Cheltenham head says school sixth form sector at ‘breaking point’

A headteacher says state school-based sixth forms are so underfunded that things have reached “breaking point”.

Dominic Burke, headteacher of Balcarras School, in Cheltenham, says he is “worried for the life chances” of sixth formers after a “dramatic drop in funding” over 12 years, with the school receiving £30,000 in capital funding per year.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said there might be a curriculum reduction and a tightening of teaching hours for students at some sixth forms to cope with “massive underfunding”.

A Department for Education spokesperson said it will be spending more than £400m over this financial year to support colleges and other institutions.

Mr Burke said funding to school-based sixth forms had been cut by 20%, which was putting pressure on all areas of Balcarras School.

He said the £30,000 of capital funding allocated to Balcarras annually to maintain the 12,000 sq m (129,000 sq ft) school, built in 1957, was “simply not enough”.

“Ten to 12 years ago, we used to be able to have some money left at the end of the year to run things properly and to make sure we maintain things.

“All that money is now being spent on core things. It’s just reducing year on year.”

Mr Burke added that costs were due to rise next year, as teachers were set to receive a pay rise.

“My school is running with a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 17.5,” he said.

“It used to run, about 12 years ago, with a ratio of about 15.

“That might not sound like much but we are running the school with 10 fewer teachers.

“That just means that everyone is working harder and class sizes are going up.”

Pepe Di’lasio, general secretary of ASCL, said the lack of funding in sixth forms and the potential reduction in the curriculum would affect students from disadvantaged areas the most.

Mr Di’lasio said: “We’ve seen a massive underfunding for the last decade for all post-16 support and this has been because it’s not part of a protected core funding offer that schools have got.”

He said it would be “those young people who don’t have the ability to travel to a sixth form that is further away” that would be most affected.

“And their choices will be limited because they will have to do what they have available to them in their location.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Despite the challenging fiscal situation we inherited, we will be spending over £400m in financial year 2025-26 to support colleges and other institutions to break down barriers to opportunity and support our mission to grow the economy.

“The one-off £50m grant we have made available for colleges from April to July will enable these providers to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention, helping to deliver our Plan for Change.”