One of the many inequalities that we face in Worcestershire is the poor central government funding grant for per pupil funding. Under this grant, a pupil in Worcestershire will receive £3,864 for his or her education per year, whilst a pupil just a few miles away in Birmingham will receive £4,605. Even more alarmingly, a school the same size as Kidderminster’s Baxter College, doing an identical job but based in central London, will receive over £3 million a year more than Baxter, just because of location. Worcestershire ranks 141 in terms of per pupil funding out of 151 education authorities.

Of course I accept that there are differences in costs and local issues depending on where schools are located, but are they really that much?

I have been campaigning for years for a redress to this imbalance – to secure improved funding for Wyre Forest’s school kids - and when Michael Gove, Shadow Education Secretary, visited a couple of weeks ago he confirmed it was Conservative policy to undertake a process of readjustment to this imbalance.

In the meantime, the organisation that has been set up to redress this unfair situation – f40 www.f40.org.uk – is urging people to sign up to a petition on the 10 Downing Street website. This can be found at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/handsup4schools/ Please show your support for this non political campaign for fairer funding for schoolchildren by signing this petition.

Please also take a look at my website for more about my work for fairer funding for Wyre Forest school kids at www.markgarnier.co.uk