CHeLTeNHAM NeWs
Where Does All The Money Go? By John Champion (Bursar) If you believe even 50% of the sensationalist stuff in the tabloid press about what they love to refer to as ‘posh public schools’ being awash with cash and/or abusing their charitable status, you’d be forgiven for wondering why we need to charge the fees we do. And even if you don’t believe it, the fact remains that more than 1,000 pupils at fee-levels of up to £11,800 a term adds up to a lot of income – on paper at least. So where does all the money go – and why is it that in spite of all of those school fees apparently flooding in, fundraising remains absolutely critical to our success and our future progress? Someone once said “money talks… regrettably it has a habit of just saying goodbye”. Well that’s a little how setting and managing the budget in a big school like this can feel. Let me take a few minutes to explain what I mean. Fee levels Yes, theoretically, we have a big feeincome. 1,000+ pupils at £11,800 a term would produce more than £35m a year. But of course the first point to make is that fee levels vary throughout the 3-18
“ Fundraising is crucial to our further development – because our fee income is very largely consumed by our day-to-day running costs ” 12
age range and fees are different for day pupils, day boarders and boarders – the result is that our gross income on paper is actually more like £27m. I say ‘on paper’ because bursaries, scholarships and other awards mean that the amount we actually receive in the College bank account is closer to £24m. Already the £35m headline has dwindled to a £24m reality! Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not being unrealistic or ungrateful; I recognise that £24m still adds up to an awful lot of hard-earned parents’ and fee-payers’ cash. Regrettably though, I also have to admit that’s what it costs to run a school the size and complexity of Cheltenham College. And that’s why fundraising is crucial to our further development – because our fee income is very largely consumed by our day-to-day running costs. With over 600 staff, more than 30 buildings (many with ‘listed’ status) to heat, light and maintain; and of course 1,000 pupils to educate and care for, it’s perhaps not surprising that we can make a very big dent in £24m a year. But that still doesn’t really answer the question about where the money actually goes – and nor does it provide any reassurance that we are controlling costs and spending all those school fees wisely. As I’ve already suggested, around £3m disappears in scholarships and bursaries before we even receive it. These subventions are essential elements of our twin policies of attracting the brightest, most talented youngsters whilst at the same time broadening access and making a College education available to a decent number of pupils whose families would otherwise be unable to afford one. The granting of substantial bursaries is a necessary aspect of our ‘public benefit’ provision, and something that’s at the very heart of our charitable status. Salaries etc In common with other schools, and in line with many ‘service’ businesses, our largest cost, by far, is salaries. Whilst
teachers don’t make up the majority of our staff population by numbers, their salaries do make up the largest part of our £14m pay bill, and that’s exactly as it should be – after all, we strive to continuously improve the already high standards of teaching and learning at College and the Prep and we can only hope to do that by attracting the brightest and best teaching talent available. We think of our £12m annual academic staff costs as an important investment in our pupils’ futures. Right up there with the quality of education we provide, is pastoral care – pupils only achieve their potential if they are comfortable, properly supported and, of course, well fed. Lighting and heating our schools, including our eleven boarding and day houses, adds getting-on for another £1m whilst catering provision adds another £2m. On top of all that we spend around £3.5m a year cleaning, maintaining and keeping safe and secure our portfolio of heritage buildings ensuring that pupils and staff enjoy an environment that encourages great teaching and effective learning. The other things Then of course there’s everything else – the myriad little things, and some not so ‘little’, that cost money in a school like Cheltenham. The IT systems, transportation costs, telephones, marketing, departmental budgets, professional fees and so on. In fact, by the time we total everything up, our costs are almost the same as our income,