The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

Analysis

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 1985, 41 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 01926395). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides services.

In the financial year ending January 2026, The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music reported income of £51.6m and spending of £53.5m, spending 104% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from January 2022 to January 2026, income grew from £42.5m to £51.6m (+21%), an average of +5.0% a year. Over the whole period it spent 90% 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 Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music sits at the 100th percentile: it is one of the largest 1% in its cause. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Paul Hamlyn Foundation (£50.7m), Stowe School Limited (£53.6m) and National Museum of Wales (£49.2m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 85%, trading 12% and investments 2.0%. Charitable activities took 89% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £439k. Reserves of £15.3m would cover about 3 months of spending at that rate. It employed 211 people.