Data from the Department for Education shows that the Greater Peterborough UTC received £6,675 in funding for each of its 150 pupils this academic year. At the other end of the scale, Hampton College was allocated the lowest per-pupil sum of £4,612 – meaning its 1,345 pupils receive 31 per cent less funding each. Schools funding comprises budgets set by the local authority alongside cash from government grants. The current system, in which budgets are set according to what has been awarded historically, allows for huge differences in how much funding pupils living in different areas of the country receive. A national funding formula, first announced by the Government in 2016, will replace more than 150 different formulae with one nationwide system. All local authorities will have to follow the new formula by 2021. The minimum per-pupil funding levels in 2020/21 will be set at £5,000 for secondary schools. A Department for Education spokesman said: “We recognise schools have faced cost pressures in recent years - that is why we are levelling up funding to ensure all schools have the right investment to deliver an outstanding education.”
