Labour condemns £6.5 million of funding cuts to local schools

Labour condemns £6.5 million of funding cuts to local schools

Research by the Farnham and Bordon Labour Party has revealed the dramatic scale of funding cuts that schools in the Farnham and Bordon constituency have suffered under the Conservative government, with over £6.5 million lost overall and cuts as high as £1,800 per pupil at one Farnham school.

Based on information from the National Education Union, Labour’s research shows that schools in Farnham and Bordon have been hit harder than the rest of the country, with average cuts per pupil running at £422.

Worst affected in Surrey is Highfield South Farnham School, with a cut of £777,268 or £1,864 per student.

In Hampshire the picture is equally bleak with The Holme Church of England Primary School in Headley losing £204,342 or £1,129 per pupil.

Of the 35 schools in our new constituency, only 5 have escaped cuts altogether.

Farnham and Bordon Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate and education spokesperson, Alex Just, said:

“As a local parent I’m deeply disturbed that our children’s education is worse funded now than it was under the last Labour government.

“Our schools do an excellent job, but we know they are struggling. The question is how much better could our children’s education be if all schools had proper funding?

“Labour’s plan to recruit more teachers and improve training, together with its programme to drive up school standards, will not only improve life chances for our children, it will also help to repair the long term damage to our economy and to our community that Tory and Lib-Dem education cuts have inflicted.”

Farnham and Bordon Labour’s Vice Chair, Michelle Birchwood, also condemned the cuts.

“It’s appalling that after 14 years of austerity – introduced by both Tory and Lib-Dem politicians – 85 per cent of schools in this area have less funding in real terms than in 2010,” she said.

“Weydon School, where my children go, has missed out on three quarters of a million pounds – that’s money that should and could have been invested in our children’s future.”

If you want to join the fight back and secure a fair funding settlement for all schools in Farnham and Bordon sign our Reverse the School Cuts petition here.

Details of how all schools in Farnham and Bordon have been impacted by funding cuts can be found in the table below: