Shropshire grammar school may ask parents for cash over budget shortfall in funding change

Adams' Grammar headteacher Gary Hickey said no decisions would be made until full details of the school's budget are revealed, but didn't rule out the possibility of asking parents to cover essential items.

The Newport school could be one of a number of grammar schools looking to families to provide an estimated £30 to £40 extra to ensure standards do not fall.

Mr Hickey said: "Adams' Grammar School is unfortunately one of the 103 grammar schools who will lose out under the new funding arrangements.

"When we get the full details of our budget we will be better placed to analyse exactly what the implications will be for the school.

"We do currently ask parents for a voluntary contribution to cover additional costs for extra-curricular activities. Whether this needs to be extended in the future to cover essential items such as text books remains to be seen at this stage."

The proposed new national funding formula announced by Education Secretary Justine Greening in December increases money targeted at schools with additional needs, including deprivation.

The changes, to be introduced from 2018 to 2019, will mean more than 10,000 schools gaining funding, it has been suggested.

But unions warned earlier this month that 98 per cent of schools face a real-terms reduction, with an average loss of £339 per primary pupil and £477 for secondary students.

The Grammar School Heads' Association said 60 grammar schools will gain under the changes but 103 will lose money. It said the majority of grammar schools are already receiving below the level considered viable for running a school.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "The Government has protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010, but the system for distributing that funding across the country is unfair, opaque and outdated.

"It is based on patchy and inconsistent decisions that have built up over many years and on data that is over a decade old.

"We are going to end the historic postcode lottery in school funding.

"Under the proposed national schools funding formula, more than half of England's schools will receive a cash boost in 2018-19.

"This will help to create a system that funds schools according to the needs of their pupils rather than their postcode.

"Funding every child fairly and according to their specific needs sits at the heart of delivering the Government's pledge to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few."