CASH-STRAPPED schools in Hexham have issued standing order forms to parents asking for donations to combat an “emerging funding crisis”.

Executive headteacher at Queen Elizabeth High and Hexham Middle School, Graeme Atkins, sent out the plea on Friday and urged parents to respond to a consultation on new National Funding Formula proposals.

The latest Government consultation ended on Wednesday night and could see the high school alone losing £44,000 in one year.

However, figures collated by teaching unions suggest the impact of the cuts and historic underfunding could amount to a loss of over £521,000 by 2019.

“Most parents completely sympathise with the school and find it quite incredible that they have found themselves backed into such a corner they feel they have no other choice,” said Hexham mother-of-two, Suzanne Fairless-Aitken.

“As I parent I think a lot of people feel caught between a rock and a hard place because you immediately want do what you can to help, but it sets a dangerous precedent.”

Mr Atkins said funding received for both schools for 2015/16 had been 21 per cent lower per pupil than the national average.

The high school had also taken a cut in sixth form funding in recent years which amounted to almost £400,000.

“All this is against a backdrop of the rising day-to-day costs of things like pension and NI contributions, and inflation,” he added.

“We became a multi-academy trust to allow us to bid for the various capital funding pots that exist for improvements to our existing, aging, building stock.”

Northumberland County Council has joined scores of local authorities in writing to the Prime Minister about school funding fears, with the Northumberland Labour group labelling the proposals an act of “educational vandalism”.

But Hexham’s Conservative MP Guy Opperman said if the draft new funding formula was implemented there would be an average two per cent increase for schools in the Hexham constituency, and a one per cent average increase across Northumberland.

“I want to see improved funding for all our local schools,” he said.

“Some rural schools like Greenhaugh will see more than a 10 per cent increase in their funding.

“However, there are some schools, such as the high schools, which would see their funding reduced by one to two per cent in 2016/17.

“Fundamentally, I think we would all support an increase for all schools in Northumberland.”