Schools are told that public benefit must be educational

By Nathalie Thomas, Third Sector, 7 March 2007

Fee-paying schools will not be able to include the lease of sports facilities to local clubs as proof of their public benefit under the new Charities Act, according to draft guidance published today by the Charity Commission.

The commission says schools whose fees exclude people on low incomes will have to prove they are providing a benefit to the wider public that is specifically educational, or risk losing their charitable status. "It essentially means that if you are a fee-charging school and you are allowing your playing...