u3a Bury St Edmunds
Trustees, Annual Report
and
Financlal Statements
Year ended 31 July 2024
u3a
Bury St Edmunds

Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2024
l. Admlnlstrative information
Charity Name
University of the Thlrd Age in Bury St Edmunds
Charlty Number
803112
Charity Website
https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk
Registered Address
Risbygate Centre
90 Risbygate Street
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 3AA
Banker
Lloyds Bank
9 Buttermarket
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 IDB
Independent Examiner
Jacobs Allen
59 Abbey8ate Street
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 ILB
2. Governance and Management
u3a Bury St Edmunds is an unlncorporated association and a re8iStered charlty. It Is
governed by its constitution which was adopted on 20 June 2001 and is affiliated to the
Thlrd Age Trust and the East of England u3a.
Appolntment of Trustees: trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting whlch is
norrnally held in October. Under the constitution, there must be a minimum of eight and
not more than twelve elected trustees. The trustees may co-opt a further two trustees if
they consider it would be in the interests of u3a Bury St Edmunds to do so.
Management: the trustees are responsible for strategic direction and governance as well as
the day-to-day operation.
Trustees who served in the year to 31 July 2024:
Committee Role
Rainaldo O'meara
Elizabeth Barham
Malcolm Seymour
Chalr
Secretary
Treasurer

Jennifer Baker
Peter Chapman
David Dawson
Susan Hawthorn
Caroline Saul
Mark Manning
Richard Leonard
Douglas Patterson
Interest Groups
Trips Liaison
Development
Social
Membership
Appointed 17 October 2023
Appolnted 7 May 2024
Appointed 7 May 20241 Resigned 31 July 2024
Appointed 4 June 2024
John Byrne
Sheila Deare
Stuart Lee
Jonathan Hart
Resigned 17 October 2023
Resigned 17 October 2023
Resigned 17 October 2023
Resigned 17 October 2023
3. Objectlves
The charltable purpose of the u3a Bury St Edmunds is the advancement of educatlon, and In
particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work, by
all means including associated activities conducive to learnlng and personal development, in
Bury St Edmunds and Its surrounding localitv.
As a member of the Third Age Trust, we adhere to the prlnclples of the u3a movement
which is non-religious and non-polltlcal:
membership of a u3a Is open to all In thelr thlrd age, which is defined not by
a particular age but by a period in life in which full time employment has
ceased.
members promote the values of Ilfelong learnlng and the posltive attributes
of belonging to a u3a,
members should do all they can to ensure that people wantln8 to Joln a u3a
can do so.
4. Chalrfs Annual Report for the Year
Our end of year report for 2023124 carries a somewhat mixed message. On the one hand,
once again we are happy to report yet another successful year of steady membership
increases and a firm and healthy income base, managing to do this without raising our annual
subscription, whilst at the same time expanding our social activities. On the other hand, this
accomplishment has not come without a caveat. This growth in membership numbers has not
brought with it a corresponding and necessary upturn in volunteer Trustees to help run our
organisation. Consequently, we have had to amend our constitution.
A few months ago we announced that our membership had reached 1,000, and since then
our numbers have grown still further. The 31st of July 2024 year-end total of 1,075 paid
subscriptions represents an increase of 108 members compared to the same point last year.
Whilst the finer details of our accounts can be read in our Financial Statement, a headline
feature worth highlighting is that although ourtotal cash funds at year-end were slightly down

