A fundraising campaign has been launched to help a “desperately under-funded” Whittington school.
The PTA at Whittington Primary School is hoping to raise £7,000 to help it make alterations to allow the site to raise money by being used outside of school hours.
The plea come just a week after the Education Secretary said funding for schools in Lichfield and Burntwood was making “a real difference”.
But the PTA at Whittington Primary School says the current funding model is leaving it short-changed.
“The school has a diverse range of children and they all deserve to be nurtured.
“Times are hard and getting harder. Our school receives over £500 less per pupil than schools in Birmingham, that’s a £163,000 hole in our budget compared to schools ten minutes away.
“We get £2,000 less PER CHILD than schools in London – a total of £630,000 every year.”
Whittington Primary School campaign spokesperson
The PTA now hopes to make minor adaptations to help boost the coffers.
“We need another way to raise sustainable funds, on top of the generous donations the PTA already receives from our fabulous parents through its many fundraising activities.
“Our village school has a hall, playing field and playgrounds that could be used by local businesses and the community in the evenings and at weekends for a host of different activities.
“We are asking our amazing village community and the general public to help us to make our school a hub that will be available to community groups, local businesses and for private hire.
“To make this happen we need to adapt the school in some minor but costly ways – changing existing systems and doors to securely ‘zone’ the main school from hired areas, installing key-pad entry and adapting an existing bathroom so it can be accessed from the hired areas.”
Whittington Primary School campaign spokesperson
The PTA has also made a video outlining the plans to boost the school’s income.
The campaign has so far raised 20% of the £7,000 target. For more details, visit the PTA’s online fundraising page.
Any comments from the MPs who will have children from their constituencies attending the school? https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2020/03/03/education-secretary-says-school-funding-is-making-a-real-difference-in-lichfield-and-burntwood/