The British School at Athens

Analysis

The British School at Athens is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in September 1962, 64 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space, provides services and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending April 2025, The British School at Athens reported income of £1.7m and spending of £1.9m, spending 112% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from April 2021 to April 2025, income grew from £1.5m to £1.7m (+14%), an average of +3.3% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to April 2023, when income rose by 209%. Over the whole period it spent 86% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, The British School at Athens sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 96% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire (£1.7m), The Greenwich Theatre Limited (£1.7m) and British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel (£1.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 15%, donations and legacies 14% and investments 6.3%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £14k. Charitable activities took 91% of spending and raising funds 3.9%. Reserves of £524k would cover about 3 months of spending at that rate. It employed 32 people.