THE head teacher of a Bradford on Avon school has joined the debate over school funding, in a letter to parents explaining his concerns over the way the schools will be able to teach its pupils because of funding cuts over the next three years.

Fergus Stewart, head of St Laurence School in Ashley Road, has shared his worries over the effect that the current rise in school costs and the poor level of funding may soon have on his school in a letter sent to all parents - and this week had a stark warning of the impact cuts could have on education.

Mr Stewart said: “I am worried that this will affect the way in which we teach our pupils. Class sizes could go up, lessons could be cut from the curriculum, it could be possible that we won’t be able to pay for textbooks or to replace old computers or offer enrichment programmes. It is terribly concerning and it just means we are reaching a crisis point.”

Mr Stewart says he believes the 1,389-pupil school’s funding is reaching a tipping point.

“There are two main points that are concerning, firstly is the amount of funding to schools just isn’t enough to cover everything. There is an increase in pensions, National Insurance contributions and an apprenticeship levy. The second important factor is that the way the funding is distributed is not adequate to certain schools' needs. I am not saying we should be getting special treatment at all, but we do offer a good education for our pupils and it is worrying that it could be affected,” Mr Stewart said.

As well as looking into the proposed increase from the National Funding Formula for St Laurence, which was published by the Department for Education in December, Mr Stewart has commented on similar schools looking to receive a much higher increase.

“There will be very difficult reductions to make in our costs over the next three years, I have been looking at other schools with the same amount of pupils, the same exam results but are looking at bigger increases. In the National Funding Formula we are looking at a 0.7 per cent increase which means a £32,000 increase whilst, for example, a school in Hampshire will be looking at an increase of £141,000 from the National Funding Formula. Wiltshire is one of the poorest funded areas for schools,” added Mr Stewart.

“I must say that Michelle Donelan has been very supportive with the work she has been doing, especially with the recent meeting with the schools minister. What I am doing is urging parents to write to her and express their concerns as well so it isn’t just head teachers prattling on about it.”

St Laurence is in Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan's constituency, although many of its pupils live in the South Wiltshire area - Mr Stewart hopes they will also contact Dr Andrew Murrison MP.