RNCM as a Charity

History

The Royal Northern College of Music was established in 1973 as an amalgamation of two Manchester-based music Colleges (the Royal Manchester College of Music and the Northern School of Music), each with its own long and illustrious history.  The College occupies a single site just south of the centre of the City of Manchester, between The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, with both of whom the College enjoys excellent relations and collaborations.  The College is often referred to, by its initials, as ‘the RNCM’.  The most recent Annual Review of the RNCM’s activities and achievements can be found here.

Legal and Charitable status

The RNCM is now a Higher Education Corporation (HEC) under the terms of the Education Reform Act 1988 and the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, regulated by an Instrument of Government made by the Privy Council in May 1993.  Under these provisions the College is an exempt charity within the provisions of the Charities Act 1993.  The Charities Act 2006 provides for higher education institutions (HEIs) to be supervised in relation to their charitable activities by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as principal regulator, which is charged with ensuring that HEIs fulfil their obligations under charity law.

Governance arrangements

The members of the HEC constitute the Board of Governors of the RNCM, the activities of which the Corporation has been established to conduct, and whose objects, powers and framework of governance are set out in the Articles of Government, the current version of which was approved by the Board of Governors (‘the Board’) in July 2011, and by the Privy Council in October 2011.  The Board is also, in relation to the charitable activities of the RNCM, its Trustee Board.  Members of the Board are therefore the Trustees of the RNCM, and of its four Trust Funds, each of which is a separate charity registered with the Charity Commission.  Links to the following documents and further information are provided below:

Instrument of Government
Articles of Government
Other charitable trusteeships held by Members of the Board
Statement of the Primary Responsibilities of the Board
RNCM Trust Funds
Officers of the RNCM and Members of the RNCM Board

Financial Statements

The RNCM’s current Consolidated Financial Statements, and those of the previous four years are available to download below:

RNCM Accounts 2006-2007
RNCM Accounts 2007-2008
RNCM Accounts 2008-2009
RNCM Accounts 2009-2010
RNCM Accounts 2010-2011

Public value

In 2008, HEFCE required HEIs in receipt of exceptional funding (provided to assist in the achievement of their primary objectives) to justify the continuation of such funding, based inter alia on demonstrating the criterion of ‘additional public value’.  The RNCM’s submission, accepted by HEFCE without reservation, is available here as an expression of how it seeks to achieve the objectives expected of it as an exempt charity.

Correspondence

The principal place of business and the address of the RNCM is:

Royal Northern College of Music
124 Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9RD

Any enquiries regarding the charitable status of the RNCM should be directed in the first instance to the Secretary to the Board.