Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2014

Schoolhill, Aberdeen, Scotland AB10 1FE Tel 01224 611211 www.rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk

Robert College is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC000123 Extracts from theGordon’s College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

The information on pages 3 to 9 has been extracted from the College’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2014, which were approved by the Board of Governors on 24 September 2013. The financial statements were subject to audit by the College’s independent external auditors, who issued an unqualified audit report. A copy of the College’s full Annual Report and Financial Statements can be obtained by contacting the Director of Finance in writing. Contents 3 - 8 Extracts from the Annual Report of the Board of Governors for the year ended 31 March 2014 9 Extract from the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2014

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

2

Financial Review

The College is moving towards a planned period of significant capital investment to further improve our Schoolhill campus and our learning and teaching facilities in particular.

a. Annual Results

b. Risk management

Overall financial performance in the year was in line with expectations. The Governors have sought to ensure a robust financial position as the College enters a planned period of significant capital investment to further improve our Schoolhill campus and our learning and teaching facilities in particular. Total incoming resources have risen as a result of tuition fees increasing from £15,449k to £16,267k, following an increase in the average pupil roll and annual increments in tuition fees. The average fee per pupil increased by 6.5% from £9,225 to £9,824. The pupil roll at the year-end was 1,654 the same as at 31 March 2013 taking a half day nursery place as one place in the roll. Actual charitable expenditure of the College was generally in line with budget. The College continues to receive and be grateful for the bursary support provided by the Aberdeen Endowments Trust and other philanthropic external contributors. As in previous years, staff costs continued to rise, largely attributable to an increase in the average number of staff employed by the College (2014 – 266; 2013 – 257). Pension costs as a percentage of wages remained at 14%. Whilst finance costs remained in line with the previous year, the governors would expect the cost of borrowing and the amount of interest payable to increase in future years. Fixed asset additions in the year were £8,527k and depreciation of £1,090k was charged. The main item of capital investment to enhance the College property was the purchase of a building and commencement of the renovation project described in Note 23. The swimming pool refurbishment was completed as was the boiler system upgrade. Further investment took place with the purchase of new teaching equipment. The College disposed of surplus land to assist with the funding of the renovation project described in Note 23. The gain is shown in the Statement of Financial Activities. The market value of investments at 31 March 2014 increased marginally to £5,698k. Donations received by the Development Office during the year increased from £437k to £461k.

The Board of Governors is responsible for the management of the risks faced by the College. Detailed considerations of risk are delegated to various Committees. Risks are identified, assessed and controls refined and established throughout the year. A formal review of the College’s risk management processes is undertaken on an annual basis. The key controls adopted by the College include: • Formal agenda for all Committee and Board activity. • Terms of reference for all Committees. • Comprehensive strategic planning, budgeting and management accounting. • Established organisational structure and lines of reporting. • Formal written policies. • Clear authorisation and approval levels. Through the risk management processes established for the College, the College Board of Governors are satisfied that the major risks identified have been adequately mitigated where necessary. It is recognised that systems can only provide reasonable but no absolute assurance that major risks have been adequately managed.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

3

Review of Achievements and Performance for the year a. School roll and admissions As at 31st March 2014, the College comprises a Nursery Unit (9 half day and 30 full day places equating to 39 children), a Junior School (521 pupils aged 5-11), and a Senior School (1119 pupils aged 12-18). Applications for admission to Senior 1 to commence in August 2014/15 were received from 181 external applicants (2013/14 – 222). Of this total, 102 external candidates (2013/14 – 97) accepted places offered to them having achieved the academic criteria for admission. A further 91 places were awarded to pupils from the current Primary 7 (2013/14 – 91). Bursaries were awarded to 28 of the total intake of 193 pupils (2013/14 – 24). We continue to see healthy demand for places from both genders: approximately 56% of the 2013/14 new entrants to Senior 1 are boys and 44% girls, for the second year running, which is a larger proportion of girls than in recent years; in the school as a whole the proportion of girls now stands at 44%. 15 of the new entrants to Senior 1 will be joining the school on full bursaries, i.e. paying no fees at all (2013/14 – 16).

