The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools

Analysis

The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Welwyn. It was registered in March 2005, 21 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, which this site groups under education and training. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 05217162). It says it provides advocacy/advice/information and acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools reported income of £943k and spending of £1.1m, spending 112% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £634k to £943k (+49%), an average of +10% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 20%. Over the whole period it spent 96% of the income it received.

Among 21,402 England and Wales charities whose main cause is education and training and that reported income, The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools sits at the 94th percentile: it is larger than about 94% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 93rd percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include St Philomena's School Limited (£943k), Industry and Parliament Trust (£945k) and Alliance of Sport (£943k).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 33% and investments 2.1%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Reserves of £598k would cover about 7 months of spending at that rate. It employed 8 people.