NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER

Registered charity 1118377 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

New College Worcester is a residential school for blind and partially sighted children and young people aged 11-19. As well as a full curriculum with a wide range of GCSE and A-Levels, the development of independent living skills and an extensive programme of extra-curricular activities is part of the educational provision.

Causes: Education/training · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£6.7m

Latest spending

£7.9m

Registered

2007

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves of £57,676 are significantly below the trustees' stated policy target of £800,000 (approximately two months of running costs). The charity reported a net expenditure of £1,193,143 for the year, driven by lower student numbers and restructuring costs, though it maintains a positive cash flow until May 2027 and is proceeding with a merger into the AET Group to secure its long-term future.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £110,001 - £120,000 — in the top quarter for charities its size (median £70k)

“£110,001 - £120,000 4” — page 39

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Largest income source: Charitable activities

“Charitable activities 4 5,503,130” — page 22

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £58k; policy: around 2 months running costs)

“Generally unrestricted funds were £57,676 (2024: £382,736). Ideally College reserves of £800,000 are considered reasonable” — page 12

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Payments to trustees: Mrs R Perks (Principal and Trustee), Remuneration £115,902

“Mrs R Perks (Principal and Trustee), Remuneration £115,902 (2024: £108,271) and Employers Pension Contributions £33,241 (2024: £27,622).” — page 38

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Kendall Wadley LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

What the charity says about itself (2024/25)

From its own voluntary annual review / impact report — the charity’s account of its work, distinct from the statutory accounts analysed above.

Specific number of attendees for a free online webinar mentioned in the Outreach Compliance section.

“During the year we held one twilight, free, online session on Foundational Braille which had 60 attendees”

Number of signatures on the open letter campaign mentioned in the 'Raising the profile' section.

“The letter had over 400 signatures and was delivered to Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP and Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP”

Number of guests attending the Celebration Day mentioned in the 'Celebration Day' section.

“We welcomed over 150 guests at the end of June for our annual Celebration Day, an event dedicated to recognising the outstanding achievements of students.”

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — New College Worcester (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Rachel Perks — Principal (source)
Steve Farr — Vice Principal (source)
Will Stark — Assistant Principal - Curriculum, Teaching & Learning (source)
Victoria Ward — Associate Principal: NCW Lead Practitioner for VI (source)
Paul Stephens — Assistant Principal - Personal Development and Designated Safeguarding Lead (source)
Simon Morom — Director of Finance (source)
Kate Lindsay — Director of Residential (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

The Vinchel Foundation — “Our supporters The Vinchel Foundation” (source page)

Property (HM Land Registry)

4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

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

Total income

£6.7m

Total spending

£7.9m

Cost of raising funds

£90k

Reserves (reported)

£58k

Employees

151

Reported reserves equal ~0.1 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 1.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Patricia Dysonchair
Cailean Carvalho
Chris Clark
Emma Ashby Williams
Katharine Jane Gorick
Lady Linda Morris · trustee of 1 other charity
Lisa Ann Mauro-Bracken
Lyndall Bywater
Matthew Lamb
Philippa Ann Simkiss · trustee of 1 other charity
Rachel Perks
Sian Sweeney
Steven Andrew Tyler
Timothy Peter Lawrence

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/08/2025	£6.7m	£7.9m
31/08/2024	£8.9m	£7.8m
31/08/2023	£6.3m	£6.4m
31/08/2022	£6.2m	£5.6m
31/08/2021	£5.4m	£4.7m

Common questions

Is NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted reserves of £57,676 are significantly below the trustees' stated policy target of £800,000 (approximately two months of running costs). The charity reported a net expenditure of £1,193,143 for the year, driven by lower student numbers and restructuring costs, though it maintains a positive cash flow until May 2027 and is proceeding with a merger into the AET Group to secure its long-term future. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Kendall Wadley LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £110,001 - £120,000 band.

Who funds NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER?

Funders whose own accounts filings name NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER as a grant recipient include VINCHEL FOUNDATION, THE EDWARD CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUST, THE WILL CHARITABLE TRUST, THE WO STREET CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE GEOFF & FIONA SQUIRE FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
VINCHEL FOUNDATION	FY2023	£160k
VINCHEL FOUNDATION	FY2025	£160k	refurbishment of the Vinchel Lodge
THE EDWARD CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£50k	Education and Training
THE WILL CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£10k	Blind Care
THE WO STREET CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	FY2021	£5k
THE GEOFF & FIONA SQUIRE FOUNDATION	FY2022	£4k
VINCHEL FOUNDATION	FY2024	£3k
THE EDWARD CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£3k	Education and Training
THE SAINTBURY TRUST	FY2025	£3k	Relief of those in Need by reason of Youth, Age, Ill-Health, Disability, Financial Hardship or other Disadvantage
THE GORDON GRAY TRUST	FY2023	£2k
THE GORDON GRAY TRUST	FY2025	£2k
BIRKDALE TRUST FOR HEARING IMPAIRED LTD	FY2023	£2k
THE MICHAEL MARSH CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£2k
THE GORDON GRAY TRUST	FY2024	£1k
THE GORDON GRAY TRUST	FY2022	£1k
LILLIE JOHNSON CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2026	£1k
THE MICHAEL AND ANNA WIX CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2026	£200
THE OGDEN TRUST	FY2022	£0	Grants to institutions

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Community Fund	25/02/2025	£19k	NCW Play & Pavilion supporting students who are blind or vision impaired
The National Lottery Community Fund	14/10/2022	£10k	Hear to Help
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	30/03/2016	£9k	"New College Worcester student memories from the past and present"
The National Lottery Community Fund	21/03/2013	£2k	Kayaks for All
The National Lottery Community Fund	01/12/2011	£10k	Outdoor Playground Equipment for All
The National Lottery Community Fund	04/12/2009	£8k	Fitness For All
The National Lottery Community Fund	15/03/2007	£5k	RNIB New College Worcester
The National Lottery Community Fund	04/01/2006	£5k	To Introduce the Duke Of Edinburgh's Award Scheme

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
BLUESPARK FOUNDATION	1	—
MAKE MY DAY BETTER LIMITED	1	£2.5m
WORCESTER COLLEGE OXFORD ENDOWMENT TRUST	1	£675k
THE ROWSE FAMILY TRUST	1	£256k
BIG CHANGE CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£174k
THE STEVEN BLOCH IMAGE OF DISABILITY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£91k
Tinsley Charitable Trust	1	£85k
THE BATCHWORTH TRUST	1	£38k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND.

THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND income £8.9m
WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD income £20.3m
WORCESTER COLLEGE OXFORD ENDOWMENT TRUST income £3.0m
CATHOLIC BLIND INSTITUTE income £3.3m
THE KING'S SCHOOL WORCESTER income £20.8m
THE NEW SCHOOL income £1.8m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
NEW COLLEGE WORCESTER	£6.7m	£110,001 - £120,000	—	below	—	no doubt
THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND FY2025	£8.9m	—	—	unclear	—	noted
WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD FY2025	£20.3m	£169,000 - £169,999	—	unclear	—	no doubt
WORCESTER COLLEGE OXFORD ENDOWMENT TRUST FY2025	£3.0m	—	0	above	—	no doubt
CATHOLIC BLIND INSTITUTE FY2025	£3.3m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE KING'S SCHOOL WORCESTER FY2025	£20.8m	—	—	below	—	no doubt

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