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The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School: school finances

Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Westminster · Not applicable · Free schools special

Large reserves

Holds £451k £6,352 per pupil in reserve, 17% of a year's income.

Status by year

  1. 2018-19 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
  2. 2019-20 Large reserves same as the year before
  3. 2020-21 Large reserves same as the year before
  4. 2021-22 Large reserves same as the year before
  5. 2022-23 Heading for deficit spending more than it received, reserve running down
  6. 2023-24 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
  7. 2024-25 Large reserves same as the year before
Present and share

School presentation · PTFA presentation

School Wrapped: The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School's year in money · PTFA Wrapped

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2024-25, government funding was £2.7m £37,479 per pupil and spending £2.6m £36,042 per pupil. Government funding was £102k £1,437 per pupil more than spending.

Government funding and spending per pupil, 2018-19 to 2024-25Government funding and spending per pupil each year, 2018-19 to 2024-25. 2018-19: funding £26k, spending £22k; 2019-20: funding £26k, spending £26k; 2020-21: funding £28k, spending £31k; 2021-22: funding £30k, spending £32k; 2022-23: funding £33k, spending £35k; 2023-24: funding £37k, spending £36k; 2024-25: funding £37k, spending £36k£20,000£25,000£30,000£35,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25Gov. fundingSpendingSimilarGov. fundingSpending

Funding is the money a school receives; spending is what it pays out. The two differ when a school adds to or draws on its savings, and because some money is spent on its pupils by someone else: the council (for example special needs top-ups and transport) or, for academies, the trust's central team. (IFS, pp. 7, 10, 46, 52, 54)

Government funding is the academy accounts line "grant funding from government" in academy (AAR) years and the CFR grant funding total in council-run years. The two are not strictly comparable: CFR line I07 can include some money that is not from government.

Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).

Reserve per pupil by year

Reserve per pupil, 2018-19 to 2024-25Reserve per pupil at the end of each year. 2018-19: £3k; 2019-20: £4k; 2020-21: £3k; 2021-22: £3k; 2022-23: £2k; 2023-24: £5k; 2024-25: £6k£0£2,000£4,000£6,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25ReserveSimilarReserve

Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2024-2571.0£2.7m £37,944 per pupil£2.6m £36,042 per pupil+£135k +£1,901 per pupil£451k £6,352 per pupil
2023-2466.0£2.6m £39,045 per pupil£2.4m £35,727 per pupil+£219k +£3,318 per pupil£316k £4,788 per pupil
2022-2362.0£2.1m £33,435 per pupil£2.2m £35,000 per pupil-£97k -£1,565 per pupil£102k £1,645 per pupil
2021-2262.0£2.0m £31,790 per pupil£2.0m £32,048 per pupil-£16k -£258 per pupil£171k £2,758 per pupil
2020-2160.0£1.8m £30,633 per pupil£1.9m £31,117 per pupil-£29k -£483 per pupil£187k £3,117 per pupil
2019-2061.0£1.6m £26,475 per pupil£1.6m £26,000 per pupil+£29k +£475 per pupil£216k £3,541 per pupil
2018-1957.0£1.5m £26,158 per pupil£1.2m £21,719 per pupil+£253k +£4,439 per pupil£185k £3,246 per pupil

Where the money comes from

Income in 2024-25, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2024-25Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total income£2.7m £37,944 per pupil+45% +14% real£43k
Government funding£2.7m £37,479 per pupil+46% +15% real£42k
Special needs (SEN) funding£1.5m £21,380 per pupil+57% +23% real£27k
Pupil premiumNot reported in academy accounts
Money the school raised itself£35k £493 per pupil+65% +30% real£360
Donations (day-to-day)£3k £42 per pupil-83% -86% real£6
Donations for buildings and equipmentNot reported in academy accounts
Facilities and services£13k £183 per pupil£139
Catering income£3k £42 per pupil-21% -37% real£11
Other DfE grants£324k £4,563 per pupil£199

Other DfE grants is a container line. It includes the grants that cover higher employer pension and National Insurance costs, which cannot be separated out, so no figure is shown for them on their own. Not every rise in a school's income is extra spending power. When the government raised what schools pay as employers into staff pensions and National Insurance, it gave schools grants to cover the bill. The IFS describes this as extra money to pay for extra outgoings, with no change in real resources. About £2.3 billion of the growth in school funding between 2019–20 and 2025–26 was this kind of grant. So when a school's income jumps, check whether its staff costs jumped by the same amount: the money may simply have passed through. (IFS, p. 50)

Academy accounts don't report pupil premium as a separate line, so it is shown as not reported rather than as zero.

