REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: SC002507
Report of the Trustees and Statement of Accounts
for the Year Ended 31 March 2026
for
Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland
Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Trustees Report
Registered Charity Number SC002507
Principal Address
1/1 10 Chesterfield Gardens Glasgow G12 0BF
Trustees
| Trustees | |
|---|---|
| Lorna Milne | President |
| A.G.E. St. James-Emler | Vice President |
| Philip Bennett | Secretary |
| George MacBride | Treasurer |
| Gerry Toner | Bulletin Editor |
| Fiona Barclay | from 01/09/25 |
| Rhona Bean | from 01/09/25 |
| Béatrice Carter | from 01/09/25 |
| Joëlle Fabre | from 01/09/25 |
| Rosalyn Faulds | from 01/09/25 |
| Simon Oladjins | from 11/11/22 |
| Colin Sellar | from 01/09/25 |
| Sally Scullion | from 01/09/25 |
| Clive Sneddon | from 18/11/23 |
| Margaret Rae | from 01/03/25 |
| John Vaughan | from 06/05/25 |
| Resigned Trustees | |
| Anne Colette Lequet | resigned October 2025 |
| Hannah Reid | resigned October 2025 |
| Christopher Lindsay | resigned March 2025 |
| Michael Nevin | resigned March 2026 |
Structure, governance and management
Governing document
The charity is governed by its constitution.
Trustee recruitment and appointment
The national office-bearers are elected at the Annual General Meeting and hold office for a three year term; an office-bearer may not serve more than two terms in that office. In the event of a casual vacancy an office-bearer may be appointed temporarily by Council pending election at the next Annual General Meeting. Each branch is entitled to elect two trustees at its AGM who will serve on Council for a term of one year; those elected may be re-elected at subsequent branch AGMs. Council appoints a bulletin editor annually; if that person is not already a trustee then ex officio they become a trustee for that year.
Objectives and activities
Charitable purpose
The objective of the Society is to advance the education of the public in regard to all matters FrancoScottish.
Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects
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To increase and disseminate in Scotland knowledge of France and the French way of life, with particular reference to its economic, social, political and cultural institutions and developments and to afford opportunities for the study of all aspects of French life and thought.
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To provide lectures, films or presentations on French economic, social, political, historical, scientific, commercial and cultural subjects in schools, societies and educational and other types of organisations.
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To promote and facilitate the study of the French language in Scotland.
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To promote the study of economic, social, political, industrial and commercial issues arising between the United Kingdom and France by lectures, discussions, visits, conferences and other suitable means, including bringing French men and women to the United Kingdom and sending British men and women to France, to assist in this work.
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To encourage education by offering and presenting prizes and by endowing scholarships in any educational institution.
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To foster interest in the shared cultural heritage of the French and the Scots.
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To facilitate and encourage Franco-Scottish research projects especially in conjunction with Franco-Scottish Societies in France and Canada.
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To co-operate with other bodies on issues or initiatives which will further the object of the Society.
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To do all other things as are incidental to or conducive to the attainment of the foregoing object.
Achievements and performance
The Society now has six active branches since a branch was established in Stirling at the start of the reporting year.
The greater part of the Society’s income is provided by the income generated by the Alexander Gray Bequest, the capital of which is held in an independent non-charitable trust managed by its own trustees in accordance with its Deed of Trust. The trustees of the Bequest make the income available to the Society for certain specific purposes which are aligned with the aims of the Society. The Society holds this money in a restricted account and dispenses it in accord with the criteria set by the Alexander Gray Bequest Deed of Trust.
All branches have put on a full programme of face-to-face activities this year: presentations and talks in French, discussions in French and French cultural and social events. The trustees of the Society have supported these activities financially from this restricted fund.
