LION ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
11 academies with a full-year return, 1 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.
- 2021-22: 2 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 2 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 11 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £643 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £680 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In deficit | -£5k -£28 per pupil | £1.4m £7,176 per pupil | £1.3m £6,672 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£102k +£314 per pupil | £2.0m £6,102 per pupil | £1.7m £5,351 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£102k +£347 per pupil | £1.9m £6,432 per pupil | £1.7m £5,935 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£145k +£478 per pupil | £2.2m £7,244 per pupil | £2.0m £6,696 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£256k +£724 per pupil | £2.5m £7,028 per pupil | £2.5m £6,975 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£445k +£1,081 per pupil | £4.1m £9,864 per pupil | £3.8m £9,129 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£332k +£1,007 per pupil | £2.8m £8,598 per pupil | £2.7m £8,240 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£524k +£1,093 per pupil | £4.1m £8,557 per pupil | £4.2m £8,740 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£238k +£952 per pupil | £1.9m £7,508 per pupil | £1.6m £6,200 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.2m +£947 per pupil | £9.1m £7,305 per pupil | £8.9m £7,173 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2013 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£162k +£1,435 per pupil | £733k £6,487 per pupil | £1.3m £11,504 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 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