THE ASPIRE EDUCATIONAL TRUST: academy finances
12 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.
- 2018-19: 1 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 1 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £347 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £367 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 | -£51k -£383 per pupil | £962k £7,179 per pupil | £968k £7,224 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2012 | — | £5k £37 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£98k +£234 per pupil | £2.4m £5,657 per pupil | £2.6m £6,165 per pupil | £5k | — | £7k £17 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£176k +£450 per pupil | £2.7m £6,801 per pupil | £2.9m £7,453 per pupil | £9k | — | £12k £31 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£185k +£458 per pupil | £2.6m £6,468 per pupil | £2.7m £6,760 per pupil | £15k £38 per pupil | £38 | £28k £69 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£355k +£567 per pupil | £4.4m £7,075 per pupil | £4.6m £7,374 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £2 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£120k +£637 per pupil | £1.2m £6,495 per pupil | £1.4m £7,181 per pupil | £18k | — | £6k £32 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£229k +£613 per pupil | £2.2m £5,917 per pupil | £2.4m £6,313 per pupil | £13k £35 per pupil | £35 | £15k £40 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£167k +£772 per pupil | £1.5m £6,956 per pupil | £1.6m £7,256 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £7k £32 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£120k +£873 per pupil | £1.1m £7,898 per pupil | £1.1m £8,102 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £3k £22 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£394k +£939 per pupil | £2.4m £5,788 per pupil | £2.5m £5,866 per pupil | £9k £22 per pupil | £22 | £16k £38 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£548k +£1,144 per pupil | £3.4m £7,049 per pupil | £3.4m £7,045 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £57k £119 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£120k +£1,294 per pupil | £650k £6,989 per pupil | £744k £8,000 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £7k £75 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