compared to July 2023, we still carried forward just a little over £23,000 into 2024125. Many
grateful thanks go to our Treasurer, Malcolm Seymour, for again steering a steady ship this
past year.
Very sadly we have to say farewell to five of our Trustees who have decided to step down
from the Committee this October. Malcolm Seymour our aforesaid Treasurer, who has
executed this role with aplomb for the last 3 years; David Dawson, who has been our
successful Talks and then Development Secretary since October 2021. Sue Hawthorn, who
has been our enthusiastlc Social Secretary during a very productive year; Jennifer Baker who
has been looking after Interest Group matters for the last year; and Liz Barham, a previous
Chair and current Business Secretary, who has been a constant source of ideas and energy for
almost five years;. Our most heartfelt thanks go to them.
Those who undertake to stay on as Trustees also deserve thanks for the hard work they have
put in during this flourishing year. Peter Chapman, who has continued in his role of Trips
Ilalson,. and Caft)Ilne Saul, who has most effettively controlled the demandlng role of
Membership Secretary.
We were fortunate that wlthin the past six months, Mark Manning, Richard 'Jim' Leonard,
Doug Patterson, and Mike Burt agreed to be co-opted as Trustees, although JIM has since had
to withdraw from the Committee as a result of health concerns, and we also thank them for
their valuable contributions. Mike will become our new Treasurer following this yearfs AGM,
and Mark and Doug will be taking on specific roles In the Committee to be announced in due
course.
We are also most thankful that we have many volunteers in off-committee roles to whom we
are particularly grateful: Gayle Wade edits the newsletter, runs our publicity, and also
organises the Apex stewarding. Peter Lydamore supervises the Apex technical team; Pat Lees
plans and organises the day trips; Martin Saul works on our website content; Jonathan Hart
has assisted David Dawson on the Apex talks; Stuart Lee is in charge of posting out paper
copies of the newsletter to those who do not have email; and then of course there are all
those individual Group Leaders, those in the Technical Team, the Computer Clinic, the Apex
Stewards - their enthusiasm and commitment is instrumental in maintaining the on-going
success of Bury St Edmunds u3a.
Whilst it is encouraging to report a healthy u3a in terms of membership and finance, it is also
Important to ensure that the future remains viable. And in that respect the ratio of Trustees
to the total number of members still remains far too low for the growing size of our u3a.
So, although we have over 1,000 members, we unfortunately received only 6 nominations to
stand for the next committee at the time of our deadline for submissions. As a consequence,
having just 6 committee members would be in breach of our existing constitutlon. which
required a minimum of 8. Faced with the possibly of having to dissolve our Bury St Edmunds
branch, we decided that we preferred to soldier on, but with a revised constitution which
would allow us to continue with fewer committee members. The revision of our constitution
required ratlfication from the national u3a organisation before we could put it to a vote of
our own membership at an AGM, which in turn required a three-week notice of the AGM

agenda and accounts. This, we felt, was too short a time to have everW(hing in place for the
usual October AGM, and so it was agreed to postpone this year's AGM to todavs date.
Hlghllghts of 2023-2024
Recrultment of New Members
As mentioned earller, it has been another year of growth in our membershlp and in June we
announced that we had passed the 1,000 mark. Since then we have been joined by several
dozen more members. November last year saw the Introductlon of a New Members Help Desk
in the Apex foyer prlor to our monthly talks. This has remalned in place during the course of
this year and has served as a polnt of welcome and assistance for our members whether
attending the talk or just passin8 by.
Publlclty
It is always pleaslng to have posltive publiclty, and, thanks to Gayle Wade's effort5, there was
a feature in the Community section of the Bury Free Press in June commentin8 on our u3a.
Sodal Actlvitle5
The existing programme of 'new members, coffee mornings was developed. Our Soclal
Secretary, Sue Hawthorn, organlsed two more thls year, with approximately 20 to 25 new
members attendlng each event, the latest of which was held at the Oddfellows location in the
centre of town. In addltlon, Sue organised a very successful Spring Lunch at Edmunds
Restaurant In April, which was a resounding success.
Interest Groups
This last year saw a number of new Interest groups formulating, Includlng Members On Their
Own (MOTO}, Cryptic Crosswords, Dementla Carers, a second Crlbbage group, Scrabble,
Plckleball, Walking Cricket, Walkin8 Football, lawn bowls and several more. Hopefully, glven
time, all will grow and thrive, As I mentloned last year, no subject Is too niche and there is
always a good chance that there wlll be others that share your interest. If you have a pastime
that you thlnk others may share, su88est It to our Interest Group Co-ordinator in order to
have It advertised to make up a group.
Talks
Our programme of monthly talks, organised by David Dawson and Jonathan Hart, has gone
from strength to strength. Attendances in the last year have been the highest since the onset
of the Covid restrictions. The talk before last December, a most successful and entertaining
return by Charlie Haylock, provided us with our largest audience of 2023. This year we have
been treated to talks ranging from a Suffolk teacherfs ascent of Everest to the role of the RAF
Special Operations Executive in World War 11, and in between we have heard about
Renaissance and Revival in Building Design, Sacred Places in the World, the history of our local
Theatre Royal, and Medieval Lavenham.
In late Aprll Davld Introduced the flrst of a new programme of occasional speciality talks
designed for a smaller audience and introduced by one of our members. The idea of the Tea
Time Talks was piloted successfully last year with the subject of bereavement, and thls year
covered the topics of 'On-Line Scamming and Fraud,, led by Stephen Poulter, and 'Patients