b. Public Benefit - Fee assistance

The Governors believe that the College’s fee assistance policy provides significant public benefit by allowing access to an independent education for many pupils whose parents would otherwise be unable to meet the tuition fees

A number of benefactors have provided funds to be used for the provision of scholarships, bursaries, grants, prizes and other awards to pupils of the College. Some of these funds are administered by the Aberdeen Endowments Trust, which has supported pupils who would not otherwise have benefited from the independent education provided by the College, whilst others are administered directly by the Governors and include awards from other trusts to candidates proposed by the school. The Governors’ policy, in line with that of other independent schools, is to make awards from these funds on the basis of an individual’s financial need (means testing) and educational potential, subject to any conditions imposed by the original donor where the award is made from restricted funds. The awards can be by way of a partial or 100% means tested bursary. The Governors believe that the College’s fee assistance policy provides significant public benefit by allowing access to an independent education for many pupils whose parents would otherwise be unable to meet the tuition fees Guidance from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), indicates certain key measures related to means tested bursaries are used by OSCR as part of the assessment of independent schools charitable status. These are carefully monitored by the Governors and taking school roll to be the average roll over the three terms within the financial year, the key measures are:

Means tested bursaries as a % of fee income

2014

2013

2012

8.2%

8.3%

8.0%

Means tested bursaries as % of school roll

9.4%

9.8%

10.1%

100% means tested bursaries as % of school roll

5.5%

5.6%

5.3%

The Governors aim to increase the breadth of access to the school still further in coming years and have tasked the College’s development office with attracting the additional funding that this will require. The College also offers a small number of Burnett Scholarships providing half fee discounts to pupils of outstanding talent in academic subjects, in music, or in sport. Burnett Scholarships are available to pupils currently in Fifth Year at other schools who are expected to achieve excellent results in their Higher exams.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

4

c. Public Benefit - Widening Access

d. Fundraising

It is a basic principle of Robert Gordon’s College that the education provided should be available to as many pupils as possible regardless of parental background or income. To this end, a number of long-standing initiatives have been further enhanced in recent years.

There is a permanent fundraising structure for the school consisting of a comprehensive campaign encompassing the College’s long term aim of meeting the educational priorities of the coming century. The campaign has three areas of focus: Gordon’s Today (for current educational projects and resources), Gordon’s Tomorrow (for development of the physical infrastructure of the College) and Gordon’s Forever (for means-tested bursaries). A specific campaign to raise funds for the new Science, Technology and Performing Arts building has been launched and will operate for most of the academic years 2013-14 and 2014-15. The College employs a development team of 4 full time staff and Governors and management are heavily involved in fundraising activities including those for bursaries. The number of bursaries has been increased as a consequence of these efforts. We believe that the support of the Gordon’s community will help us achieve these aims and strengthen the reputation of the College even further. It is encouraging to note that this initiative has been well received, with over £4.4 million having been raised since the launch. The beneficial effect on access to the College is therefore very clear.

1.

At the 2014 diet the percentage of A-C passes achieved at Higher level (pre-appeal) was 92.8% (2013– 89.3%).

2.

3. 4.

5.

6.

7.

Advertisements inviting applications for bursaries now refer to “free places” to ensure that the assistance we offer is widely understood. Advertisements emphasise the open access available to the school and include regional and local press, other publications, bus and sandwich boards. The Aberdeen Endowments Trust is proactive in writing to the Head Teachers and School Boards of local primary schools to encourage applications from pupils of all backgrounds. An Open Morning is held each November to which visitors from the entire community are welcome. The application process is kept as uncomplicated as possible and the deposit for applications is waived where bursaries are applied for. The format of the application has been reviewed this year, in conjunction with the Aberdeen Endowments Trust, to ensure that it is easy to complete, thorough and equitable. All bursaries are means-tested and awards are made on an equal weighting for academic success in the entrance exam and for financial need. Our website is structured to emphasise the availability of free places. It also enables visits, queries and applications to be dealt with on line. A series of FAQs supports those interested in reduced fees. The school’s community involvement (paragraph k) and the activities of its staff (paragraph j) both contribute substantially to the College’s public benefit.

