Sixth forms and colleges need more than £500m in extra funding to support rise in students, think-tank says

‘Government cannot continue to fund sixth-form education on the cheap,’ sector leader says

Further education needs a funding boost to cope with more students over the next academic year, a think-tank has said (Getty Images)

An additional £570m is needed to fund sixth forms and colleges in light of rising numbers of students, a think-tank has found.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said there has been increased participation in further education and “large cuts to spending per student” over the past decade.

Coronavirus has accelerated how many 16 to 17 year olds are in full-time education due to “abnormally high” GCSE results last year - calculated without exams - and fewer work opportunities available, its new report said.

“This pattern is likely to continue into 2021 given the further jump in GCSE results this year,” it added.

Hundreds of millions of pounds is needed to keep spending per pupil constant across the next academic year, the IFS estimated.

Despite record numbers in further education during the pandemic, funding per student has dropped by more than 11 per cent in colleges and more than 25 per cent in school sixth forms over the past decade, according to the think-tank.

The government gave colleges and sixth forms a £400m funding boost for colleges and sixth forms in the 2020-21 financial year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the IFS said: “With five per cent growth in student numbers in 2020, this, at best, restores funding back to 2018–19 levels, leaving most of the cuts over the last decade in place.”

The Office for National Statistics has projected student numbers will rise by six per cent between 2020 and 2022, the report said.

Given this the IFS said total funding to colleges and sixth forms for 16 to 18 year olds “will need to grow by over 9 per cent in cash terms to keep spending per pupil constant in real terms between the 2020–21 and 2022–23 academic years”.

It added: “This amounts to £570m in cash terms in 2022–23 compared with 2020–21.”

Geoff Barton from the Association for School and College Leaders said the funding rate for post-16 education has been “completely inadequate” for “many years”.

“The government completely undervalues a sector which is vital to the life chances of young people – many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he added.

James Kewin from the Sixth Form Colleges Association said: “After a decade of funding cuts and cost increases, sixth forms and colleges are now also dealing with a surge in demand for places while providing catch up support to students following the pandemic.”

The group’s deputy chief executive added: “The government cannot continue to fund sixth-form education on the cheap.”

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.