WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL

Registered charity 1063761 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The advancement of the Roman Catholic Religion and the advancement of education in the Roman Catholic tradition. In particular the charity aims to train children in church choral music.

Causes: Education/training · Religious Activities · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£7.1m

Latest spending

£6.7m

Registered

1997

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net income of £462,445 for the year ended 31 August 2025, with total unrestricted free reserves standing at £2,602,194. The Trustees and Governors consider the financial position acceptable, noting that cash flow is the key performance indicator and remains strong enough to meet costs and invest in premises. The auditor confirmed that the use of the going concern basis is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: Rent and property charges paid to connected charity

“During the year to 31 August 2025, rent and property related charges of £918,604 (2024 – £1,000,787) were payable to Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust. This includes a rent payment for the use of 47 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QR by Westminster Cathedral Choir School as a Pre-Prep School. The property is owned by the Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust and is rented to the charity.” — page 30

“Included within this total was £105,000 (2024 - £105,000) received by way of a grant from the Westminster Cathedral Choir School Fund (Registered Charity Number 276878).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Grant received from connected charity

“During the year to 31 August 2025, rent and property related charges of £918,604 (2024 – £1,000,787) were payable to Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust. This includes a rent payment for the use of 47 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QR by Westminster Cathedral Choir School as a Pre-Prep School. The property is owned by the Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust and is rented to the charity.” — page 30

“Included within this total was £105,000 (2024 - £105,000) received by way of a grant from the Westminster Cathedral Choir School Fund (Registered Charity Number 276878).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Legal fees paid to firm where a Governor is a partner

“During the year to 31 August 2025, rent and property related charges of £918,604 (2024 – £1,000,787) were payable to Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust. This includes a rent payment for the use of 47 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QR by Westminster Cathedral Choir School as a Pre-Prep School. The property is owned by the Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust and is rented to the charity.” — page 30

“Included within this total was £105,000 (2024 - £105,000) received by way of a grant from the Westminster Cathedral Choir School Fund (Registered Charity Number 276878).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Total income

£7.1m

Total spending

£6.7m

Reserves (reported)

£2.6m

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~4.7 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (95% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

WESTMINSTER ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE TRUSTEE · trustee of 1 other charity

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: City Of Westminster

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/08/2025	£7.1m	£6.7m
31/08/2024	£6.6m	£6.3m
31/08/2023	£6.4m	£5.9m
31/08/2022	£5.8m	£5.1m
31/08/2021	£5.3m	£4.6m

Common questions

Is WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net income of £462,445 for the year ended 31 August 2025, with total unrestricted free reserves standing at £2,602,194. The Trustees and Governors consider the financial position acceptable, noting that cash flow is the key performance indicator and remains strong enough to meet costs and invest in premises. The auditor confirmed that the use of the going concern basis is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

Who funds WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL?

Funders whose own accounts filings name WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL as a grant recipient include WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL FUND.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL FUND	FY2024	£120k	Grants to the school / Termly awards
WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL FUND	FY2025	£105k	Termly awards

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE STONYHURST FOUNDATION	1	£4.4m
GENESIS AMERICA (UK) LIMITED	1	£256k
Genesis Foundation	1	£110k
THE ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL CHORISTER TRUST	1	£108k
THE KARLSSON JATIVA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£81k
THE LIZ AND TERRY BRAMALL FOUNDATION	1	£65k
HOLLYHOCK CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£61k
THE GROCERS' CHARITY	1	£41k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CATHEDRAL MUSIC TRUST.

CATHEDRAL MUSIC TRUST income £1.2m
THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSIC income £1.3m
ST GEORGE'S WEYBRIDGE income £35.5m
HOLY CROSS PREPARATORY SCHOOL KINGSTON income £5.6m
SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CIO income £292k
ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL income £5.8m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL	£7.1m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
CATHEDRAL MUSIC TRUST FY2024	£1.2m	—	0	below	—	no doubt
THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSIC FY2025	£1.3m	£60,000 - £69,999	1	unclear	—	no doubt
ST GEORGE'S WEYBRIDGE FY2025	£35.5m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
HOLY CROSS PREPARATORY SCHOOL KINGSTON FY2025	£5.6m	—	—	within	—	no doubt
SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CIO FY2025	£292k	—	0	above	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.