North Yorkshire secondary schools '˜consider cutting GCSE subjects' as over half face funding cuts

More than half of North Yorkshire's secondary schools are facing funding cuts - and will consider axing GCSE and A-Level subjects to help balance the books.
Schools in North Yorkshire are facing cutbacksSchools in North Yorkshire are facing cutbacks
Schools in North Yorkshire are facing cutbacks

North Yorkshire County Council says that under the Government’s national funding formula proposals, the region will receive an extra £7m of funding.

However, 23 of the area’s 42 secondary schools and 31 of its 313 primary schools will lose a combined £1.6m as the funding system is shaken up.

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Suzanne Firth, strategic planning manager at the council, said: “School governors and heads will have to look at ways they can make savings. The majority of funding is spent on staffing. Sometimes, that will mean schools have to reduce the breadth of the offer, reduce the number of subjects at GCSE or post-16, or reduce teaching assistants.”

Anne Swift, president of the National Union of Teachers and a former Scarborough headteacher, said: “I think there will be some schools that will really struggle to be viable. Small secondary schools are particularly badly-affected.

“They can’t afford to offer the full range of subjects if they can’t afford so many teachers. It might be the music teacher or the drama teacher is lost.

“If the cuts go ahead, children will be in much bigger classes in primary schools, there will be fewer support assistants, there will be greater voluntary contributions asked of parents. We already know there are headteachers asking parents to contribute to basics like paper, pencils and books.”

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It comes after the Association of School and College Leaders warned schools are being forced to scrap GCSE and A-level courses, boost class sizes and cut back on trips and after-school clubs. .

The Government has argued that school funding is at its highest-ever level. A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Under the proposed national schools funding formula, more than half of England’s schools will receive a cash boost.”