Firstly, Council of the Society annually allocates to each branch a sum (currently £550) to contribute to speaker costs (e.g. room hire, reasonable speaker expenses); Council may adjust this sum for one or more branches for any particular year in the light of their expenditure in the previous year and their forecast expenditure for the coming year. All branches made full use of this allocation this year. Council also allocates each branch annually a sum (currently £1000) from this restricted fund to support or enhance the experience of students (university or school) in studying French or engaging with French culture, normally while in France. Again, Council may adjust this sum for one or more branches for any particular year in the light of their expenditure in the previous year and their forecast expenditure for the coming year. Branches may request further support if another suitable project emerges in the course of the year. It should be noted that all requests for the use of funds in this way must be agreed by the branch committee where appropriate, then by the majority of trustees and finally by the trustees of the Alexander Gray Bequest. This year four of the established branches made full use of this allocation. Subject to the agreement of the trustees of the Alexander Gray Bequest, Council itself may agree to make payments for this purpose if a request is submitted directly to the national body
This year Council again agreed that the restricted fund should provide financial support for the French Film Festival (FFF), now in its 34[th] year, which allows age appropriate French films to be streamed to every school in Scotland. Primary and secondary school across all local authority areas may take part, including those in rural and remote areas. Responses from schools continue to be very positive. Regrettably, some local authority IT systems are now protected by firewalls which have prevented their schools from participating: the FFF directors are in discussion with these authorities to remove hurdles to accessing these films in future years.
Council again agreed to provide financial support to the Concours de la Francophonie, now in its 10[th] year, organised by the Institut Français; this is open to all schools in Scotland. The theme of this year’s Concours for primary school pupils was ‘Fais ton cinéma’: classes are asked to create their own video clip in response to their viewing of the relevant FFF film. The theme for secondary school pupils was ‘Building Connections’: entrants are to produce a poster and a short video reflecting on solutions to overcome social isolation.
The Society has continued to support the annual Future of French en Ecosse event organised by Scotland’s Centre for Language Teaching (SCILT) together with academics from Scotland’s universities, and to campaign for promotion of the teaching of French in Scotland’s schools.
The Jacqueline Munro-Lafon Essay competition for SQA Advanced Higher French students took place again this year; all entries were of high quality. Our partnership with SCILT and the Alliance Française
for this competition continued to be very useful. We also awarded our annual prize for the highest achieving candidate in Advanced Higher French: the winner had attained almost full marks across all assessments.
Once again we published a professionally produced Bulletin which provides a record of our work over the year up to its publication; this provides a record of each branch’s activities, articles on each of the national initiatives, essays in French and an opportunity to celebrate the success of young people learning French in Scotland’s schools.
While the above achievements follow the pattern set in previous years, this year we also organised and ran a successful one-day conference on ‘Franco-Scottish Relations in Trade, Business and Work’. Sponsorship in cash and in services ensured that the overall cost to the Society was limited. This event attracted a full house in the premises of the Institut Français in Edinburgh where the audience heard and responded to the views of eight key figures from different sectors of the economy in which relationships with France (and other countries) are central to achieving success. There was a very clear message that a key factor in building on success to date is the importance of language learning in our schools. The Society has continued to take this message forward in its campaigning with others for real practical commitment (not only rhetorical statements) at all levels of government to ensure that many more young people continue to study French and other modern languages through National 5 level into Higher and Advanced Higher and ultimately into college and university.
We closed this event with a reception at the kind invitation of the National Library of Scotland which provided all with an opportunity to visit an exhibition of material from their archives which illuminated the work of the Society over its 130 years of existence.
Our work this year has again been marked by partnership with a number of friends: the Consul General of France in Edinburgh; the Institut Français in Edinburgh; the Alliance Française in Glasgow; the French Film Festival; the National Library of Scotland; Scotland’s Centre for Language Teaching (SCILT). We appreciate their support and that afforded by the sponsors of our conference.
Financial review
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the Society that both the unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use and the restricted funds which are designated for the purposes set out by the Alexander Gray Bequest should be maintained at a level which allows the Society to pursue its objectives.
Reserves had historically been held at relatively high levels; these have been reduced to a more suitable level over recent years when expenditure has been planned to exceed income. The trustees are reviewing patterns of expenditure and rigorously examining all requests for funding and all proposals for expenditure in order to maintain the equilibrium which we have achieved.