Who Changed My Life, with Barbara Wilson. In late September Peter Chapman discusses
'Philosophy for Life,.
Trips
Once more we are indebted to one of our non-committee volunteers, Pat Lees, who working
with Peter Chapman has planned and organised our day coach trip programme, which is open
to all members. This year trlps were made to Finchingfield Guildhall and Braxted Park in Essex,
Our Lady of Walsingham and Thursford Steam Museum in Norfolk, and Bourne Mlll and Green
Island Gardens, also in Essex. In September, a visit to Houghton Hall House and Gardens near
Klngs Lynn is on the agenda.
To close, many thanks to all members for continuing to strengthen the Bury St Edmunds u3a,
and especially to all members, past and present, who have served on the Committee for their
commitment and support.
Rainaldo O'meara
Chair
S. Treasurerfs Report
When the Committee agreed the budget for this financial year back in early 2023, the
expectation was that membership numbers would be around 950 and there would be
planned net deficit. However, another 100 members joined In the year and this continulng
growth in membership has contributed signiflcantly to the annual surplus of £1,894 on the
General Fund. The balance on the General Fund is now £23,055. this is managed by the
Committee and is separate from the 'rin8 fenced, Interest Group funds, which total £11,332.
The main elements of the surplus are the increased subscrlption Income and additional
Interest on the deposit account. The absolute level of expenses - £17,511- is lower than the
previous year - £18,916. because the accounts are prepared on a cash basis this can mask
the fact that certain costs include charges for more than one year. So, Room hire and
accommodation costs are £850 compared with £62 last year; however, this reflects the fact
that not all the costs for 2022123 were invoiced in the last financial year. Similarly, this
year's cost of the Third Age Magazine is £2,618 compared with £4,278 last year; the
2022123 figure included two years, worth of charges. Neverthele55, the annual level of costs
is broadly in line with the budget.
It is pleasing to note that coach trips and events organised through the Committee have
increased significantly this year, with total receipts of £11,477 compared with £7,001 last
year. The process for booking coach trips has evolved during the year, and members are
encouraged to pay via BACS rather than cheque; this is also the case with trips organised by
individual Interest Groups.
The account5 as presented reflect all the transactions recorded in the financial year, which
total some 1,600 postings to the financial records.

The Trustees continue to review the level of the General (Unrestricted) Fund and are
seeking ways to utilise the resource in line with our charitable purpose. With increasing
membership and the level of funds, there is no current pressure to review the annual
subscription.
Malcolm Seymour
Treasurer
Approved by the Trustees on l October 2024 and signed on their behalf by:
Rainaldo O'meara (Chair)
Malcolm Seymour (Treasurer)