f. Report by HMI The College was the subject of an outstanding report from HMI inspectors in 2007 and was graded “excellent” in five separate categories, equal to the best results achieved by any senior school in Scotland in recent years. The College is continuing to work to keep up the standards so highly regarded by HMI. HMI inspectors identified the following key strengths: • The impressive range and quality of pupils’ achievements, including their attainment in national examinations. • The very good teaching across the school. • The very positive ethos of the school and the manners and behaviour of its pupils. • The high quality of pastoral care. • The notable expectations pupils and staff set for pupils’ achievements. • The excellent quality of partnerships with parents and the local community. • The very effective leadership of the Head of College.

e. Examination results At the 2014 diet the percentage of A-C passes achieved at Higher level (pre-appeal) was 92.8% (2013– 89.3%). The percentage of A passes was 57.5% (2013 – 54.3%). In addition the number of pupils achieving As in all 5 of their Highers at one sitting was 51 (2013 – 47). A further 21 pupils achieved 4As and one B. The percentage of candidates achieving Advanced Highers A-C passes was 88.5% (2013 – 88.7%). In addition, 67 pupils in Secondary 4 achieved eight As in their exams (2013 – 67) with 96% of pupils gaining A-C grade passes at National and 96% achieving A-C passes in Intermediate 2 (2013 – 96.1%). It should be noted that the 2013 comparatives are pre-appeal therefore comparable. The numbers of pupils studying Law, Engineering and Medicine at university remain a distinctive feature of the College.  In 2012, 26 went on to study engineering degrees and a further 20 to study science or medical degrees.  Over the past 5 years the College has sent 63 pupils to become doctors, 77 scientists and 139 engineers.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

5

g. Curriculum The number of subjects on offer remains a defining feature of the College’s curriculum. In the Junior School, the modern integrated Curriculum for Excellence is now well established and includes Expressive Arts. The provision of specialist teaching in Art, Drama, French, Music, Physical Education and Science, is also distinctive. The quality of learning and teaching is constantly reviewed, as the core purpose of the school. Posts of Principal Teacher (Learning) support developments in specific areas of learning and teaching, for example ICT, literacy, numeracy and health and well-being; selfevaluation is embedded in the school’s system; staff benefit from annual Professional Review and Development and a generous provision of Professional Development. At Senior 3 the pupils can choose between 16 subjects at National 5 or Intermediate 2. Standard Grade has now been discontinued and from 2014 Intermediate 2 will no longer be available to Third Years. The school continues to allow pupils to sit eight subjects in Third and Fourth Years and lets the pupils choose them without constraint of columns. This “2+2+2” structure will maintain breadth of choice while allowing a depth of learning as they progress through S3-S4. At Senior 5 they have a choice of 24 Highers. In Senior 6 there is a choice of 25 Advanced Highers and 31 Highers as well as 17 curriculum enhancement courses. The

