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THE PILGRIMS' SCHOOL

Registered charity 1091579 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Charity ceased operating the Pilgrims' School Winchester following the merger with Winchester College on the 1st September 2025

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Get email alerts

Latest income
£5.5m
Latest spending
£5.9m
Registered
2002
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the School incurred a loss of £356k for the year, driven by lower pupil numbers and professional fees related to its merger with Winchester College. The entity ceased operations at year-end as assets and liabilities were transferred to Winchester College, and the accounts were prepared on a non-going concern basis for the company itself. However, the School's operations continue under the new ownership structure.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: sufficient cash and reserves to enable it to meet its short-term financial objectives in the event of an unexpected revenue shortfall or the emergence of an unexpected liability (held: £3.3m)
“The School’s reserve policy requires it to maintain sufficient cash and reserves to enable it to meet its short-term financial objectives in the event of an unexpected revenue shortfall or the emergence of an unexpected liability.” — page 7
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Going concern: accounts NOT prepared on a going-concern basis (closing, merging or winding up)
“While the School remains a going concern as detailed in Note 23, when completing these accounts, they have not been prepared on a going concern basis as this entity will no longer exist following the merger and will be wound up in due course.” — page 16
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Rent paid to Chapter of Winchester Cathedral
“Included in premises cost is rent of £215,000 (2023/24: £200,000) payable to the Chapter of Winchester.”
“School fees, inclusive of VAT, of £40,721 (2023/24; £10,674) were payable by the Raymond Freke Award Fund, for which the School’s Director of Finance & Resources and Headmaster, and the Dean of Winchester Cathedral are ex officio trustees.” — page 28
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Fees paid by Raymond Freke Award Fund (trustees include School Directors)
“Included in premises cost is rent of £215,000 (2023/24: £200,000) payable to the Chapter of Winchester.”
“School fees, inclusive of VAT, of £40,721 (2023/24; £10,674) were payable by the Raymond Freke Award Fund, for which the School’s Director of Finance & Resources and Headmaster, and the Dean of Winchester Cathedral are ex officio trustees.” — page 28
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Legal services from Blake Morgan LLP (partner is a Governor)
“Included in premises cost is rent of £215,000 (2023/24: £200,000) payable to the Chapter of Winchester.”
“School fees, inclusive of VAT, of £40,721 (2023/24; £10,674) were payable by the Raymond Freke Award Fund, for which the School’s Director of Finance & Resources and Headmaster, and the Dean of Winchester Cathedral are ex officio trustees.” — page 28
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Azets Audit Services Limited. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

Corporate structure

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

Official officers record.

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

Total income
£5.5m
Total spending
£5.9m
Cost of raising funds
£99k
Reserves (reported)
£3.3m
Employees
98

Reported reserves equal ~6.8 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (99% 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: 1.8% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Hampshire

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/08/2025£5.5m£5.9m
31/08/2024£5.3m£5.7m
31/08/2023£5.2m£5.1m
31/08/2022£5.2m£5.2m
31/08/2021£4.8m£5.0m

Common questions

Is THE PILGRIMS' SCHOOL financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the School incurred a loss of £356k for the year, driven by lower pupil numbers and professional fees related to its merger with Winchester College. The entity ceased operations at year-end as assets and liabilities were transferred to Winchester College, and the accounts were prepared on a non-going concern basis for the company itself. However, the School's operations continue under the new ownership structure. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Azets Audit Services Limited.

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
WINCHESTER DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE1£376k
CULHAM ST GABRIEL'S TRUST1£21k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with PORTSMOUTH AND WINCHESTER DIOCESAN BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE PILGRIMS' SCHOOL£5.5m——unclear—not going concern
PORTSMOUTH AND WINCHESTER DIOCESAN BOARD OF EDUCATION FY2024£278k—0below—no doubt
PMC Education Trust FY2025£5.8m——unclear—no doubt
ST PIRAN'S SCHOOL LIMITED FY2025£8.3m£130,001 - £140,000—unclear—no doubt
WILLINGTON SCHOOL FOUNDATION LIMITED FY2025£3.9m——below—no doubt
ST PHILIP'S SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED FY2025£2.0m——unclear—no doubt

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