Surrey schools face the "very real possibility of moving to a four day week", desperate headteachers hit by cuts have claimed in a letter to the Chancellor pleading for more government funding.

In a letter seen by the Surrey Comet, 'gravely concerned' headteachers have resorted to begging Chancellor and Weybridge MP Philip Hammond for more funding.

The letter, written by Heathside School headteacher Ann Cullum, claims the "financial future for Surrey schools is bleak".

Mrs Cullum, who is the executive principal for the ElmWey Learning Trust which is championing a new free school in Walton, said that moving to a four day week is an "unavoidable consequence of the dire financial situation faced by many schools". 

She said: "Heads are being forced to increase class sizes, reduce the number of teaching and support staff, cut essential support services and restrict the depth and breadth of their curriculum offer.

She added that there is "no doubt" the cuts will impact the quality of education offered to Surrey students, "especially our most vulnerable children and young people, including those with SEND (special educational needs and disability) and those children in families that are identified by the government as 'just about managing'".

A National Audit Office report into the financial sustainability of schools said that £3bn of cuts to schools services could be made in the next four years.

But Mrs Cullum said the claim was "not substantiated", and that National Funding Formula proposals 'fail to address historic issues of unfair funding'.

The letter was also sent out to parents in an email on Tuesday, March 21.

The full letter can be read below:

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One parent, whose children study at Heathside and Rydens Enterprise School in Walton, said the situation was "worrying" for her children.

She said: "I'm really concerned, there's a lot of pressure on the government, particularly by local government. My sons are fairly able but it must be exceptionally difficult for parents with children who have special education needs.

"I know Rydens have found it really hard to recruit good maths, science and technology teachers, but they don't have the budget to hire people like that.

"I think teacher should be well paid, it's a hard job. If you can't get them into struggling schools them how do they improve?"

She added that a four-day week would hit full-time working parents "hard".

Heathside School is expected to lose the equivalent of five teachers by 2019 due to the budget cuts, according to schoolcuts.org.uk.

The school would lose more than £178,000 in two years time, which equates to about £168 per pupil.

But Rydens School is expected to lose more than £620,000 by 2019 - equating to 16 teachers and £709 per pupil.

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A motion calling on Surrey County Council to oppose the Government's funding proposals - which would leave Surrey schools with a £37m hole in their budgets by 2019 - was passed at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday.

Councillor Will Forster, who moved the motion, said it would be a "disaster" for schools to move to a four day week.

He said: "This would be a disaster for pupils, robbing them of crucial learning time and having a hugely negatively affect on their academic achievements."

But a Department for Education spokesman said the core schools budget had been protected, in real terms, since 2010, with funding at its highest level on record at more than £40bn in the year 2016/17.

However, he admitted the system for funding distribution was "unfair, opaque and outdated".

He said: "It is clear that there is broad consensus on the need for a fairer funding formula to bring an end to the historic post code lottery in school funding.

"We have been consulting schools, governors, local authorities and parents and will carefully consider the responses to make sure we get the formula right and every pound of the investment we make in education has the greatest impact.

"We recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways, including improving the way they buy goods and services."

A campaign calling on the Government for a "fairer funding deal for Surrey schools" was set up by Cllr Forster, and can be signed here.