timetable is created from a free choice of combinations of subjects, all of which are usually fulfilled. A number of pupils join the school for Fifth and Sixth Year and this is partly due to the continuing availability of a full range of subjects at Higher level with a fully allocated teaching time. The school community Sixth Year pupils are offered a wide range of opportunities to contribute to the school community, for instance as subject assistants, form buddies, pupil mentors, prefects and paired readers for Junior School pupils. Senior School pupils lead the activities of a highly organised House system, which involves all Senior and many Junior School pupils. Active Pupil Councils allow pupils to respond to and influence issues in the life of the school. Achievement Assemblies recognise individual and group achievements by pupils across both academic and extra-curricular areas. College publications include From the Quadrangle, which celebrates the daily life of the school in 5 editions per year, the Gordonian, which summarises the College year, and the Pelican, which enables former pupils to remain in contact with each other and with the current school. Through the Development Office, over 7,000 alumni are kept abreast of the school story, invited to reunions and enabled to contact each other through their new online community iGnite, which now includes a facility for mentoring of current and former pupils. Co-curricular activities The co-curricular activities are exceptionally varied with over 30 different Clubs and Societies in Junior and over 60 Clubs and Societies in the Senior School. Pupils in the Senior School can win Colours and Merit Awards for participation in these Clubs and other forms of service within the school community. Our debating is currently enjoying national success, in the Model United Nations competition as well as in public speaking and debating competition, winning the prestigious Law Society competition. As with sport, our pupils both travel to compete against other young people all over Scotland and arrange activities on our own facilities to welcome them. Our pupils’ achievements are publicised through the website and the magazine From the Quadrangle.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

Sixth Year pupils are offered a wide range of opportunities to contribute to the school community.

6

h. Sporting Success The College continued its proud tradition of sporting participation and achievement in 2013/14. Our staff are forever working to achieve the twin goals of maximising Participation numbers with the pursuit and support of Excellence. Although sometimes these goals can conflict they must be the joint aims of every school. Performance is what fills the pyramid between the two. • Our Senior Girls Netball team won the Scottish Independent School Cup as well as their regional cup. Our S3 girls won the Scottish Silver Cup. Our S1s won their regional cup and lost narrowly in the Scottish Silver Cup final. • The College Kayak team won the Scottish Slalom Championships for the first time. • We had 3 girls in the Scottish Ski Team for the World Championships and won 47 medals across the winter. • Our senior rugby boys won their regional cup and 7’s trophies in Glasgow and the North east. • In Hockey, Our S2 Girls won their regional cup, our S3s won their league and cup and our senior girls won their cup. • Our Cross Country teams won 5 of the 6 categories in the regional championships. These are of course only a few of the many successes and achievements this session. 31 Gordon’s pupils are currently representing Scotland or in National training squads in a huge variety of different sports from the traditional Rugby, Hockey and Swimming to Sailing, Skiing and Figure Skating to name only a few. Four of our former pupils represented Team Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in Swimming, Hockey and Rhythmic Gymnastics. These sporting successes are a great credit to both the pupils themselves and to the teaching and coaching staff. However, it is important to recognise that such success is founded on much wider and deeper participation and it is pleasing to note that so many of the senior and junior school pupils regularly engage in team sports outwith school hours. We have around 200 pupils taking part every day after school and around 500 playing every Saturday. Numbers of pupils participating in extra-curricular sport again increased over the year. It is also important to note that, given the geographic position of the school, many of the sporting activities are against local clubs and schools and our exceptional facilities at Countesswells are the locus for much of this competition. Much of our opposition however is many miles away and our pupils and staff spend many hours travelling to and from fixtures, trials and national/ regional training sessions. With Phase III not too far away the development possibilities in many of our sports and activities are enormous and very exciting.

i. Expressive Arts The high number of musical groups and instrumental instructors allows large numbers of pupils to participate in bands, orchestras, choirs and ensembles. The quality of the music created by these groups has also continued to develop both in the school’s own concerts and in public performances. Local charities and groups attend musical events in the school and our musicians play in public at various locations. Drama is a curricular subject from Primary 1 to Secondary 6 and all year groups are engaged in public performances; in 2013-14 Primary 7 staged the musical ‘Cats’ and the Senior School presented a stage version of ‘Stardust’; both of these were national Premieres. A series of art exhibitions by each year group is a showcase for the school’s talent annually. A Performing Arts Centre is due to open in late 2014.

