| REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
| REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
| Report of the Trustees and |
| Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| for |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
| REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
| Report of the Trustees and |
| Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| for |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Contents of the Financial Statements |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| Page |
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 4 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 5 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 6 |
| Balance Sheet | 7 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 8 | to | 11 |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited (Registered number: 08666710) |
| Report of the Trustees |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019). |
| OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
| Objectives and aims |
| The objectives and principal aims are: |
| 1. To help young people, especially but not exclusively through musical activities, so as to develop their capabilities that they may grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society; |
| 2. To offer young people in Warrington and the surrounding areas the chance to perform in a real orchestra. |
| We want to have an impact on as many children as possible. Particularly as we come out of the covid pandemic, access to music has become increasingly important. Research shows that playing music together is incredibly beneficial for: |
| • improving mental wellbeing |
| • boosting confidence and self-esteem |
| • developing a sense of belonging and being part of something special |
| • reducing feelings of isolation |
| • bringing a sense of achievement with learning a new skill or improving an existing skill |
| • meeting new friends across diverse socio-economic groups |
| • developing crucial skills in teamwork and communication. |
| We are committed to providing a safe environment for children whilst they are attending our orchestra and this is delivered through our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy and Procedures. |
| We are fully inclusive, and welcome everyone regardless of their race, faith, religion, gender or disability. |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited (Registered number: 08666710) |
| Report of the Trustees |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
| Achievements and performance |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra continues to thrive, with excellent numbers across all our groups and orchestras. |
| In October 2024, 27 young people from Warrington Youth Orchestra travelled to Hilden in Germany to continue forging musical links and friendships as we have done for over 40 years. The children were initially at a residential and then joined German families. We were hugely supported by a grant from UK-German Connection |
| December 2024 - We held two Christmas Carol Concert at Bridgewater High School, where parents and children sang to carols played by our Symphony orchestra, Chamber orchestra, Pre-chamber Strings, Concert Band, Junior Strings, Beginners Strings, Beginners Brass and Beginners Woodwind. |
| March 2025 - We returned to Dallam Primary School, where we held music workshops with over 100 children. Dallam Primary School is in an area with the highest level of deprivation, and has the highest percentage of children receiving free school meals. In particular, the Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupils really enjoyed the music sessions, where they got to play a variety of orchestral instruments. |
| March 2025 - We held our Spring Concert at Bridgewater High School. Two concerts were held, and they were absolutely brilliant. The children showed a huge amount of progress, and the performance was enjoyed by all parents. There was also a solo trumpet player in Symphony, and this was his last concert with us. |
| June 2025 - Our Symphony and Chamber orchestras were part of the Lymm Festival. They played music from popular films to the audience of parents and the community at Lymm High School. We invited residents from 4 local care homes. |
| June 2025 - Our quartet is performing Bawm Fest, which is Appleton Thorn’s annual traditional festival. |
| June 2025 - We visited Broomfields Primary School which is a local school in Appleton. Around 270 children from Years 4, 5 and 6 had a musical session where they had a demonstration and try of instruments. |
| July 2025 - We held our summer concert at Bridgewater High School. This year’s theme was “Heroes and Villains”. This was a huge success with the children really enjoying the lively and fun atmosphere and also dressing up as their favourite character. |
| In terms of the number of children at Warrington Youth Orchestra, we had 154 children in June 2024 and this dropped slightly to 145 by June 2025. The breakdown at June 2025 was as follows: |
| - Beginners strings, wind and brass and junior strings: 46 children (32%) |
| - Pre-chamber: 24 children |
| - Concert band: 14 children |
| - Chamber orchestra: 29 children |
| - Symphony orchestra: 32 children |
| During 2024/2025, funds were raised from membership subscriptions and concert donations. A donation was received from Mr Roy Pulling and an anonymous donation by a parent. We were also generously supported by Sound, the successor of Accent Music Education. |
| Regarding music teacher movements, Ryan Breen became the Chamber Orchestra conductor from September 2024. Giles Rimmer was the temporary Beginners Brass and Concert Band teacher from September 2024 to December 2024. Iain Culross took over from January 2025 onwards. Annie Thurston, who has been our wonderful Beginners Flute teacher for over 10 years left in December 2024. She will be greatly missed by the children, teachers and volunteers. Suzanne Edwards, whose child attends WYO, became the new Beginners Flute teacher in January 2025. |
| We continue to support Duke of Edinburgh volunteers with 4 volunteers helping at WYO on Saturday mornings, either greeting and signing in children, helping set up the classrooms, putting up music stands, moving instruments, sorting out musical scores and serving children in the tuck shop at break time. |
| We wanted to say a special thank you to Catherine McQuillan for her amazing work organising the Hilden exchanges. This is an enormous task, taking up a huge amount of time and effort. We also wanted to say a special thank you to Donald Reid who continues to support WYO by repairing our instruments. Both Catherine and Donald had children at WYO, but they left some years ago, so we are especially thankful. |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited (Registered number: 08666710) |
| Report of the Trustees |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
| Public benefit |
| The Trustees are aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and are confident that the Charity's achievements and performance during the past year reflects that the public, specifically young people, have benefitted from the Charity and the opportunities that have been provided to school children from the Warrington area. |
| The trustees are satisfied that the Charity continues to benefit the public and achieve its charitable objectives. |
| FINANCIAL REVIEW |
| The charity's gross income for the year totalled £55,070 (2024 - £42,694) |
| FUTURE PLANS |
| Our plans are to continue to have an impact not only for local children but also for local communities and schools. We are proactive with our outreach work especially with disadvantaged school children and children with disabilities. |
| We also plan on taking part in community events. |
| We need to secure additional funding in order to be able to reach out to these local schools and communities. We plan on applying for grants and donations from charitable trusts and businesses. |
| STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT |
| Governing document |
| The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. |
| Recruitment and appointment of new trustees |
