The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "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).
The object of the charity is to advance the education of the pupils at Purbrook Park School, it being acknowledged that in carrying out the objects the charity must (where applicable) have regard to its obligation to promote community cohesion under the Education Acts.
Purbrook Park School is a trust school, a state-funded foundation school, supported by a charity, The Purbrook Park Learning Trust, made up of external partners working together for the benefit of the school. The charity owns the land and buildings, appoints foundation governors to the governing body and uses the experience, energy, networks and expertise of its members to raise standards in the school. The members who appoint representatives as trustees include Hampshire County Council, The University of Portsmouth, Havant College and South Downs College.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
The main activity of the charity continued to be the provision of funds, from the previous sale of land, to the school to facilitate the building of new facilities, to safeguard the land and buildings of the school and to support the Governing Body. To date over £5 million has been donated to the school.
The charity continues to seek ways of extending its help to other schools in the community.
There were net incoming funds of £12,577 for the year (2025: outgoing funds £25,011) and total funds of £19,031,490 at 31 March 2026 (2025: £19,018,913).
During the year there was no grant funding.
The land and buildings were valued by the trustees at £19,000,000 at the date they were transferred into the charity. A designation of £19,000,000 has been made equivalent to the value of the school buildings which recognises that these funds are not available to meet operating expenditure.
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s operating expenditure. The trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
After the successful completion of the building works, the charity focus will be collaboration with the Governing Body to plan the strategic future of the school in line with the objectives contained in the Articles of Association.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 27 March 2009 and registered as a charity on 24 June 2011. Further legal and administrative information is included at the front of these financial statements.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Mike Gaston is the CEO and principal of Havant and Southdowns College who retired in January 2026.
The charity works alongside the school governing body ie the governors of the school. The governing body is not accountable to the charity and neither is the charity accountable to the governing body. There is an interface between the two bodies whereby foundation governors appointed by the charity and officers of the school participate at trustees meetings. The charity board submits reports to the governing body which is then able to have an overview of the charity's work and achievements. The governing body is responsible for all major decisions about the school and its future.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Purbrook Park Learning Trust (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity 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 the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
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 that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements 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
the financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Purbrook Park Learning Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Purbrook Park School, Park Avenue, Hampshire, Waterlooville, PO7 5DS.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Cost for this purpose being the 2009/10 insurance valuation at the date of transfer into the charity. No value has been attributed to the associated freehold land.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost.
Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting date. Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Sundry expenses
Bank charges
Bad debt write off
Governance costs include payments to the independent examiner of £890 (2025: £613) for independent examiner fees and £890 (2025: £613) for accountancy and other services.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
The Purbrook Park Learning Trust is connected to Purbrook Park School, The Purbrook Park Charitable Educational Trust, by virtue of shared governance, objectives, accomodation and administration facilities. The land and buildings of the trust were transferred from the school during the year ended 31 March 2011 and the school has paid expenses on behalf of the trust.
During the year £0 (2025 - £35,017) has been donated to the school for project costs.