“Must do better:” that is Daniel Zeichner MP’s verdict on the government’s plans for Sixth Form College funding.

Last week, Daniel Zeichner MP joined a cross-party group of 93 MPs in signing a letter to Chancellor Sajid Javid urging him to increase the funding rate. On Saturday, the government announced that it would do so in today’s spending round, but the increase is likely to be around £200 per student – well short of the £760 per student boost that sixth form colleges are calling for.

Cambridge Sixth form colleges have been feeling the pinch after two deep cuts to sixth form funding were made after 2010 and the funding rate was frozen at £4,000 since 2013. Hills Road now offers fewer subjects and the average class size has grown by two, meanwhile at Long Road A level German has been dropped from the curriculum.

Mr Zeichner has called on the government to go further and increase the core funding rate for 16 to 18 year old students from £4,000 per year to at least £4,760 per year.

Daniel Zeichner MP said:

“Our excellent school sixth forms and colleges in Cambridge need more funding so they can deliver a world class education to our young people.  The funding announced by the Chancellor is welcome, but it falls well short of what is needed.

At our fantastic sixth form colleges in Cambridge, Hills Road and Long Road, and the sixth form provision at Parkside, Netherhall and CAST, all the teachers tell me the same thing – they have brilliant, hard-working and energetic young people, but they fear that the system is stacked against them.”