York High School 'bankrupt in a year' if energy crisis continues

An increase of £140,000 a year on the school's energy bill could see it go bankrupt in a year's time, head teacher Rod Sims said.

A North Yorkshire school could be bankrupt in a year if the energy crisis continues, its head teacher has said.

York High School head Rod Sims said its annual energy bill had trebled from £70,000 to £210,000.

"We've got reserves for one year, but if this situation goes on you're looking at a poorer level of education for kids, we'll be bankrupt," he said.

The Department for Education (DfE) said schools in difficulty should contact their local authority.

Mr Sims said the rising energy bill and the money needed to cover pay awards for teachers meant the comprehensive school needed to find more than £300,000 on top of its annual £4.5m budget.

"There's no help at the moment, we've got to find that money," he said.

Mr Sims said turning the heating down to reduce energy consumption in the school would only make "a minimal difference".

Mr Sims said the school had reserves for one year only

He told the BBC in recent times the school had "definitely become more of a support system".

"We've got students in the school who are just living off boiled pasta. So we've opened up our community cupboard which in effect is a food bank in school," he said.

Mr Sims said the school had also put a second-hand uniform scheme in place, under which former pupils had donated their uniforms.

A spokesperson for the DfE said: "We know that every school's circumstance is different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

"We are supporting schools with £56.8 billion this year in core funding, which includes a cash increase of £4bn, and continue to work with the sector to understand pressures."

Mr Sims said: "I cannot believe that we will allow our nation's schools to go bankrupt over the course of the year.

"We're all financially prudent, it's taxpayers' money that we deal with, but if the situation continues we will be bankrupt as a school."