Where it goes

Spending in 2024-25, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2024-25Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total spending£2.6m £36,042 per pupil+66% +30% real£40k
Teachers£1.1m £15,380 per pupil+25% -2% real£15k
Supply staff£251k £3,535 per pupil+72% +35% real£2k
Support staff£577k £8,127 per pupil+571% +428% real£8k
Office and admin staff£188k £2,648 per pupil+8% -15% real£2k
Premises staff£46k £648 per pupil£820
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other staff costs£23k £324 per pupil-16% -34% real£543
All staff costs£2.1m £30,014 per pupil+63% +28% real£33k
Premises£105k £1,479 per pupil+164% +107% real£2k
Energy£41k £577 per pupil+724% +547% real£639
Rates, water and other building costs£142k £2,000 per pupil+78% +40% real£2k
Catering£43k £606 per pupil-9% -29% real£877
Learning resources£80k £1,127 per pupil+57% +23% real£1k
Supplies and services£181k £2,549 per pupil+36% +7% real£4k
Bought-in services£69k £972 per pupil+361% +263% real£2k

Staff costs were 83% of this school's spending in 2024-25. Across England, over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. (IFS, p. 63)

The IFS national spending figures are for mainstream primary and secondary schools, so no national comparison is shown here.

Academy figures exclude the trust's central spending on its schools, so they can look lower than a council-run school's. See the trust's central spending below.

Pupils by year

  1. 2018-19 57.0
  2. 2019-20 61.0
  3. 2020-21 60.0
  4. 2021-22 62.0
  5. 2022-23 62.0
  6. 2023-24 66.0
  7. 2024-25 71.0

Trust central spending

What THE ST MARYLEBONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BRIDGE SCHOOL spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:

  1. 2018-19 £0
  2. 2019-20 £0
  3. 2020-21 £0
  4. 2021-22 £0
  5. 2022-23 £0
  6. 2023-24 £0
  7. 2024-25 £0

These are cash figures. The IFS average below is in 2025-26 prices.

On average, academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24, money that is not counted in their individual schools' own spending. (IFS, p. 56)

Money raised by parents

No registered parents' association found for The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School. Charities with an income of £5,000 or less a year don't have to register with the Charity Commission, so many schools have an active PTA or friends' group that isn't on the register.

Across England, the typical registered parents' association raised £50 per pupil in 2025-26.

Intake and area

free school · Not applicable · Mixed · THE ST MARYLEBONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BRIDGE SCHOOL (single-academy trust) · Church of England

Intake band 5 of 5 nationally, combining free-school-meal eligibility and the deprivation of the school's neighbourhood (1 = least disadvantaged, 5 = most).

Context, not a judgement: schools with different intakes get different funding and face different costs.

How my school's money is split

For pupils: out of every pound the school spent in 2024-25, here is roughly where it went, with the amount for each pupil.

National context

Questions to ask the school

Useful for parents, governors and PTFA committees.

  1. What is The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School's £451k £6,352 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How many pupils at The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School have an EHCP or need extra support, and how is support above the first £6,000 a year funded? Why ask: Mainstream schools are expected to fund the first £6,000 a year per pupil from their core budget. (IFS, p. 46)
  3. How much of The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School's funding does THE ST MARYLEBONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BRIDGE SCHOOL keep centrally each year, and what does the school get for it? Why ask: Academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24 on average. (IFS, p. 56)
  4. How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
  5. Is any of it already committed, for example to building work or to cover a planned overspend?
  6. Does the council's top-up money arrive on time and cover what the support actually costs?
  7. Does the school's reserve figure include its share of the trust's central reserves?
  8. How does The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School's spending per pupil compare with similar schools, and why? Why ask: Nationally, primaries spend about £7,000 and secondaries about £7,800 per pupil in 2025–26. (IFS, p. 7)

Check at source

Every figure here comes from the school's published return. Check it on the DfE benchmarking page for this school, and see how the figures are worked out.

Similar schools: the closest in phase, size and share of pupils on free school meals.

Compare side by side

Admissions and catchments for The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School on Schools in Reach · All Westminster school finances · Schools in Queen's Park and Maida Vale · THE ST MARYLEBONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BRIDGE SCHOOL