Statistics reveal which secondary schools in Dudley spend most per pupil and the size of the spending gap across the borough.

Figures from 2022/23 published by the Department of Education show Old Swinford Hospital School spends a total of £11,000 on each of its 742 students, although that includes more than £5,000 on special facilities including boarding provision.

Second on the list is the 612 student Pegasus Academy in Dudley, despite being rated as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted, the school spends £8,700 per pupil according to the statistics.

Ridgewood School in Stourbridge is third with spending of £8,654 on each of its 591 pupils while the Link Academy in Netherton, which has 930 pupils, is fourth with a per student spend of £8,383.

In fifth place is Leasowes School in Halesowen which has 1,003 pupils and spends £7,775 per student.

Nationally the average spend per pupil in the same financial year was £7,200, in Dudley the range in spending per pupil goes from £11,000 to £6,434.

There are many factors affecting what a school spends per pupil however studies have shown extra spending has the greatest positive impact on disadvantaged pupils receiving free school meals.

In terms of academic achievement across a whole school population, a study for the University of York by academics Cheti Nicoletti and Birgitta Rabe found an extra £1,000 can boost maths, English and science GCSE grades by three percent for low attainment pupils and nine percent for high achievers.

In a report published in March 2024, before the general election, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) predicted increases in school spending will mean a historical high in 2024/25.

The IFS  added: “This is not really much of an achievement. Prior to 2010, school spending per pupil was usually at a record level every year. 

“As a society, we have generally chosen to increase real-terms spending on schools as we have seen economic growth and become richer. 

“The fact that school spending per pupil was not at a record high between 2010 and 2023 reflects the fact that we have just seen a historically large real-terms cut in spending per pupil.”