j. Staff development The College both appoints teaching staff from and sends staff to promoted and unpromoted posts in maintained schools. Staff are encouraged to take part in a well funded programme of professional development including participation in courses across Scotland. A well-established programme of Staff Review and Development allows all teaching staff to reflect on their professional work and plan further improvement. An audit of the considerable quantity and variety of self-evaluation of learning and teaching has been undertaken on a departmental and whole school basis to inform best practice and form the basis for further improvement. We encourage continual development for our valued support staff and have recently introduced a tailored staff development review scheme. Staff contribute extensively to national education organisations. Currently several staff are involved at a high level in the development of new National Qualifications. Staff work for the Scottish Qualifications Authority as Examiners, Setters and Markers. The College accepts between 5 and 10 students per year in teaching practice, and has at least one probationer teacher (currently in English and Physical Education) per year. Both of these groups are given a programme of mentoring and experiences to enable them to meet the standard for registration.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements 7

Four of our former pupils represented Team Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in Swimming, Hockey and Rhythmic Gymnastics. These sporting successes are a great credit to both the pupils themselves and to the teaching and coaching staff.

7

k. Community Involvement Robert Gordon’s College is heavily involved in the community of Aberdeen and North East Scotland, in the following ways: Charities 1. The School’s Charity Committee annually raises large sums of money for many different local, national and international charities through events in the school community. 2. Most of the performances by pupils in Expressive Arts raise money for specific charities; PE staff also organise school-wide charity events for instance for Sport Relief. 3. Fourth Year pupils in the College are involved with the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, through the Wood Family Trust, in an annual enterprise programme which involves working with local charities on presentations which are judged, with the winning charity receiving £3,000. 4. The College currently enters more pupils for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award than any other school in Scotland. All of these pupils undertake community service and Gordon’s pupils can be seen working with almost all local charities or branches of national charities during the year. This amounts to over 6000 hours a year of volunteering. 5. College facilities are also made available to local charities, for example for art auctions.

Support for Education 12. In addition to the means tested bursaries recorded above, the College provides scholarships in Sixth Year for pupils with a particular specialist academic or musical or sporting talent. 13. Our academic facilities are made available occasionally and, in particular, pupils applying to high tariff university courses from maintained schools join with Gordon’s pupils in the College’s programme of preparation. 14. The College provides facilities and administration for external candidates for BMAT, STEP and ELAT examinations, and for SQA exams in several subjects including Mandarin Chinese, Maths, Latin and Italian. 15. Members of staff have helped teachers in maintained schools with specific developments, for instance a Latin club, and host professional development meetings for staff from local schools.

Most of the performances by pupils in Expressive Arts raise money for specific charities; PE staff also organise schoolwide charity events for instance for Sport Relief.

Community organisations and institutions 6. Gordon’s Music and Drama groups engage in public performances during the year, for instance in local churches, and both departments, ensembles and individual pupils support many community Music and Drama groups. 7. The Music department supports local competitions for instance the Burns Federation, the Aberdeen Music Festival, the Aberdeenshire Music Festival and the Aberdeen Jazz Festival. 8. The College invites local organisations such as Rotary and local Primary Schools to attend performances. The College makes facilities available for visiting performers and invites local schools to share these performances. 9. Various departments work closely with local institutions such as churches, cinemas, theatres, companies, the Sheriff Court, and the Universities. 10. The College hosts national and local debating competitions. 11. The History department is involved with the Gordon Highlanders Museum local oral history project, along with local schools and forces veterans.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

8

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2014

2014 2013 £’000 £’000 INCOME 16,944 15,924 Charitable expenditure (15,473) (14,786) Governance costs (48) (71) Costs of generating funds (230) (233) OPERATING SURPLUS /(DEFICIT) 1,193 834 Gain on sale of fixed assets 7,395 - Investment income 225 232 SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) BEFORE INTEREST 8,813 1,066 Interest on bank loans and overdraft (239) (239) OPERATING SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) FOR YEAR 8,574 827 Realised gain/(loss) on sale of investments 160 47 SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR 8,735 874

All items dealt with in arriving at the operating surplus/(deficit) for the year relate to continuing activities.

Extracts from the College’s 2014 Annual Report and Financial Statements

9