School spending cuts linked to poorer GCSE grades among 16 year olds in England

Impact more noticeable in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage
Policy reform to bridge historical funding gap didn’t staunch declining attainment

School spending cuts are linked to poorer GCSE grades achieved by 16 year olds in England, finds an analysis of local authority spend on each pupil between 2014-15 and 2022-23, and published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Between 2015 and 2023, local authority spend on each school pupil fell by 13% from £6367 to £5556, while average GCSE attainment fell by around 2 points from 48.5 to 46.4. A 10% spending cut was associated with a 0.42-point reduction in average educational attainment.

The impact on attainment was more noticeable in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage. And there was no evidence that policy reform (National Funding Formula) to bridge the historical funding gap over the past decade between the most and least affluent local authorities has staunched these differences in educational attainment, the findings indicate.

“There are clear policy and practice implications,” say the researchers. “The greater impact of school cuts on educational attainment in deprived areas implies that funding for schools in these areas should be further considered in relation to need and equity, particularly if we are to address the widening inequalities in attainment in England, which are now the highest in a decade.”

Notes for editors
Research: School funding and educational attainment in adolescence: a longitudinal ecological study of English local authorities from 2015 to 2023  Doi: 10.1136/jech- 2025- 224132
Journal: Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

External funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)