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Our mission is to widen access to a Channing education so that as many young people as possible can benefit. We do this in two ways: transformational bursaries for bright children who would not otherwise be able to afford to attend Channing; and partnerships providing academic enrichment and cultural capital for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Increasing levels of child poverty and deprivation, the impact of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the ongoing financial challenges faced by maintained schools have all contributed to the educational attainment gap that continues to widen across the country. As a school community with a strong social conscience and deep roots in our local area, we want to play our part in closing the gap.

Unlike many other independent schools, Channing is a standalone school, is not part of a larger group, does not currently have a foundation and is dependent entirely on fee income. We have no endowment to fall back on.

We want to preserve and expand the support we give to individual students as well as our wider partnership work, and we need your help to do that.

We are always grateful to the School community for their generosity and support. That support comes in many forms, be it volunteering at school or Channing Association events; supporting students with their choice of career through talks and interview practice; or via financial donations. Over the years, your donations have helped build new facilities for the pupils which include: a New Sports Hall, Music School, Sixth Form Centre and state-of-the-art Performing Arts Building (the Arundel Centre).

Channing is wholly dependent on fee income to fund our inspiring education. Philanthropic support can enable more children to benefit from a Channing education by funding bursaries for students of families with limited means. Many Channing pupils, past and present, have been assisted by the Bursary fund. However, the funds available are never enough to meet the demand and we would like to be in a position to support more pupils.

In doing this we don’t just ensure that students with great potential can join the school; we also maintain our rich, social mix and diverse community. By making a contribution to our new Social Impact Fund you will be directly supporting pupils who would not otherwise be able to attend Channing.

Over the years we have been fortunate to receive generous support from parents, past and present, alumnae and friends of the School. Please contact Ms Jade Francis in the Development Office by telephone; 020 8340 2328 (option 5), or by email; development@channing.co.uk to find out more about ways you can support the School.

Ways to give to Channing

Single & regular gifts

You can donate by:

Direct debit
BACS transfer
Cheque (Please make the cheque payable to Channing House Inc.)
CAF Cheque (Please make the cheque payable to Channing House Inc.)

Gift Form

Gift Aid

This is a scheme which enables registered charities to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer. As a registered charity, donating through Gift Aid means the school can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give – it won’t cost you any extra.

To donate in this way please print out and complete a Gift Form and send it via post to Channing School.

For more information, please contact Ms Jade Francis, Alumnae & Development Manager on 02083402328 or 07725811191, or email development@channing.co.uk

Giving from the USA

Our alumnae and friends who are based in the USA are encouraged to make a gift to the British Schools and Universities Foundation (BSUF), stating a preference for Channing School.

The BSUF is a charitable organisation recognised by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under Section 501 (c)(3) of their Codes. The BSUF’s Federal ID Number is 13-616-1189. Since its creation the BSUF has served as a catalyst for tax efficient funding by United States taxpayers of educational, literary and scientific institutions in the UK.

U.S. taxpayers may claim an income tax deduction for a gift to a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, such as BSUF, but direct gifts to a foreign charitable organisation do not qualify. Therefore we will acknowledge every gift as a ‘grant from the British Schools and Universities Foundation, made possible by a generous donation from [the original donor’s name]’

Gifts to the BSUF can be made via:

Cheque
Online credit card donation
Legacy Gifts (see legacies section below)

Every time you make a gift to the BSUF they will immediately send us an email message notifying us of your gift (including the amount) so we can promptly thank you for your generosity. BSUF will disburse the full amount of its grants (made up of individual donations received for the University) to us on a quarterly basis.

For more information on the BSUF, visit their website.

Giving to the BSUF

Our alumnae and friends are encouraged to make a gift to the British Schools and Universities Foundation (BSUF), stating a preference for Channing School by making an online credit card donation using the Network For Good. For your information Network For Good will charge BSUF 3% for each credit card donation, this will be deducted from your donation.

To make a gift in this way please follow this link.

Please ensure that you enter ‘Channing School’ and the area you wish for your donation to support (i.e. Channing School, General Fund, Bursary Fund) when prompted.

Please note: Donor preferences are respected by the BSUF but all grants are made at its sole discretion, as required by the IRS.

Legacies

Have you remembered Channing in your will? Just 1% of your estate can make a huge difference to the lives of future Channing girls, and pupils in the local area, leaving 99% for those close to you to inherit. You can, of course, leave more to Channing if you wish.

We are very grateful to those who have left a gift to Channing in their Wills – their generosity will help future generations of Channing students. One generous legator is Betty Calderara…

Betty Calderara (Maguire), 1921-2021

Beatrice Jeanne Nelly Calderara, née Maguire, passed away very peacefully on 22 April 2021, just over three months short of her 100th birthday.

Betty attended Channing in the 1930s with her sisters and loved boarding-school life. Never one to sit still, she excelled at sport, drama and performance, playing Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (pictured), and won prizes for poetry recitation; she was still word-perfect in her late 90s.

