DERWEN COLLEGE
Registered charity 1153280 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register
- to provide education, training and work experience to people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities - to obtain or provide employment for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities - to provide accommodation for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, with or without their immediate family or dependents
Causes: Education/training · Disability · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £44,324 for the year, with unrestricted free reserves standing at £2,865,101. The trustees maintain a reserves policy targeting up to 50 days of expenditure, with current free reserves covering 36 days. The auditors confirmed that no material uncertainties exist regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: Government grants (81% of income)
“The main source of income is generated from student and client fees paid for by local and central Government and amounts to 81% of the total income.” — page 35
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £2.9m; policy: up to a maximum of 50 days of expenditure)
“The current free reserves figure is 36 days (2023: 38 days).” — page 32
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: P Crosby, a Trustee of the Charity, is the owner of Southgate Management Services which was engaged by Derwen College as a Corparate Fundraiser and invoiced the college £26,040 during the year (2023: £Nil). There were no outstanding balances at year end.
“P Crosby, a Trustee of the Charity, is the owner of Southgate Management Services which was engaged by Derwen College as a Corparate Fundraiser and invoiced the college £26,040 during the year (2023: £Nil). There were no outstanding balances at year end.” — page 73
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Derwen College Consulting Limited
“The subsidiary company, Derwen College Consulting Ltd carried out no consultancy work during 2024, and therefore no income has been generated (2023: £421,350).” — page 33
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by WR Partners. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Corporate structure
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Meryl Green — Principal and CEO (source)
- Jamie Ward — Chair of Governors (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).
- Oswestry Freemasons — “Oswestry Freemasons donate £2,500 to Derwen Charity Students are set to benefit from a generous £2,500 donation from members of Combined Ser…” (source page)
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.
- LEAH, Tracy — director, appointed 03/02/2026on trustee list
- COURT, Ruth Louise — director, appointed 20/03/2025on trustee list
- OWEN, Daniel Jack — director, appointed 20/03/2025on trustee list
- PLOWDEN, Abigail Louise — director, appointed 20/03/2024on trustee list
- GROVE, Andrew John — director, appointed 23/03/2023on trustee list
- LEIGH, Elizabeth Mary — director, appointed 25/03/2021on trustee list
- COX, Helen Victoria — director, appointed 11/10/2018on trustee list
- WARD, James Edward — director, appointed 26/03/2015not on trustee list
- COWAN, Michael Reilly — director, appointed 25/07/2013on trustee list
- KIMBER, Kathleen — director, appointed 18/07/2013not on trustee list
- THOMPSON, Carol Denise Novello — secretary, appointed 12/03/2019
Official officers record.
Public-sector contracts awarded
From the official Contracts Finder and Find a Tender notices (supplier matched by exact registered name). Contract income is distinct from grants.
Property (HM Land Registry)
4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
CQC provider record: Derwen College — Registered, 1 registered location, 3 regulated activities, last inspected 17/11/2022.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)
Cost of raising funds
£722k
Reported reserves equal ~2.4 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (92% 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: 5.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).
Care Quality Commission ratings
CQC inspection ratings for services run by a provider matching this charity’s name (matched by name; verify provider identity on CQC’s site).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (19/10/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (20/01/2021) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- JAMIE WARDchair
- Abigail Louise Plowden
- Andrew Grove
- Daniel Jack Owen
- Elizabeth Mary Leigh
- Helen Victoria Cox · trustee of 2 other charities
- KATHLEEN KIMBER BA
- MICHAEL COWAN
- Ruth Court
- Tracy Leah
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Shropshire · Telford & Wrekin
Income and spending
Common questions
Is DERWEN COLLEGE financially healthy?
Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £44,324 for the year, with unrestricted free reserves standing at £2,865,101. The trustees maintain a reserves policy targeting up to 50 days of expenditure, with current free reserves covering 36 days. The auditors confirmed that no material uncertainties exist regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by WR Partners.
Who funds DERWEN COLLEGE?
Funders whose own accounts filings name DERWEN COLLEGE as a grant recipient include THE STEVE MORGAN FOUNDATION, THE BEATRICE LAING TRUST, CHARITY OF CHARLES CLEMENT WALKER (COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE WALKER TRUST), THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITED, THE MILLICHOPE FOUNDATION.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
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 CAMPHILL DEVON COMMUNITY LIMITED.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.