1st January 2020 15:10
By Blue Tutors
The cost of putting a child through school in the UK is £73,000 according to a report on the BBC. Total spending on schools is significantly higher than it was 20 years ago but that’s misleading because we have had a population boom and public spending has decreased. This means that, in real terms, spending per pupil has fallen.
The yearly cost of a pupil at primary school is £5,000 and £6,200 in secondary school, but more interesting is how this has changed in the last 30 years. The spending for each student in primaries is up 145%, secondaries 83% and up only 16% for 16-18 year old students. The intention has been to intervene early in a child’s education because more difference can be made at a young age.
The population of children in schools has increased massively by 850,000 in 20 years, which is the same as adding a whole extra year group to our school system. Whereas the real terms spending on schools hasn’t changed much, £44bn, the increase in pupils means that the funding per pupil has fallen by 8%.
The age group to suffer the most has been students studying A Levels or the equivalent in sixth forms and colleges. The total spending for these students has slightly increased, but the numbers have doubled and now 80% of 16-18 year olds stay in education. There is concern that, while spending on younger students starts them on the right track, cutting the real terms spending per pupil for older students is harming the effect of the early investment.