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Funding cut for West Yorkshire sport schools
Eight schools in West Yorkshire will be stripped of around £130,000 for sports teaching as part of today's government spending cuts, a leaked document has revealed.
Schools Secretary Michael Gove will abolish specialist status for sports schools and colleges and their ring-fenced funding will be handed back to a central government pot, the leak obtained by Labour
shows.
Removing the specialist status of 400 schools – including four in Leeds, three in Kirklees and one in Wakefield – will be justified on the grounds of costs and because the government wants to focus on academic disciplines such as literacy and numeracy.
It means that schools with specialist sports status will lose the extra cash of 129 per pupil that comes with it – equivalent to 130,000 for a large secondary school.
Those schools set to be affected in Leeds are: Boston Spa School, Carr Manor High School, Priesthorpe School and St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School at Menston.
Meanwhile, Knottingley High School and Sports College in Knottingley, Spen Valley Sports College in Liversedge, St John Fisher Catholic College in Dewsbury and Newsome High School and Sports College in Huddersfield are also due to lose funding.
Shadow sports minister Ian Austin said: "Parents and coaches across the country will be appalled to see the damage David Cameron is about to do to youth sport.
"The programmes they are about to destroy aren't just about success on the pitch, in the pool or the gym or on the track, because youth sport is also the best way of keeping youngsters fit, healthy and out of trouble."
Schools were encouraged to apply for specialist status under Labour and went through an application process to win the extra money that came with it.
Labour have also claimed that the education cuts will reduce the previous government's guarantee of five hours per week of physical education for every pupil to just two hours per week.
The Department for Education refused to confirm or deny the claims.
A spokesman said: "The Coalition Government will encourage more competitive sport, which should be a vibrant part of the life and ethos of all schools."
Meanwhile, Mr Gove has confirmed that the educational maintenance allowances paid to more than 90,000 youngsters over the age of 16 from low income families will be reformed.
The weekly grant is worth up to 30 a week and Labour fears there could be a mass exodus of youths from colleges and sixth forms if it is withdrawn.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Gove said: "We will be reforming the way in which money is available to those over the age of 16 to ensure that we can meet our shared goal of maximising participation."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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