Declaration of approval
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of trustees:
Lorna C Milne ------------------------------------------------
Lorna Milne
President Date: ______ 20 May 2026
Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Receipts and Payment Account
| Receipts and Payment Account | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-Mar | 31-Mar | ||||
| **General ** | Alexander | Reserve | 2026 | 2025 | |
| Fund | Gray Fund | Fund | Total | Total | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Receipts | |||||
| Subscriptions | 1,934 | 1,934 | 654 | ||
| Income from AGF Investments | 15,394 | 15,394 | 17,018 | ||
| Bank Interest | 236 | 236 | 424 | ||
| Donations | 200 | 200 | 200 | ||
| AGM lunches | 539 | 539 | - | ||
| 130th Conference | 675 | 675 | 45 | ||
| Reimbursement | 780 | 780 | - | ||
| Total Receipts | 4,128 | 15,629 | - | 19,757 | 18,341 |
| Payments | |||||
| AGM Expenses | 812 | 812 | 617 | ||
| Bank Charges | 61 | 61 | 60 | ||
| Council meetingexpenses | 180 | 180 | 270 | ||
| RLS Teas expenses | - | - | |||
| Office expenses | 123 | 123 | 191 | ||
| Postage &pamphlets | - | - | |||
| Website costs | 210 | 210 | 702 | ||
| Bulletin expenses | 889 | 889 | 1,425 | ||
| Accountancy | 540 | 540 | 540 | ||
| Insurance | 467 | 467 | 376 | ||
| Lectures &prizes | 900 | 900 | 1,400 | ||
| Alex Graylectures & studentgrants | 8,874 | 8,874 | 6,670 | ||
| Othergrants | 500 | 8,495 | 8,995 | 8,000 | |
| 130th Conference | 792 | 734 | 1,526 | - | |
| Other Conference Costs | 401 | 401 | - | ||
| TemporaryBranch Support | 690 | 690 | - | ||
| - | |||||
| Totalpayments | 5,675 | 18,992 | - | 24,667 | 20,252 |
| Openingbalance | 7,229 | 8,317 | 15,546 | 17,457 | |
| Transfers | - | ||||
| (Deficit)/surplus | (1,548) | (3,362) | - | (4,910) | (1,911) |
| Closingbalance | 5,681 | 4,955 | - | 10,636 | 15,546 |
Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Statement of Balances
| Statement of Balances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-Mar | 31-Mar | |||
| Bank and cash balances | 2026 | 2025 | ||
| £ | £ | |||
| CAF Cash Account | 4,064 | 3,488 | ||
| CAF Gold Account FSSS | 6,572 | 12,058 | ||
| 10,636 | 15,546 | |||
| Reserves | ||||
| General Fund | 5,681 | 7,229 | ||
| Alexander GrayFund | 4,955 | 8,317 | ||
| Reserve Fund | ||||
| 10,636 | 15,546 |
Declaration of approval
The trustees declare that they have approved the statement of accounts above.
Signed on behalf of trustees:
Lorna C Milne
Lorna Milne
President
20 May 2026 Date: ______
Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Notes to the Accounts
| Grants | |
|---|---|
| The followingdonations were made to the individual branches in theyear: | |
| £ | |
| Aberdeen | 1,050 |
| Glasgow | 1,995 |
| Perth | 1,829 |
| Stirling | 550 |
| St. Andrews | 1,250 |
| Edinburgh | 2,200 |
| 8,874 | |
| Other donations andgrants were made to: | |
| £ | |
| French Film Festival | 5,000 |
| Emilie Capulet | 495 |
| Universityof Strathclyde | 500 |
| Concours de la Francophonie | 3,000 |
| 8,995 |
Trustee Remuneration
No remuneration is paid to charity trustees or any person connected to a charity trustee.
Trustee Expenses
No expenses were paid to charity trustees.
Related Parties
The Alexander Gray Trust is a separate entity, whose funds are held on behalf of the Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland (Clause 1 of the Declaration of Trust).
Only the funds which have been remitted to the Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland from the Alexander Gray Trust have been included in the Receipts and Payments Account.
The value of investments held by the Alexander Gray Trust at 31 March 2026 was £485,948 (2025 – £438,367).
- Report to the trustees of the Franco Scottish Society of Scotland (SC002507) on the accounts of the charity for the period 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: − to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
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have not been met, or
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to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
23 April 2026
Julie Duff FFA,FIPA
Glen Drummond Financial Accountants
12 Carron Place
East Kilbride
G75 0YL