We are pleased to share that our accounts have been submitted on time, are now published, and that we have been approved as a Going Concern by auditors. This, as you know, is a huge turnaround from the situation we faced in August and is testament to the hard work of the school, and also to the incredible trust and support given by our parent body and FP community.
Many of you attended our Financial Update of 28 March, delivered on Zoom, and will remember the further contextual detail given around the accounts, but it is worth reiterating.
These accounts are historic, and cover the period from August 2023 to July 2024. These accounts do not reflect the substantial savings made through staffing restructure and redundancies; pension scheme withdrawal; bringing catering and payroll in-house and the numerous other efficiencies savings made. The positive financial impact of this will not be visible until the 2025/26 accounts, but annual savings in excess of one million pounds have been made.
We continue to receive a very high number of enquiries from prospective families, and our recent marketing campaigns have already brought us new boarding and day pupils through new agents and contacts in the UK, Europe, Asia and now the US. Admissions remains very busy and we have over 70 ongoing live enquiries that we are working on currently, and we expect this number to grow over the summer and into next year. Closer to home, you will hopefully see our new advertisements in Helensburgh Central station and in Argyle Street in Glasgow. We will be running International Baccalaureate Information events both in Glasgow and Helensburgh over the coming weeks and months to strengthen and promote our vitally important day pupil offering and highlighting the unique approach to learning and developing the whole pupil.
We are very proud of the hard work and positivity of our teaching and operational staff and the continued loyalty and support of you, our parents.
Sadly, the independent sector remains under pressure and the local and national press are hyper focused on all independent schools – particularly at this time of year. You will perhaps have seen stories in the media about other schools and, as we all know, these are often sensationalised. Thus, we feel it is important to assure you all that the school is secure financially and very much on track with our three year recovery into profit, and we are looking forward to our 49th year of Lomond come August.
With very best wishes,
Alistair Hart
Chair of the Board of Govenours
Lomond School
