Oxfordshire school to lose £75,000 in funding

The Europa School in Culham teaches the International Baccalaureate

An Oxfordshire state school has said it will lose around £75,000 a year if the government presses ahead with plans to cut a source of funding.

The Europa School in Culham receives money from the "Large Programme Uplift" because it follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) - requiring more teaching hours than an average set of A levels.

But from the next academic year, the government said the extra money will only apply to the costs of specific A level programmes.

It said it was "prioritising subjects we know lead to good jobs and drive economic growth".

Five Oxfordshire MPs have written to the Secretary of State for Education saying they are "deeply shocked and saddened" about the plans.

The letter is signed by:

• Olly Glover, Liberal Democrat MP for Didcot & Wantage

• Charlie Maynard, Liberal Democrat MP for Witney

• Freddie Van Mierlo, Liberal Democrat MP for Henley & Thame

• Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West & Abingdon

• Anneliese Dodds, Labour MP for Oxford East

The letter says: "This cut in funding is potentially existential for the IB programme at a school like the Europa School and is a regressive policy, which would make the IB, a global qualification, the preserve of elite private schools in the UK and not accessible to students in the state sector."

The Europa School's Principal, Lynn Wood, said they were "determined" to continue to run the IB programme, but felt the cut was a "kick in the teeth".

She said: "It's less than 1% of our income - so it's not going to be existential in terms of our budgets, because we're quite a large school.

"But £75,000 for school budgets is quite significant when you're running at quite tight margins.

"It just means that the school will have to recover that funding loss by making savings to our precious educational curriculum that we're trying to deliver to our students."

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "Schools and colleges will retain the freedom to decide what programmes of study to offer regardless of these changes, which are aimed at prioritising subjects we know lead to good jobs and drive economic growth.

"Our common sense reforms ensure the greatest value for money for the taxpayer and will equip young people with the skills they need for their future careers.

"Despite the challenging fiscal environment we have inherited our Plan for Change is driving transformative reforms to the skills system, creating 120,000 training opportunities and reforming apprenticeships while ensuring spending is focused on young people starting their careers."

The Europa School said 100% of its students do maths and science at some level - and 40% of its current cohort are doing two STEM subjects at higher level for their baccalaureate.