The Governance RegisterEdition 2026 · Compiled 6th September 2026

The College of Optometrists

Registered charity 1060431 Registered since 1997

Operates: Throughout England And Wales

Connected trustee network

The connection graph needs a free account.

This charity's record is public. The network of who else its trustees govern is compiled from the registers by us, and an account keeps it out of bulk scrapers.

Sign in, free

Find a path from this charity →

Board DNA

How this board is put together, from Charity Commission trustee records and Companies House - deterministic, no AI.iBoard compositionCounted from the dated Charity Commission trustee register: the current board only, past trustees excluded.

3.9y median 4y
average tenure
10y
longest tenure

Trustees past 6 years

5.1y
average years in governance

First-time vs portfolio trustees

First-time (13)

1
company-linked trustees

Sector coverage iSector coverageThe charitable fields this board's trustees govern in elsewhere, by Charity Commission classification. Excludes this charity.

Education/training 13Environment/conservation/heritage 13The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives 13

Commercial experience iCommercial experienceThe industries this board's members are company directors in, by Companies House SIC code. Excludes this organisation's own company.

Health and social care 1

Succession forecast iSuccession forecastThe number of board seats likely to open in the next twelve months - summed across the board from each dated trustee’s tenure - and the profile worth recruiting next. From the filed record, deterministic.

🔒 Succession forecast is a Pro feature - the board seats likely to open in the next year and the ideal next trustee. Explore Pro →

Health of the organisation facts side by side - the conclusion is yours

Income v spending, filed accountsiIncome v spendingTotal gross income and expenditure from filed annual returns, Charity Commission, last 5 years.
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
incomespending£10.7m latest income
ReservesiReserves12 x free reserves / annual expenditure, from the Part B annual return. The sector median is computed across all Part B filers in the same income band.

8.5 months of spending held in free reserves · median for charities its size: 3.7 months · was 5.1 in 2021

70 from 52 in 2021
EmployeesiEmployeesHeadcount as filed in Part B annual returns, per financial year. Shown exactly as filed; year-on-year figures may be filed on different bases, so a comparison is only shown when the filings are plausibly comparable.

Related organisations iRelated organisationsTwo groups, both deterministic from public records. Related organisations share two or more trustees with this board - a real structural link, such as a subsidiary or sister charity. Connected through a shared trustee share exactly one person - a genuine connection, but not the same group. A board with no shared trustee at all may still appear here when it is active in the same charitable field.

Also active in the same field

Deterministic, from public records.

Contact

Websitewww.college-optometrists.org
Emailinfo@college-optometrists.org
Phone020 7839 6000
AddressTHE COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRISTS, 41-42 CRAVEN STREET, LONDON, WC2N 5NG

Finances

£10,690,250 latest income

YearIncomeSpending
2021£8,209,491£6,998,255
2022£8,831,300£9,090,337
2023£8,927,907£9,547,626
2024£10,898,949£10,380,501
2025£10,690,250£10,696,195

What it does

What

Education/trainingThe Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of LivesEnvironment/conservation/heritage

Who

Other Defined GroupsThe General Public/mankind

How

Makes Grants To IndividualsProvides ServicesProvides Advocacy/advice/informationSponsors Or Undertakes Research

Charitable objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE (1) THE IMPROVEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF HUMAN VISION (2) THE ADVANCEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THE STUDY OF, AND RESEARCH INTO, OPTOMETRY, OPHTHALMIC OPTICS AND RELATED SUBJECTS AND THE PUBLICATION OF THE RESULTS THEREOF (3) THE PROMOTION AND IMPROVEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF OPTOMENTRY, OPHTHALMIC OPTICS AND RELATED SUBJECTS (4) THE MAINTENANCE FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND CONDUCT ON THE PART OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE

Governing document: ROYAL CHARTER 28 JUNE 1995, AS UPDATED BY TWO ORDERS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL DATED 10 JUNE 2004 , ONE ORDER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL DATED 19 JULY 2005, AND ONE ORDER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL DATED 29 JUNE 2010AS AMENDED BY ORDER DATED 20 JUN 2013AS AMENDED BY ORDER DATED 09 MAY 2016AS AMENDED BY ORDER DATED 22 MAY 2019

Trustees (13)

13trustees
69median age
0aged 70+

Connected charities (0)

No charities share a trustee (from current data).

For recruiters

Tools for approaching charities and finding candidates - free with an account.

Create your free account ->

Report an error in this record - let us know.