Financial Review
Fee Income bursaries and rebates The School ’ s core , charitable activities produce the majority of income , with school fees , and income from other activities associated with running the School producing income after bursaries and other discounts of £ 31.7m . Gross school fee income before discounts grew by 7.7 %, reflecting a fee increase of 6.0 % year on year , alongside further fee income of £ 0.7m received from the first year of day pupils at the School .
Bursaries , scholarships and other awards totalling £ 4.1m ( 2022 : £ 3.8m ) were deducted from gross fees during the year , with 118 pupils receiving bursary funding in the year , as explained more fully on page 12 . The College remains committed to increasing bursary provision as funds allow , with the provision of the Wykeham Award , a bursary specifically focused on sixth form entrants from state schools , continuing to grow for the coming year .
Trading and Investment Income Trading income continued to improve in year with an increase of £ 0.5m . External activities , such as residential summer courses run by third parties , were expanded with a second provider operating over the Summer . A restructure to Tour timings has significantly improved profitability and sports hirings , weddings , filming contracts and an outdoor theatre run in year all contributed to results .
Income from the College ’ s investments and cash deposits increased by £ 0.9m to £ 5.8m . A £ 0.6m decrease in dividend income reflects the nature of the portfolio with investments focused on long term value creation rather than short term cash distribution . Property investment income has increased in the year by £ 0.2m to £ 2.3m reflecting enhanced farm rentals and a transfer of residential property into the portfolio during the year . Interest receivable of £ 2.0m is up from £ 0.7m in 2022 , reflecting improved interest rates from fixed term deposits and money market funds during the year .
Fundraising The College has received a record amount of donation income in year , driven by an increase in endowment donations , primarily received for the purpose of expanding future bursary provision . This funding source plays a critical role in the College ’ s financing with £ 27.5m raised in the year , a significant increase of £ 9.4m on the previous year ( 2022 : £ 18.1m ). The College is immensely grateful to donors for their generosity .
Fundraising falls into two categories . Firstly , donations to endowed funds , which are treated as income under charity accounting , but in practice have to be ring-fenced and invested , and hence are not immediately available to support the College ’ s activities . The second category is donations which can be restricted , or unrestricted , and are expendable in accordance with the donors ’ wishes and the requirements of the College .
Endowed funds received in the year included donations to the College Bursary Fund , the Warden Sinclair Fund that provides assistance to pupils who are in receipt of a bursary to take full advantage of the opportunities available at the College , and the Wykeham Fund , which supports the College ’ s charitable objectives through the three principal areas of the provision of bursaries , the maintenance of the Ancient Buildings and collections and support for the Quiristers .
The War Cloister fundraising campaign for the ongoing refurbishment of War Cloister in advance of its centenary year , has raised £ 0.5m to date with a fundraising target of £ 1m . This campaign was supported by the biennial telephone appeal in Summer 2023 .
Unrestricted donation income , which is available for immediate operational use , increased , marginally from £ 0.2m to £ 0.3m .
Expenditure Total expenditure in the year was £ 41.1m ( 2022 : £ 36.6m ). This was 12 % higher than the previous year , although was in line with expectations as actual expenditure remained £ 1.0m below budget for the year . This increase in expenditure reflects an increase in the size of the school and inflationary pressures , particularly on food , utilities and wages . The largest increase to school expenditure in year was an increase in teaching costs of £ 1.5m .
Increases across several other areas including IT , with new devices installed across the music technology suite and design and technology CAD lab , and an expanded range of events across the school year contributed to the overall increase in teaching expenditure .
Premises costs experienced an increase of £ 0.6m , reflecting a busy Summer in which campus improvements were completed . Portfolio
40 | Winchester College - Annual Report 2023