University of the Third Age in Bury St Edmunds
Charity Registration Number 803112
Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 July 2024
Unrestricted
Funds
Restrlrted
Funds
Total
2023124
Total
2022123
Geneml
Fund
Interest
Groups
In¢ome
Membershlp subscrlptlons
Bank Interest
16,125
810
16.125
810
14.514
403
Donatlons
191
u3a Suffolk Dlstrlct Network
Glft Ald ￿claIM
126
126
2,126
2,126
19,187
11,477
1,215
24,663
17,127
73,669
1,938
19,187
11,477
17,046
Coach trlp attd evefjt rètèlpts
Travel Group recelpts
Theatre Group recelpts
Other Study Group recelpts
7,001
1,215
24,663
17,127
650
28,563
14,895
68,155
30,664
43,005
Expenses
Thlrd Age Trust membershlp
Thlrd Age Matters Magazlne
Equlpment purchase
Webslte
3.932
3,932
2.618
3,692
4.278
2.618
590
590
1,009
5,581
685
1,237
5,437
1,725
62
Monthly talk costs
Coffee/Soclal events
Room hlre and accommodatlon costs
Accountlng software
Postage and statlonery
Commlttee expenses
Independent Examlner fee
E-banklng commlsslon
Mlscellaneous expenses
Publlclty
Membership cards
5,581
685
850
850
578
578
470
439
439
569
37
414
414
390
357
357
340
420
420
16
30
30
240
423
17,511
11,259
17,511
11,259
18.916
6,021
1,024
29,889
12,294
68,144
Coach trlp and event expendlture
Travel Group expenditu
Theatre Group expenditure
Other Study Group expendlture
890
890
22.537
15,904
39.331
22,537
15,904
28,770
68,101
Sun)lusllDeficlt)
Cash Funds at 31 July 2023 blf
Cash Funds at 31 July 2024 c/f
1,894
21.161
3,674
5,568
28,819
34.387
li
7,658
28,808
23,05S

Universlty of the Third Age In Bury St Edmunds
Charity Registration Number 803112
Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the year ended 31 July 2024
Lloyds
Travel
Equals
Cards
Uoyds
Maln Alc
caA
Uoyds
Deposlt Theatre Alc
Total
Unrestrlcted Funds
20
6.651
16.384
23,055
Restrfrted Funds
Theatre Group
Travel Group
Other Groups
155
5,134
5,289
74
700
774
461
5,269
34,387
710
11,459
5.134
700
Assets retalned for the charltvs own use
The following assets are held for members use and relate to the General Fund:
Vlz-Pro Dlsplay Board
2 x Wonderwall Tabletop Foldlng Exhlbltlon Dlsplay Boards
3 Hewlett Packard Pavilllon notebooks
Toshlba Satellite laptop
Epson projector
Ative AT-16X shredder
3 x Izettle card readers
Asset costs are expensed In the year of purchase.
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024
l. The flnanclal statements have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basls.
2. Restricted Funds were held during the year on behalf of the following Interest
Groups:
Art Appreciation, Art History, Badmlnton, Calligraphy. Choir, Churches and
Villages, Craft, Current Affairs, Garden, Government and Politics, History,
Music Matters, Painting and Drawing, Philosophyi Photography, Science and
Society, Theatre, Travel, Wine Appreciation, Wines Around the World

3. Coach trips and events receipts include £1,505 received from members relating to a
future visit in September.
4. Travel Group receipts include £675 received from members relating to a future visit
in August.
5. Theatre Group receipts include £12,075 received from members relating to future
events,. costs of £7,991 have been paid in advance.
6. Churches and Villages Group receipts include £1,506 received from members
relating to a future visit in August.
7. Garden Group funds include £750 for coach hire costs incurred in July but not yet
Invoiced.
Approved by the Trustees on l October 2024 and slgned on thelr behalf by:
Rainaldo O'meara (Chair)
Malcolm Seymour (Treasurer)

Inde
endent Examinerfs Re
The Universi
of the Third
Chari
Number 803112
ort to the Trustees of
einBu
St Edmunds
I report to the trustees of my examination of the accounts of the University of the Third Age in Bury
St Edmunds (the Trust) for the year ended 31" July 2024 which are set out on pages I to 3.
Res
onsibilities and basls of re
ort
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in
accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act,).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust'5 accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011
Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the
Charity Commission under section 135151{bl of the Act.
Inde
endent examinerfs statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention In
connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
l. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the
Act; or
2. The accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to
which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the
accounts to be reached.
Signed
Christopher P Kelly FCA
Jacobs Allen Limited
59 Abbeygate Street
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 ILB