Her late daughter and her granddaughter were also Channing students. The school was the source of some of her happiest memories and dearest friends, and fostered her collegiate (if occasionally naughty) spirit, her love of literature and good company, and her sense of fun. Being a Channing alumna was a label she wore with enormous pride.

Betty (on right) as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Betty (centre) at Channing, with her best friend Yvonne Price (Teggin) on the right)

(Image 1: Betty (on right) as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Image 2: Betty in the Hockey Team, first row on the left, Image 3: Betty (centre) at Channing, with her best friend Yvonne Price (Teggin) on the right)

Mrs Lesley Mill

Another generous benefactor is Mrs Lesley Mill former Classical Studies, Latin and Greek teacher…

Lesley read Latin & Greek (and associated Classics) at Swansea university in 1969 and, after graduating in 1972, secured a job at Channing where she worked until 1996 teaching Classical Studies, Latin and Greek, up to A-Level and, after some years, also became the school exams administrator.

Her life-long passion for the study of and quest for Roman mosaics led us to travel to virtually every site and museum with Roman mosaics in most countries in Europe save for Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Turkey, North Africa, Cyprus and the Eastern USA.

Lesley was honest and forthright and well-organised and expected others to have the same high standards as her. She was also caring and loyal (all necessary to be a successful teacher) – she was one of a kind and I thank her for being her.

Mr Dave Mill
(widower)

As a registered charity, we are always grateful for financial gifts from those who would like to make a contribution to what they feel inspired their own or their children’s time at Channing. We could not have achieved so much or become what we are now without the help of our alumnae, friends and supporters.

It is simple to leave a legacy to Channing; it can be included in your Will, or if you have already made a Will, you can make a simple addition to it by codicil.

For more information please see the details below. For a confidential discussion, please contact Ms Jade Francis, Alumnae and Development Manager, on 020 8340 2328 or email: development@channing.co.uk.

Types of Legacy

What are the different types of legacies?

There are four main types of legacy, briefly outlined below. Your legal adviser will be able to give you more detailed advice.

A gift of money – Pecuniary Legacy

This is a simple legacy of a specified sum of money. You can make this type of gift inflation proof. According to the Office for National Statistics, a gift of £1,000 written in a Will in January 1987 was worth only £469 by December 2008. You can maintain the value of your legacy by linking it to the Retail Price Index or setting aside a percentage of your estate for Channing.

The residue of your estate – Residuary Legacy

The residue of your estate is the value remaining once all Pecuniary Legacies, debts, fees and other charges have been met. You may decide to leave the whole or a percentage of the residue to Channing. It is more flexible than a Pecuniary Legacy, in that you need neither quantify the sum to be left nor take inflation into account when you draw up the Will.

Gifts in kind – Specific Legacy

A legacy need not be in the form of money. You can leave specific assets such as property, stocks and shares, works of art or other valuables.

Reversionary Legacy

This is a legacy which is given in trust to provide for someone for the rest of their lifetime, following which it passes to the charity. For example, you can leave the income from your estate (or the right to live in a house) to your spouse or other named beneficiary. They will have the benefit of this during their lifetime, and following their death, the assets will pass to Channing.

Registered in the USA

Giving A Legacy Gift to BSUF for Channing School

A provision may be made in your Will or Trust bequeathing money to BSUF, stating a preference to Channing School. The wording suggested below is intended only as a provision in a full Will or Trust containing all appropriate articles.

Suggested Wording

I bequeath the sum of _____________ dollars to British Schools and Universities Foundation, Inc. a charitable organisation under section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Service code, and incorporated at 575 Madison Avenue, Suite 1006, New York, NY 10022-2511. Further, I express a preference that the Foundation consider granting aid to Channing School, The Bank, Highgate, London, N6 5HF, to be directed towards ______[insert how you would like your gift to be used]

Please contact Ms Jade Francis, Alumnae & Development Manager, at development@channing.co.uk if you would like to speak to us about your legacy gift.

Further Information

Legal and Tax Issues

What should I say in my Will?

If you wish, we can help you before you visit your legal adviser or you could simply show your legal adviser this information and tell him or her what you think you want for your Will.

Of course, we cannot write your Will, but we can expand upon information provided to try to ensure that your legacy meets your wishes.

The specific wording for each type of legacy varies but whatever the form of gift, the preferred wording to include is “…to Channing School (Registered Charity No. 312766) for its general purposes.The receipt of the Bursar of the School shall be a good discharge to my executors”.

Once you have made your Will, it is vital that you review it regularly, ensuring it reflects any changes to your, or to outside circumstances. Minor changes can be easily made by a Codicil with the assistance of your legal adviser; more major changes may require a new Will, e.g. marriage, divorce, going to live in a new country or a significant change in your personal finances.

Tax implications

To put it very simply, inheritance tax at 40% is usually payable following your death once your estate exceeds a certain amount unless it passes to your spouse or it passes to a charity.

Channing is a registered charity – Channing School, Registered Charity No. 312766

There will be no inheritance tax on legacies you leave to Channing. They will reduce the value of your estate liable to inheritance tax.

