HL Deb 17 June 1997 vol 580 c108WA
Lord Lucas

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their best estimates of the average annual cost of schooling for an individual student taking three A-levels at (a) an English state secondary school and (b) an English state sixth form college; and

What is the average amount paid to (a) council-run secondary schools, (b) grant maintained schools, (c) sixth form colleges by the relevant funding bodies in respect of a student taking three A-levels.

Baroness Blackstone

InThe Public Funding Costs of Education and Training for 16–19 year olds in England 1995–96 the department published estimates of the average cost of achieving three GCE A-levels, which is higher than the average cost of taking three GCE A-levels, since not everyone succeeds. These are:

  1. (a) £6,970 at an English local authority/voluntary aided school;
  2. (b) £7,010 at an English grant maintained school;
  3. (c) £6,640 at an English state sixth form college.

These figures relate to the public funding cost and thus take no account of any cross-subsidisation within institutions or other sources of funding. Data constraints leave the figures here subject to a margin of error and so the costs can be considered broadly similar.