Cornish Pupils "Worse Off Than They Used To Be"

Cornwall's education shortfall is £300 per pupil, according to figures released by the Department for Education and Skills.

The 2007-8 allocation for central Government funding to Cornwall is £3585 per pupil, over £300 less than the national average. Government formulas have discriminated against Cornish school children since the early 1980s, when they were first introduced by the Conservatives. In 1997, when the Conservatives left government, per pupil funding in real terms was £140 lower in Cornwall than across the UK .

Despite a vociferous campaign by the Liberal Democrats, advocating local funds to boost Cornish schools' spending, local pupils have seen their position worsened under Labour - with the shortfall having doubled.

Commenting, MP for Truro & St Austell Matthew Taylor said:

"The last ten years show that Labour's promise of "Education, Education, Education" does not apply to Cornwall, as, compared to national averages, Cornish pupils are even worse off than they used to be under the Conservatives, when it was already bad enough. What this means is that Cornish pupils have to get by on minimal funding, while the pupils that they will be competing against for future jobs and university places have gone to schools that are better-funded and so better-resourced. The Government is supposed to create a level playing field, but unfair funding holds Cornish pupils back'.

With funding for every pupil over £300 a year behind the national average, a typical Cornish secondary school loses out by £300,000, more than enough for extra teachers, books and facilities. In the Prime Minister's home borough of Islington each pupils get £5555 - almost £2000 more than Cornish pupils, and equivalent to almost an extra £2,000,000 per secondary school each year.

Julia Goldsworthy, MP for Falmouth & Camborne added:

"These figures are yet another example of how this Government is continuing to give Cornwall a raw funding deal. Cornwall's teachers are incredibly dedicated and secondary schools play a vital role within our local communities, but just think how much more they could do if they received the same level of funding given to pupils in areas such as Tony Blair's home borough of Islington.

"This only strengthens our calls for the way Cornwall is funded to be reviewed. The current situation is clearly unfair and is frankly unsustainable - I will be raising it with Ministers at the earliest opportunity."