AQA EDUCATION

Charity overview
Activities - how the charity spends its money
The primary purpose of AQA is to advance education for the benefit of the public by the setting, marking and administration of public examinations such as GCSE, A levels and other qualifications. The organisation provides qualifications for UK schools and colleges in order to equip learners with the knowledge and skills they require for the future.
Income and expenditure
Data for financial year ending 31 March 2024
Total income:
£268,802,559
Donations and legacies | £0 | |
Charitable activities | £241.70m | |
Other trading activities | £7.27m | |
Investments | £5.22m | |
Other | £14.61m |
Total expenditure:
£253,386,173
Raising funds | £72.76k | |
Charitable activities | £245.15m | |
Other | £8.16m |
£4,410,486 investments gains (losses)
Charitable expenditure
Charitable expenditure with investment gains
Charitable expenditure
Some charities generate all, or a substantial part, of their income from investments which may have been donated to the charity as endowment or set aside by the charity from its own resources in the past. Such investments usually take the form of stocks and shares but may include other assets, such as property, that are capable of generating income and/or capital growth.
In managing their spending and investments charities need to strike a balance between the needs of future and current beneficiaries. They also need to take account of spending commitments that may stretch over a number of future years. To do this, charities will normally adopt an investment strategy designed to generate both income and capital growth. To maximise returns trustees may commit to investment strategies for several years.
Investments can experience large swings in value so trustees may, in a particular year, decide to realise and spend part of their charity’s capital or to invest part of its income.
By clicking the investment gains checkbox the charitable spending bar is adjusted to take account of capital growth as well as income. This shows the balance the charity is striking, between spending on current beneficiaries and retaining resources for future beneficiaries.
Raising funds and other expenditure | £8.24m | |
Charitable expenditure | £245.15m | |
Retained for future use | £15.42m |
Raising funds and other expenditure | £8.24m | |
Charitable expenditure | £245.15m | |
Retained for future use | £19.83m |
People

1844 Employee(s)
16 Trustee(s)
Employees with total benefits over £60,000
Number of employees | |
---|---|
£60k to £70k | 125 |
£70k to £80k | 66 |
£80k to £90k | 35 |
£90k to £100k | 15 |
£100k to £110k | 12 |
£110k to £120k | 7 |
£120k to £130k | 2 |
£130k to £140k | 2 |
£140k to £150k | 2 |
£150k to £200k | 5 |
£250k to £300k | 1 |
£300k to £350k | 1 |
Fundraising
Trading
Trustee payments
What, who, how, where
- Education/training
- Children/young People
- Other Defined Groups
- Provides Services
- Throughout England And Wales
Governance
- 15 January 1999: Standard registration
- AQA (Working name)
- ASSESSMENT & QUALIFICATIONS ALLIANCE (Previous name)
- ASSESSMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS ALLIANCE (Previous name)
- Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
- Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
- Complaints handling
- Complaints policy and procedures
- Conflicting interests
- Financial reserves policy and procedures
- Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
- Internal risk management policy and procedures
- Investing charity funds policy and procedures
- Investment
- Paying staff
- Risk management
- Safeguarding policy and procedures
- Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
- Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
- Social media policy and procedures
- Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
- Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Trustees
Trustees are the people responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of the charity on behalf of its beneficiaries. Generally trustees are treasurer, chair, board member etc. The trustees are responsible for keeping this list up to date and can do this by updating their details as they happen through the online service
16 Trustee(s)
Name | Role | Date of appointment | Other trusteeships | Reporting status of other trusteeships | ||||
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David Laws | Trustee | 10 December 2024 |
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Thomas John Jackson | Trustee | 01 May 2024 |
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Dr Hilary Ann Ewing | Trustee | 01 April 2024 |
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ANNE ELIZABETH FROST | Trustee | 01 April 2024 |
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Michael George Nicholson | Trustee | 02 November 2023 |
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Murray Leonard Orr | Trustee | 11 May 2023 |
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Virginia Rhodes | Trustee | 01 January 2023 |
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Paula Smith | Trustee | 01 January 2023 |
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Mark Barry Lindon Allen | Trustee | 01 September 2022 |
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Thomas Joseph Hall | Trustee | 01 September 2022 |
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Deirdre Mary O'Donoghue | Trustee | 01 July 2021 |
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Colin Hughes | Trustee | 01 September 2020 |
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Isabel Mary Sutcliffe | Trustee | 05 March 2020 |
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James Edward Lenygon Dahl | Trustee | 20 January 2020 |
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MARTIN GUY TURNER | Trustee | 05 July 2017 |
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ELIZABETH KITCATT | Trustee | 01 April 2017 |
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Financial history
Financial period end date
Income / Expenditure | 31/03/2020 | 31/03/2021 | 31/03/2022 | 31/03/2023 | 31/03/2024 | ||
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Total gross income | £190.96m | £135.85m | £148.02m | £218.42m | £268.80m | |
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Total expenditure | £170.71m | £132.97m | £129.92m | £250.51m | £253.39m | |
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Income from government contracts | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
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Income from government grants | N/A | £657.07k | £4.51m | N/A | N/A | |
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Income - Donations and legacies | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | |
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Income - Other trading activities | £4.91m | £2.27m | £3.28m | £7.63m | £7.27m | |
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Income - Charitable activities | £183.89m | £132.37m | £143.60m | £208.23m | £241.70m | |
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Income - Endowments | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | |
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Income - Investment | £2.17m | £1.21m | £1.14m | £2.56m | £5.22m | |
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Income - Other | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £14.61m | |
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Income - Legacies | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | |
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Expenditure - Charitable activities | £149.50m | £113.74m | £126.08m | £241.73m | £245.15m | |
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Expenditure - Raising funds | £98.00k | £130.49k | £150.45k | £131.11k | £72.76k | |
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Expenditure - Governance | £476.00k | £0 | £429.33k | £681.66k | £737.03k | |
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Expenditure - Grants institution | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | |
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Expenditure - Investment management | £98.00k | £130.49k | £150.45k | £131.11k | £72.76k | |
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Expenditure - Other | £21.12m | £19.10m | £3.69m | £8.66m | £8.16m |
Assets and liabilities
Definitions for assets and liabilities
These are assets, other than investments, which are held for more than 12 months and used to run and administer the charity such as buildings, offices, exhibits and fixtures and fittings.
