News

Northern schools have a ‘harder job’ but still face £1,300 funding gap

School improvement School funding and finance Government policy Narrowing the Gap
Think-tank report debunks the myth that Northern schools perform poorly and proposes a ‘Powerhouse Premium’ to end funding disparities of as much as £1,300 per-pupil. Pete Henshaw reports

Schools in the North of England have “a harder job” because of their more challenging intakes, with the North East and North West actually being among the highest performing regions when this is taken into account.

The conclusion is among those in a think-tank report that says addressing educational disadvantage and thus improving skills must be at the heart of the government’s ambitions to create a “Northern Powerhouse”.

The report’s authors say that their study “debunks the crude myth that all schools in the North are poor”. However, they warn that huge per-pupil funding disparities between schools in the North of England and those in the South are a key barrier and call for the introduction of a “Powerhouse Premium”.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here