WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST
Registered charity 325003 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as INDEX ARTS, INDEX ON CENSORSHIP
Such charitable purposes including the advancement and promotion by teaching, lecturing, publishing or disseminating in written or spoken form or otherwise, as shall best advance and encourage education or other charitable purposes beneficial to the community in connection with the study of political, economic, social, natural sciences and the humanities and human rights.
Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a deficit of £123,461 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in a reduction of unrestricted reserves to £446,111. The trustees confirm that reserves remain significantly above the stated policy target of £168,000, and cash flow projections are considered healthy despite a tougher fundraising landscape. The auditors concluded that the use of the going concern basis of accounting 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
Reserves policy: three months operating costs (£56,000 per month) (held: £446k)
“The target carried forward from last year was £168,000 of unrestricted funds, which equated to three months operating costs (£56,000 per month).” — page 11
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee donation and event purchase
“Kate Maltby, a trustee of the charity donated £6,500 to the charity in the year (2024: £11,800) and purchased half a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
“Trevor Phillips, a trustee of the charity donated £3,250 to the charity in the year (2024: £3,000) and purchased a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee donation and event purchase
“Kate Maltby, a trustee of the charity donated £6,500 to the charity in the year (2024: £11,800) and purchased half a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
“Trevor Phillips, a trustee of the charity donated £3,250 to the charity in the year (2024: £3,000) and purchased a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee donation and event purchase
“Kate Maltby, a trustee of the charity donated £6,500 to the charity in the year (2024: £11,800) and purchased half a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
“Trevor Phillips, a trustee of the charity donated £3,250 to the charity in the year (2024: £3,000) and purchased a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee event purchase
“Kate Maltby, a trustee of the charity donated £6,500 to the charity in the year (2024: £11,800) and purchased half a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
“Trevor Phillips, a trustee of the charity donated £3,250 to the charity in the year (2024: £3,000) and purchased a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee event purchase
“Kate Maltby, a trustee of the charity donated £6,500 to the charity in the year (2024: £11,800) and purchased half a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
“Trevor Phillips, a trustee of the charity donated £3,250 to the charity in the year (2024: £3,000) and purchased a table at the annual awards.” — page 41
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Writers and scholars International Limited
“group (consisting of Writers and Scholars Educational Trust and its subsidiary Writers and scholars International Limited)”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by HaysMac LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Michael Scammel — Director (source)
- Ursula Owen — Chief Executive (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.
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£490k
Reported reserves equal ~3.9 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (60% 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: 39.2% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.2%) (benchmarks).
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Albania · Angola · Argentina · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia And Herzegovina · Brazil · Burkina Faso
Income and spending
Common questions
Is WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a deficit of £123,461 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in a reduction of unrestricted reserves to £446,111. The trustees confirm that reserves remain significantly above the stated policy target of £168,000, and cash flow projections are considered healthy despite a tougher fundraising landscape. The auditors concluded that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by HaysMac LLP.
Who funds WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST?
Funders whose own accounts filings name WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST as a grant recipient include THE JOSEPH ROWNTREE CHARITABLE TRUST, JOFFE CHARITABLE TRUST CIO, DAVID AND ELAINE POTTER FOUNDATION, JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS FOUNDATION, THE VANNECK CHARITABLE TRUST.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
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.
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Side by side with its peers
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