| Members of the Board of Trustees are elected according to the Constitution and the skill requirements of the Board. |
| Reserves policy |
| It is the policy of the board to maintain adequate unrestricted reserves, excluding fixed assets (musical instruments, music stands), to cover between six and twelve months of unrestricted expenditure. This is currently estimated to be £14,000 - £28,000. |
| REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS |
| Registered Company number |
| Registered Charity number |
| Registered office |
| Trustees |
| Independent Examiner |
| Raise |
| Chartered Accountants |
| Trimble House |
| 9 Bold Street |
| Warrington |
| WA1 1DN |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited (Registered number: 08666710) |
| Report of the Trustees |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. |
| Approved by order of the board of trustees on |
| Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited ('the Company') |
| I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2025. |
| Responsibilities and basis of report |
| As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act'). |
| Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act. |
| Independent examiner's statement |
| I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe: |
| 1. | accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or |
| 2. | the accounts do not accord with those records; or |
| 3. | the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or |
| 4. | the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)). |
| I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |
| Su Rai |
| Raise |
| Chartered Accountants |
| Trimble House |
| 9 Bold Street |
| Warrington |
| WA1 1DN |
| 11 May 2026 |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Statement of Financial Activities |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total |
| fund | fund | funds | funds |
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM |
| Donations and legacies |
| Charitable activities |
| Music lessons & subscriptions | 39,330 | - | 39,330 | 25,776 |
| Total |
| EXPENDITURE ON |
| Charitable activities |
| Music lessons & subscriptions | 28,549 | - | 28,549 | 21,459 |
| Total |
| NET INCOME |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS |
| Total funds brought forward |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 30,001 |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited (Registered number: 08666710) |
| Balance Sheet |
| 31 August 2025 |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total |
| fund | fund | funds | funds |
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| FIXED ASSETS |
| Tangible assets | 5 |
| CURRENT ASSETS |
| Debtors | 6 |
| Cash at bank |
| CREDITORS |
| Amounts falling due within one year | 7 | ( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS |
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES |
| NET ASSETS |
| FUNDS | 8 |
| Unrestricted funds | 30,001 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 30,001 |
| The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 August 2025. |
| The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. |
| The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for |
| (a) | ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and |
| (b) | preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. |
| These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime. |
| The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Notes to the Financial Statements |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| 1. | ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
| Basis of preparing the financial statements |
| The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. |
| Income |
| All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. |
| Deferred income |
| £11,742 of income from exchange contracts for activities that occur post year end has been deferred this year (2023 - £nil). |
| Expenditure |
| Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. |
| Tangible fixed assets |
| Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life. |
| Musical instruments | - |
| Taxation |
| The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. |
| Fund accounting |
| Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. |
| Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. |
| Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. |
| Financial instruments |
| The charity only enters into basic financial instrument transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities, such as trade and other debtors and creditors, loans, overdrafts and cash at bank, which are measured at amortised cost. |
| 2. | NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) |
| Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| £ | £ |
| Independent examination | - | 720 |
| Depreciation - owned assets |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| 3. | TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS |
| There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 August 2025 nor for the year ended 31 August 2024. |
| Trustees' expenses |
| There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 August 2025 nor for the year ended 31 August 2024. |
| 4. | STAFF COSTS |
| The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| Staff |
| No staff received emoluments in excess of £60,000 |
| 5. | TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS |
| Musical |
| instruments |
| £ |
| COST |
| At 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025 |
| DEPRECIATION |
| At 1 September 2024 |
| Charge for year |
| At 31 August 2025 |
| NET BOOK VALUE |
| At 31 August 2025 |
| At 31 August 2024 |
| At the 1 January 2014 the assets were transferred across from Warrington and District Youth Orchestra. |
| 6. | DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| £ | £ |
| Other debtors |
| Prepayments and accrued income |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| 7. | CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
| 31.8.25 | 31.8.24 |
| £ | £ |
| Other creditors |
| Accruals and deferred income |
| 8. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS |
| Net |
| movement | At |
| At 1.9.24 | in funds | 31.8.25 |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 30,001 | 7,350 | 37,351 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 7,350 | 37,351 |
| Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
| Incoming | Resources | Movement |
| resources | expended | in funds |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 52,465 | (45,115 | ) | 7,350 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | ( |
) | 7,350 |
| Comparatives for movement in funds |
| Net |
| movement | At |
| At 1.9.23 | in funds | 31.8.24 |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 16,372 | 13,629 | 30,001 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 16,372 | 13,629 | 30,001 |
| Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
| Incoming | Resources | Movement |
| resources | expended | in funds |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 42,694 | (29,065 | ) | 13,629 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 42,694 | (29,065 | ) | 13,629 |
| Warrington Youth Orchestra Limited |
| Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
| for the Year Ended 31 August 2025 |
| 8. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued |
| A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows: |
| Net |
| movement | At |
| At 1.9.23 | in funds | 31.8.25 |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 16,372 | 20,979 | 37,351 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 16,372 | 20,979 | 37,351 |
| A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
| Incoming | Resources | Movement |
| resources | expended | in funds |
| £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds |
| General fund | 95,159 | (74,180 | ) | 20,979 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 95,159 | (74,180 | ) | 20,979 |
| 9. | RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES |
| There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 August 2025 (2024: nil) |