The Purcell School

Analysis

The Purcell School is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bushey. It was registered in February 1964, 62 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 00759327). It says it provides services.

In the financial year ending August 2025, The Purcell School reported income of £9.2m and spending of £8.4m, spending 92% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from August 2021 to August 2025, income grew from £6.3m to £9.2m (+46%), an average of +9.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to August 2025, when income rose by 21%. Over the whole period it spent 104% 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 Purcell School sits at the 99th 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 99th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include York Museum & Gallery Trust (£9.2m), Libraries Unlimited South West (£9.4m) and The Zaha Hadid Foundation (£9.2m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 80%, donations and legacies 16% and trading 3.7%. Charitable activities took 97% of spending and raising funds 1.7%. Reserves of £11.9m would cover about 17 months of spending at that rate. It employed 172 people.