EXCALIBUR ACADEMIES TRUST: academy finances
20 academies with a full-year return, 0 of them in deficit at their latest return. A trust can move money between its academies, so an academy shown in deficit may be supported by the trust as a whole.
Most of a school's money pays for staff, so deficits usually build up when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or when pupil numbers fall and the money that comes with each pupil goes too. What helps: a recovery plan agreed with the council or trust that brings the budget back into balance over a few years, regular forecasts that governors check, and early conversations about pupil numbers and special needs funding.
- 2018-19: 1 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 2 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 1 of 13 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 14 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 2 of 15 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 20 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 20 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £451 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £477 in 2025–26 prices. The IFS average for all trusts in 2023-24 was £510 per pupil, in 2025–26 prices (IFS, p.56).
Figures are each school's latest full-year return, total with the per-pupil figure beside it. PTA income is the school's share of its registered parents' association's latest return, in the school year that return falls in. Where no registered parents' association was found, the school may still have one: charities with an income of £5,000 or less need not register.
| School | Status | Reserve | Government funding | Spending | PTA income | PTA per pupil | Donations | Reserve per pupil trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Healthy | +£18k +£506 per pupil | £530k £14,722 per pupil | £473k £13,139 per pupil | £9k | — | £5k £139 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£111k +£506 per pupil | £2.4m £10,784 per pupil | £2.4m £11,144 per pupil | £3k £12 per pupil | £12 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£38k +£506 per pupil | £731k £9,618 per pupil | £799k £10,513 per pupil | £5k £67 per pupil | £67 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£27k +£506 per pupil | £474k £8,943 per pupil | £484k £9,132 per pupil | £3k | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£232k +£506 per pupil | £3.9m £8,542 per pupil | £4.1m £8,874 per pupil | £4k £8 per pupil | £8 | £3k £7 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£71k +£506 per pupil | £1.2m £8,271 per pupil | £1.2m £8,314 per pupil | £5k £37 per pupil | £37 | £27k £193 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£100k +£506 per pupil | £1.6m £8,355 per pupil | £1.6m £8,213 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£43k +£506 per pupil | £632k £7,524 per pupil | £628k £7,476 per pupil | £12k £147 per pupil | £147 | £2k £24 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£82k +£506 per pupil | £1.2m £7,426 per pupil | £1.2m £7,302 per pupil | £3k £17 per pupil | £17 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£88k +£506 per pupil | £1.2m £6,851 per pupil | £1.2m £6,793 per pupil | £5k £28 per pupil | £28 | £2k £11 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£188k +£506 per pupil | £2.5m £6,696 per pupil | £2.6m £7,003 per pupil | £964 £2 per pupil | £2 | £3k £8 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£48k +£506 per pupil | £636k £6,695 per pupil | £648k £6,821 per pupil | £18k £194 per pupil | £194 | £7k £74 per pupil |
Sources: DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data (CFR returns for council-run schools, April to March; academy accounts returns, September to August), Get Information about Schools, DfE section 251 outturn (DSG balances), the Charity Commission register and the IFS annual report on education spending in England 2025–26 (IFS figures in 2025–26 prices, November 2025 deflator). Open Government Licence v3.0. Check at source: DfE benchmarking for this trust. How these figures are worked out