MORE headteachers have painted a bleak future for Cotswold schools because of funding concerns.

We reported last week how two thirds of Cotswold schools could be worse off under plans outlined by the Government which were supposed to make funding fairer among schools.

Gloucestershire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Warwickshire County Council have been part of the f40 group of local authorities pushing for the fairer funding.

But the proposed changes, which are currently under consultation, would see rural local authorities actually lose money.

Will Morgan, from the Cotswold Academy, in Bourton-on-the-Water, said: "By 2020 we will be £130,000 worse off.

"I've already had to make huge cut backs.

"The problem with fairer funding is no school can lose more than three per cent of its funding.

"So there are schools in London that have twice as much as us.

"These schools are still being very, very generously funded.

"It's going to take generations for our per-pupil funding to achieve anything like the levels that these schools continue to enjoy."

Mr Morgan added: "The Education Services Grant, that all schools get, which is another £100,00, has also been pulled."

He added that the only way to save money would be to reduce staff, reduce support for extra-curricular activities, the arts or support for mental health issues.

He said schools would also not be able to upgrade IT facilities, would be forced to offer a narrower curriculum and teachers would be put under greater pressure.

He added: "We are all here trying to create world-class schools and they are asking us to do that on a shoestring."

John Jones, headteacher at Bourton-on-the-Water Primary, said his school was set to lose £40,000 over two years if the changes go ahead.

However, he said the problem of unequal funding between schools was an ongoing issue.

He said: "Historically Gloucestershire has been one of the worst funded authorities.

"But within that the formula for getting money out to schools has massive inequalities in it.

"There are schools within a few miles of me that get £200 or £300 more per pupil.

"There is a bigger issue too for all schools with the upcoming changes to National Insurance.

"There are extra charges to all employers within that.

"We also have to pay extra pension contributions as employers and pay rises and all these are unfunded.

"So the school stays the same but with the extra charges it's a double whammy.

"It's not a good picture for this April."

Mr Jones said he believed these hidden charges would hit his school, which has 12 teachers, harder than at smaller, rural schools with fewer teachers.

He said: "If you believe in equality of education you need to look at the inequality of funding."

The consultation is available at https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/ by Wednesday, March 22.