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Directorate of Governance and Legal Services

Charitable Status of Queen Mary

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) was established by Act of Parliament and granting of a Royal Charter in 1989 following the merger of Queen Mary College (incorporated by Royal Charter in 1934) and Westfield College (incorporated by Royal Charter in 1933). The Charter has been revised on a number of occasions: in 1995, to reflect the merger of QMUL with the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry; in 2008, following QMUL's successful application to the Privy Council for individual Degree Awarding Powers; in 2010, following a governance review which led to the deletion of the Statutes in their entirety; and in 2013, when QMUL elected to change its name to Queen Mary University of London.

The correspondence address for QMUL is:

Queen Mary University of London
Queens' Building
Mile End Road  London  E1 4NS

QMUL's Companies House listing is RC000710.

QMUL is an 'exempt charity' under the Charities Act 2011. This status means that QMUL is not required to register directly with the Charity Commission and in turn is not subject to its direct supervision. The Office for Students (OfS) is the 'principal regulator' of the majority of higher education institutions in England, including QMUL.

Statement of compliance with Charity Commission guidance and the 'public interest' test

Queen Mary University of London is an exempt charity regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). In determining Queen Mary’s strategic direction, and ensuring the effective management and control of Queen Mary’s affairs, property and finances, the members of our governing body, as trustees, have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Queen Mary was established through the Queen Mary and Westfield College Act and the granting of a Royal Charter ‘to promote, for the public benefit, education, research and scholarship, to provide courses and instruction leading to degrees and other academic awards of the University of London and/or Queen Mary and to promote and undertake research, and to disseminate the results of such research’. The ‘advancement of education’, identified as a key charitable criterion in the Charities Act 2011, therefore underpins our Purpose and Values.

Queen Mary is widely recognised as a leading research-intensive university, both in the UK and globally. We are a member of the Russell Group and one of the larger constituent colleges of the University of London. One of our defining characteristics is that we are equally committed to the achievement of the highest international standards in education and research, and to the service of our local communities through public engagement and the promotion of opportunity to individuals less favoured by financial or social background.

Public benefit is embedded in our strategic aims and objectives, and reporting of progress towards achieving these is contained in the Strategic Review. The primary beneficiaries are current and potential students of Queen Mary and members of the general public who benefit from Queen Mary’s research and engagement activities.

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