CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON ART SCHOOL LIMITED
Registered charity 1144708 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as CGLAS TRUST
The Art School is a specialist higher education institution teaching at Foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate level, preparing students for careers as contemporary artists, conservators, carvers in wood and stone and related professions. This is underpinned by an emphasis on material understanding, traditional skills, experimentation and research, combined with art historical studies.
Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity recorded a surplus before net gains on investments of £252,471 for the year ended 31 August 2025. Per the trustees' report, free reserves inclusive of expendable endowments totalled £772,805, which the Trustees consider acceptable in the context of their reserves policy and financial forecasts.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: none
“The majority of its donations are received from institutions, which the Art School approaches from time to time.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: three months' operating expenditure (held: £773k)
“A target of three months' operating expenditure would be deemed appropriate. The current reserves target is around £845k.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Buzzacott LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.
What the charity says about itself
From its own voluntary annual review / impact report — the charity’s account of its work, distinct from the statutory accounts analysed above.
The report is a QAA regulatory review, not a charity's voluntary annual review. However, it contains factual claims about the institution's operations and student body.
“At the time of the review, 232 students were enrolled on programmes at the Art School.”
The report states the number of teaching staff employed by the institution.
“The Art School employs approximately 80 teachers, who range from teaching only one day per year to a 0.8 FT permanent contract.”
The report highlights a specific statistic regarding student support needs, identified as a strength of the assessment system.
“The Art School reports that more than 25 per cent of its students require additional support for a diagnosed physical or mental disability.”
The report identifies good practice regarding student engagement with industry specialists, a key part of the curriculum.
“The extensive arrangements for students to engage with industrial specialists to support their learning and preparation for future careers is good practice.”
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Dr Lois Rowe — Principal (source)
- Andrew Casey — Vice Principal (source)
- Jamie Bill — Chair (source)
- Laurence Benson — Deputy Chair (source)
- Nick Rampley — Director of Resources and Operations (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 Creative Dimension Trust — “The Creative Dimension Trust” (source page)
- QEST — “Huge congratulations to recent BA (Hons) Conservation: Stone, Wood and Decorative Surfaces graduate Thomas Yeung, who has been awarded a QES…” (source page)
- Jackson's — “Congratulations to Eleanor Johnson (MA Fine Art, 2023), winner of the Jackson’s Art Prize 2025 with her oil painting, ‘Slick with Olive Oil’…” (source page)
- Worshipful Company of Educators — “We are proud to share our Head of Graduate School Dr Charley Peters has been awarded the Educators’ Trust Award for Excellence in Art & Desi…” (source page)
Property (HM Land Registry)
2 registered titles 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.
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£51k
Reported reserves equal ~0.4 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (76% 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: 1.2% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).
- Jamie Timothy Billchair
- Carol Edwina Taylor
- Caroline Campbell · trustee of 1 other charity
- Darren James Clayton
- Dr Lois Esther Tyrrell
- Edward William Campbell Campbell-Johnston
- Helen Sunderland-Cohen
- James Cameron Kelly
- LAURENCE BENSON
- Laura Anne Carey
- Martin Hatfull
- Michael Osbaldeston · trustee of 2 other charities
- Professor Elizabeth Mary Rouse
- Professor Jane Margaret Rapley OBE
- Sokari Douglas Camp CBE · trustee of 1 other charity
- Tabish Khan
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Throughout England And Wales
Income and spending
Common questions
Is CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON ART SCHOOL LIMITED financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity recorded a surplus before net gains on investments of £252,471 for the year ended 31 August 2025. Per the trustees' report, free reserves inclusive of expendable endowments totalled £772,805, which the Trustees consider acceptable in the context of their reserves policy and financial forecasts. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Buzzacott LLP.
Government & lottery funding
Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).
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.
Charities like this
Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE CHILDRENS ART SCHOOL.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.