COMPOSITION FEES

Parents may enter into a contract whereby, on payment of a lump sum, the School guarantees a sum to be set against future school fees. Assuming pupils remain in the School, composition fees will be applied as follows:

Within one year
Within one to two years
Within two to five years
The movements during the year were as follows:
As at 1 September 2023
New contracts
Amounts utilised in payment of fees to the School
As at 31 August 2024		 2024
2023
£
£
503,566
152,044
429,802
95,705
580,862
176,347
1,514,230
424,096
2024
2023
£
£
424,096
252,962
1,221,215
303,696
(131,081)
(132,562)
1,514,230
424,096

29

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 15 COMMITMENTS UNDER OPERATING LEASES

At 31 August 2024 the company had total commitments under non-cancellable At 31 August 2024 the company had total commitments under non-cancellable
operating leases payable as follows:
2024 2023
£ £
Within one year 65,367 81,119
Between one and five years 149,922 225,908
215,289 307,027

Lease payments recognised as an expense in the year amount to £90,949 (2022: £43,656).

16 PENSION COMMITMENTS

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 £460,850 (2023: £412,775) and at the year-end £44,935 (2023: £36,355) 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.

Following the McCloud judgement, the remedy proposed that when benefits become payable, eligible members can select to receive them from either the reformed or legacy schemes for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. The actuaries have assumed that members are likely to choose the option that provides them with the greater benefits, and in preparing the 2020 valuation has valued the ‘greater value’ benefits for groups of relevant members.

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%.

The School entered into a phased withdrawal from the TPS on 1 October 2022 and began enrolling all new staff into the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (“APTIS”) and any existing staff who opted to join the scheme. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to APTIS of £6,446 (2023: £47,411) and at the year-end £nil (2023: £nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to the scheme.

Support staff are enrolled into the Royal London pension scheme. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to Royal London of £61,666 (2023: £48,113) and at the year-end £nil (2023: £nil) was accrued in respect of contributions to the scheme.

16 CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

Capital commitments at the year-end in respect of building works totalled £nil (2023: £26k).

17 SHARE CAPITAL AND CONTROL

The charity is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. In the event of a winding up each member guarantees to contribute an amount of no more than £1.

30

YORK HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

18 RELATED PARTIES

The school has taken advantage of the exemptions under the Charities' Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP (FRS 102)) not to disclose services provided on a voluntary basis by governors, contracts of employment between the school and its employees, and the repayment of out-of-pocket expenses where the governors have acted as agent for the school.

There were no other related party transactions in either 2024 or 2023.

31