BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL
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Cash
£4.2M
-5.6% vs 2024
Net assets
£23M
+2.7% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
175
+5.4% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
—
Period ending 2025-08-31
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
4 officer resignations in last 12 months
Multiple officers have left the board recently — see the People section for who.
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-08-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 | 2025-08-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £10,287,197 | £12,959,317 | £12,905,687 | -0.4% | |
| Operating profit | — | £587,771 | £288,769 | -50.9% | |
| Profit before tax | £511,060 | £587,771 | — | — | |
| Net profit | — | — | £545,626 | — | |
| Cash | £2,378,987 | £4,497,616 | £4,245,307 | -5.6% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £19,894,624 | £21,272,502 | £22,798,128 | +7.2% | |
| Net assets | £20,760,624 | £22,204,502 | £22,798,128 | +2.7% | |
| Equity | £20,760,624 | £22,204,502 | £22,798,128 | +2.7% | |
| Average employees | 170 | 166 | 175 | +5.4% | |
| Wages | £6,503,218 | £6,847,048 | £7,227,476 | +5.6% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £0 | £762,528 | £781,191 | +2.4% |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. The Δ column is the change from the prior filed period as a percentage of |prior|; lines a company doesn't report show —. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 | 2025-08-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | 4.5% | 2.2% | |
| Net margin | — | — | 4.2% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | 2.8% | 1.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 10.6% | 12.9% | 19.9% | |
| Current ratio | 1.00x | 1.30x | 1.34x |
Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.
Name history
Renamed 1 time since incorporation
- BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL 2004-06-30 → present
- BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL (2002) 2002-07-23 → 2004-06-30
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- Helen Furlong FCCA
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“After making appropriate enquires, the board of trustees has a reasonable expectation that the School has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.”
Group structure
- BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL · parent
- Novitas Services Limited 100%
Significant events
- “Following the imposition of VAT on independent schools in January 2025, school fees were revised as follows: Nursery (full-time, including catering) - £4,875 per term; Pre-Prep (full-time) - £3,810 per term; Reception - £3,768 per term; Prep (Years 1-2) - £4,064 per term; Prep (Years 3-6) - £4,307 per term Seniors (Year 7-8) - £5,022 per term; Seniors (Year 9 to Year 11) - £5,704 per term; Sixth Form - £5,766.”
- “On 5 April 2025 the Charity terminated the pension scheme and received a refund equating to the actuarial value of the overfunded scheme.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
9 active · 26 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYRNE, Daniel John | Secretary | 2024-08-27 | — | — |
| ADAMS, Phillip James | Director | 2024-09-16 | Jun 1983 | British |
| ARMSTRONG, Andrew Earnshaw | Director | 2025-06-23 | Apr 1973 | British |
| ATKINSON HOWARD, Christine Alison | Director | 2024-08-21 | Jun 1969 | British |
| CASHIN, Mark Richard | Director | 2016-06-20 | Mar 1953 | British |
| FURNISS, Michael Stuart | Director | 2018-06-25 | Feb 1961 | British |
| SOWERBY, Julian | Director | 2026-04-27 | Mar 1964 | British |
| STIRRETT, Josh Patrick | Director | 2025-06-23 | Nov 1978 | British |
| THORP, Nicola Jayne, Dr | Director | 2023-09-18 | Apr 1967 | British |
Show 26 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUTTON, Clive Friend | Secretary | 2002-07-23 | 2012-12-17 |
| TURNER, Mark Jonathan | Secretary | 2012-12-17 | 2024-08-27 |
| BOUMPHREY, Ian Gordon | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2020-06-22 |
| COATES, Alasdair David | Director | 2015-06-22 | 2023-07-24 |
| CROSS, Andrew James | Director | 2003-05-01 | 2024-12-31 |
| DODD, Lorraine Antonia Carrol | Director | 2002-07-23 | 2022-12-31 |
| GREENSMITH, Judith Louise | Director | 2015-09-07 | 2025-01-20 |
| HIGGINSON, Susan Julie | Director | 2023-09-18 | 2026-02-18 |
| JOHNSON, Christopher Charles | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2010-06-07 |
| JONES, Graham Edward | Director | 2003-09-01 | 2016-12-12 |
| MATHIE, Anthony George, Dr | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2010-12-31 |
| MCGETTRICK, Bartholomew John, Dr | Director | 2013-03-18 | 2015-06-22 |
| MOORE, Julia, Dr | Director | 2005-09-12 | 2022-12-31 |
| ORME, Michael Lestrange, Professor | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2005-03-15 |
| OWEN, Michael Barry | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2009-06-22 |
| POTTINGER, David Irvine | Director | 2017-04-03 | 2026-04-20 |
| RENNIE, Lesley Ann | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2005-05-23 |
| RICE, Edward Nicholas | Director | 2010-06-07 | 2025-07-04 |
| RUSHWORTH, William David Crawford | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2025-07-04 |
| SUTTON, Andrew | Director | 2005-03-15 | 2016-12-12 |
| SWAFFIELD, David Richard | Director | 2002-07-23 | 2005-05-23 |
| TAYLOR, Elizabeth | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2004-03-14 |
| TAYLOR, John | Director | 2002-08-19 | 2005-12-31 |
| THOMSON, Andrew Lyndsay Balfour | Director | 2002-07-23 | 2007-12-31 |
| WALSH, Angela Bernadette Therese | Director | 2010-09-01 | 2015-08-10 |
| WATSON, Andrew Fraser | Director | 2002-07-23 | 2018-06-25 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 130 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-19 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-05-18 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-05-15 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-04-23 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-02-25 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-08-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-07-17 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-06-29 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-06-29 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-05-21 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-01-22 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-01-22 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-10-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-10-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-08-28 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2024-08-28 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2024-08-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-05-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-09-22 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-09-21 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 7
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- Officers resigned
- 4
last 12 months
last 24 months
last 12 months
last 12 months
Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.