Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average per pupil funding rate was for (a) GCSE students and (b) A-level students in each year since 2010.

The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010 and is set to rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to over £43.5 billion in 2019/20 with increasing pupil numbers.

The introduction of the national funding formula for schools (NFF) in 2018/19 means that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed to local authorities based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. This is directing resources where they are needed most, providing transparency and predictability for schools, and addressing historic disparities between areas. For example, Coventry received £510 more per pupil than Plymouth despite having equal proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and Nottingham similarly attracted £555 more than Halton. These disparities had persisted for nearly a decade, with little or no justification.

Under the NFF, the basic per pupil funding amount for Key Stage 4 pupils is £4,386. Pupils may also attract additional funding through other NFF factors or through other funding streams, such as the pupil premium. Pupils in areas which face higher labour costs will also have the per pupil amount they attract increased by the relevant area cost adjustment, in recognition of those costs.

To provide stability for schools, local authorities continue to be responsible for designing the distribution of funding in their areas. Because of this, local authorities can continue to set their own base funding rates for Key Stage 4 pupils, which can vary from the figure above.

Before 2018-19, the Department did not distinguish between key stages when allocating funding to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant. Each local authority will have set their own funding rates for Key Stage 4 pupils for each year in this period.

Students who take A levels typically do so as part of 16 to 19 study programmes. The Department does not separately identify the per student funding rate for students taking A levels rather than other qualifications in their study programmes. The base rate of funding for 16 to 19 study programmes is £4,000 per year for full-time 16 and 17-year-old students. Additional funding is provided on top of this through the 16-19 funding formula, to cover, for example, the needs of disadvantaged students, and to provide extra funding support for high attaining students who study four or five A levels. The £4,000 rate has been in place since the current formula was introduced in 2013.