Grammars will be worse off from proposed funding changes

Analysis by the Grammar School Heads' Association has suggested that the majority of grammars will be left worse off by proposed funding changes.

The funding, which the Department for Education says will end the ‘postcode lottery’ in school funding, is designed to support deprived areas by reallocating existing funding.

But the Grammar School Heads' Association has said that while 60 grammar schools will gain, 103 are set to lose money. The Association added that the majority of grammar schools are already receiving funding that is below the level considered viable for running a school.

The head of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Tim Gartside, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he and his governors were considering asking for voluntary contributions of £30 or £40 a month from parents if the cuts took place.

Mr Gartside, who also speaks for the Grammar School Heads' Association, said "many other" grammars were considering a similar move.

"What we're looking at here is funding which is fundamentally going to change the nature of grammar schools," he said.