Bursar’s
message
Steven Little
Bursar & Secretary to the Governing Body
of donations for the endowment, which arguably
should be deducted. In accounting terms, they
have to be recognised as income, but in practice
they have to be invested and, as a result, the money
is not immediately available, though the investment
income it will generate will benefit both current
and future generations. On this basis, the College
incurred a shortfall of £347,000.
Each of the four areas of activity contribute to
this result. Trading, Investments and Fundraising
(excluding endowment) generate a net £1,897,000
between them. The school’s charitable operations
produced a surplus of £437,000 before depreciation,
but a deficit of £2,244,000 after. This reminds us
that school fee income alone is insufficient to pay
for the College’s primary objectives: education and
bursaries, the Quiristers and Ancient Buildings.
School fees and associated school income continue
to produce by far the largest part of our income.
Income from school fees grew by 4.5%, reflecting
a 2.9% increase in September 2016, to £36,678,
and the average number of pupils in the school
increased from 691 to 701. The value of bursaries,
scholarships and other awards also rose 3.6% to
total £3,386,000. I will say more about bursaries
at the end of this piece.
Winchester College Enterprises had another good
year, with increased take-up among summer schools,
and trading income was up by £69,000 at £714,000.
Financially, it has been a very reasonable, if not an
especially exciting, year. All four of the sources of
income I discussed at some length last year (School
fees, Fundraising, Investment and Trading) produced
more than the year before and this put the College
in a strong position to spend where necessary on
its pupils and staff, and on buildings, facilities and
infrastructure. No Bursar should complain about
a lack of excitement in the finances; surprises
invariably mean bad news.
The tables and charts that accompany this piece
draw out the main elements, but space allows me
to offer you only the briefest of pictures.
In summary, the bottom line is that net incoming
resources for the year were £2,332,000, £758,000
up on the previous year. This included £2,679,000
10 The Wykeham Journal 2017
Investment income grew sharply, by £506,000 to
£2,495,000. The College re-invested the first tranche
of proceeds from Barton Farm over summer/autumn
2016. Already having significant holdings in property
and absolute return funds, with Ruffer and more
recently also with AQR, we wished to take on more
equity risk and achieved this through passive funds,
managed by BlackRock, which produce higher
levels of dividend income.
Fundraising plays a critical role in the College’s
financing. In total, the amount raised in the year
was £3,514,000, up £317,000 on the previous year.
The College remains extremely grateful to all
donors. As previously noted much of this was
new money for endowment, including £1,183,000
for the Bursary Fund, and a large legacy of
£628,000 left to the Wykeham Fund, which
supports the College’s three principal charitable