You may choose to bring forward your legacy and to make lifetime gifts so that you can see the benefits during your lifetime. Again, because Channing is a registered charity, it would not pay tax on a lifetime donation and you should be able to offset the donation against your own taxable income or gains.

Can I say how the money should be spent?

A gift or legacy designated for the general purposes of Channing is the useful type of gift as it enables Channing to be flexible in its response to changing circumstances and to meet the most pressing needs at the time.

Legacies for specific purposes are of course also very welcome and you can specify what you would like the legacy to be used for. You may wish to support partnerships, scholarships or bursaries or to help finance building developments, equipment or facilities for pupils.

As the needs of the School change over time, it is often preferable to avoid stipulating a very specific purpose but to express a non-binding preference which Channing will try to abide by if at all possible. Alternatively, you could provide in your Will that if the specific purpose cannot be implemented, Channing may use the legacy in a similar area or where there is other urgent need.

Response Form and Declaration

It would help us greatly if you could complete the Response Form below and send this to us. By doing so, we are able to thank you for your kindness and it will help us:-

To fully understand your wishes
To check your specific purposes are feasible
To keep you fully informed about Channing’s future plans and developments
To keep you up to date with changes in relevant tax laws and other issues affecting Channing
To recognise and thank you for making provision for Channing in your Will
By declaring a legacy you will be invited to join our Benefactors’ club, the membership of this club includes our major donors, patrons and those who have declared a legacy pledge

Contact Us

We are very happy to discuss your requirements and to provide you with as much information as we can to ensure your legacy meets your wishes.

Please contact: The Development Office, Channing School,The Bank, London N6 5HF Development

telephone: +44 (0) 20 8340 2328 (option 3) Email: development@channing.co.uk

Specimen Wording

Leaving a Legacy to Channing

The following paragraphs are suggested wordings for the most common types of legacy. We would be pleased to answer in confidence any questions you might have. In all cases we strongly recommend that wording is carefully reviewed by you and your legal adviser in the overall context of your Will or Codicil.

If you or your legal adviser would like more information about legacies to Channing, please contact the Development Office for further information.

Pecuniary Legacy – Simple

I give to Channing School (Registered Charity No. 312766) the sum of [amount in words] pounds ( £[amount in figures]) for its general purposes.

The receipt of the Bursar or other authorised official for the time being of the School shall be a good discharge to my executors.

Pecuniary Legacy – Index linked

I give to Channing School (Registered Charity No. 312766) for its general purpose such sum (“ the Legacy”) as shall be produced by multiplying [amount in words] pounds (£[amount in figures]) by the index figure in the Retail Prices Index for the month immediately preceding my death and dividing by the index figure for the month in which my Will is signed.

If the Retail Prices Index shall have been replaced by another official index, and/or if the basis of computation of the Retail Prices Index or such other index shall have been altered, my executors shall have discretion to determine the amount of the Legacy in accordance with such formula as seems to them just and reasonable in the circumstances.

If there shall be no such index in existence at my death, the Legacy shall be [amount in words] pounds

(£[amount in figures]) increased by simple interest of [insert figure for percentage increase per annum of ‘fall-back’ legacy] per cent per annum from the date of signature of my Will until the date of my death.

The receipt of the Bursar or other authorised official for the time being of the said School shall be a good discharge to my executors.

Residuary Legacy (if whole of the residuary estate)

Subject to the payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses and legacies I give to Channing School (Registered Charity No. 312766) the whole of my estate absolutely for the general purposes of the School with full power to expend capital as well as income. The receipt of the Bursar or other authorised official for the time being of the School shall be a good discharge to my executors.

Reversionary Legacy

It is possible to leave your estate (or part of it) in trust for the benefit of a particular person or persons during their lifetime. They benefit from using the assets, or receiving the income from them, during their life. But on their death, the assets left then pass to other chosen beneficiaries. Consider the following clause for use in your Will, suitably adapted to its context.

0.1 I give the whole of my property not specifically disposed of by the above provision of this Will or by any Codicil to my Trustees.

0.2 After payment of my debts, funerals and testamentary expenses and taxes arising out of or due at my death and legacies, my Trustees shall hold the residue of my estate (which with the property for the time being representing it is called “my residuary estate”) upon trust as follows: –

0.3 Upon trust to pay the income to [name of lifetime beneficiary] during [his] [her] lifetime.

0.4 Subject as aforesaid upon trust as to both capital and income for Channing School (Registered Charity No. 312766) absolutely for the general purposes of the School with full power to expend capital as well as income.

0.5 My Trustees shall have power to raise the whole or any part or parts of the capital of my residuary estate to the income of which [name of lifetime beneficiary] is then entitled and to pay or apply the same to or for the benefit of [name of lifetime beneficiary] during [his] [her] lifetime as my Trustees shall think fit freed and discharged from the trusts and provisions of this Will.

0.6 The receipt of the Bursar or other authorised official for the time being of the School shall be a good discharge to my Trustees.

In all cases we strongly recommend that the above wording is carefully reviewed by you and your legal adviser in the overall context of your Will or Codicil.

Response Form – Legacy Pledge

If you decide to leave a legacy to Channing please let us know by completing this form.