Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby and Bulkington spoke in Westminster on the subject of grammar school funding as part of a debate, calling on the government to do more for Warwickshire schools. The debate discussed grammar school and higher education funding highlighting the anomaly that post 16 students studying in schools, Sixth Form Colleges and Further Education colleges are less well funded than 15 and 16 year olds attending schools and students who attend university. The United Kingdom is the only European country in which this is the case. Rugby High School in particular has been affected by this anomaly and it is this impact Mark Pawsey raised during the debate.Rugby & Bulkington MP raises issue of higher education funding in Westminster debate
Mark said:
“Ensuring the highest quality of education for our children is a priority of all parents and of this government. Here in Rugby, we are fortunate to have a number of truly excellent secondary schools and sixth form colleges and I am determined to ensure they receive the financial support they need.”
Mark continued:
“Thanks to the F40 campaign for fairer schools funding, £390 million has already been made available for the local authorities that have been most severely affected by the current funding structure and this includes Warwickshire County Council. This has addressed the issue as a short term measure, but I believe that long-term, the solution is twofold. First, we need to speed the move towards a national formula that will provide agreed national minimum funding per pupil at each key stage. Secondly, we must end to the anomaly of sixth form students being funded at a lower level than pupils aged 11 to 16.”
Charlotte Marten, Head teacher at Rugby High School commented after the debate:
'I am very grateful to Mark Pawsey for drawing attention to this matter in parliament. I strongly believe that the fairest way to fund education in this country is to move to a national formula with agreed national additional allocations for students with defined needs e.g. English as an Additional Language. This would work much as Pupil Premium does in helping schools to address the needs of deprived students. In the short term, I would like to see the government enforcing the minimum funding allocations outlined in 'Fairer Schools Funding' It is ludicrous that funding levels for post 16 students are lower than those for 16 year olds. If this isn't addressed, there is the very real danger that subjects like modren foreign languages and computing will disappear from the curriculum because they will be just too expensive to run.'
Mark concluded:
“I am pleased to have had the opportunity to stand up for Rugby’s interests and there are few more important areas than securing an excellent start for our children. Thankfully, the Government’s long-term economic plan has got our country’s economy back on track and it is only with a strong economy that we will be able to invest in educational excellence. There is still more to be done and I will look forward to the Minister’s response to the debate.”