Long term InvestmentsInvestments are assets held by the charity with the sole aim of generating income which will be used for their charitable purposes such as deposit accounts, shares, rental property and unit trusts.
Investment assets are re-valued every year and included in the balance sheet at their current market value.
Long term investments are held for more than 12 months.
These are assets held generally for less than 12 months such as cash and bank balances, debtors, investments to be sold within the coming year and trading stock.
Defined benefit pension scheme asset or liabilityThis is a surplus or deficit in any defined benefit pension scheme operated and represents a potential long-term asset or liability.
Total liabilitiesThese are all the amounts owed by the charity at the balance sheet date to third parties such as bills due but not yet paid, bank overdrafts and loans and mortgages.
Asset / Liability | 31/03/2020 | 31/03/2021 | 31/03/2022 | 31/03/2023 | 31/03/2024 | ||
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Own use assets | £59.24m | £55.76m | £58.03m | £91.23m | £74.70m | |
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Long-term investments | £35.42m | £42.76m | £49.68m | £48.69m | £53.36m | |
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Other assets | £186.75m | £180.27m | £227.95m | £230.31m | £267.93m | |
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Defined benefit pension scheme asset or liability | £19.50m | £2.47m | £25.71m | £24.50m | £16.38m | |
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Total liabilities | £181.04m | £168.92m | £205.20m | £238.53m | £247.77m |
Accounts and annual returns
Title | Reporting year | Date received | Received | Download |
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Annual return | 31 March 2024 | 19 December 2024 | On Time | |
Accounts and TAR | 31 March 2024 | 19 December 2024 | On Time | Download Open in new window |
Annual return | 31 March 2023 | 31 January 2024 | On Time | |
Accounts and TAR | 31 March 2023 | 31 January 2024 | On Time | Download Open in new window |
Annual return | 31 March 2022 | 20 January 2023 | On Time | |
Accounts and TAR | 31 March 2022 | 20 January 2023 | On Time | Download Open in new window |
Annual return | 31 March 2021 | 14 December 2021 | On Time | |
Accounts and TAR | 31 March 2021 | 14 December 2021 | On Time | Download Open in new window |
Annual return | 31 March 2020 | 10 November 2020 | On Time | |
Accounts and TAR | 31 March 2020 | 12 November 2020 | On Time | Download Open in new window |
Governing document
It is not the full text of the charity's governing document.
MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES INCORPORATED 30/09/1998 AS AMENDED BY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME DATED 30/11/1998 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 05/01/1999 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 05/04/2000 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 23/04/2002 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 17/02/2004 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 01/07/2004 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 27/04/2006 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 27/10/2009 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 22/02/2012 AS AMENDED BY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME DATED 01/10/2012 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 03/12/2014 AS AMENDED ON 28 MAR 2019 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 02 OCT 2019
Charitable objects
1) TO ADVANCE EDUCATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, BY THE PREPARATION, VALIDATION, ACCREDITATION, CONDUCT AND ADMINISTRATION OF: A) EXAMINATIONS FOR THE AWARD OF GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION, GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION AND GENERAL NATIONAL VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OR SUCH OTHER CERTIFICATES AS MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THEM; AND B) ANY OTHER TESTS, EXAMINATIONS OR OTHER SYSTEMS OF ASSESSING AND RECORDING ACADEMIC OR OTHER ACHIEVEMENT
Area of benefit
NOT DEFINED
Contact information
- Address:
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DEVAS STREET
MANCHESTER
M15 6EX
- Phone:
- 0800 197 7162
- Email:
- GovernanceTeamAQA@aqa.org.uk
- Website:
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