Take up the baton and help transform teaching

Headteachers looking through the post will have seen the missive from the f40 fair funding group and, with any luck, already circulated it among parents, teachers and governors.

Each parent is being asked to forward three letters - one to their MP and others to Tony Blair and Education Secretary Ruth Kelly - backing a new way of allocating school cash.

The results, if all county mums and dads take up the baton, would be 500,000 letters and almost certainly an end to the "postcode" lottery system that campaigners claim sells Worcestershire around £10m short each year.

That's a more than useful return of £20 for every letter sent.

"Increasingly, children in metropolitan areas have access to resources such as interactive whiteboards, laptop computers and personal digital assistants," said Phil McTague, from Worcestershire's Secondary Headteachers' Association

"We know that we are losing teaching and non-teaching staff to Birmingham schools who can pay substantially more. Teachers are also effectively getting more marking and preparation time in areas like Birmingham. It is a post code strategy and we are having to make do and make savings."

At South Bromsgrove High School, where Mr McTague is headteacher, its share of the cash could:

Help retain staff by paying the same as in other areas, and

Halve class sizes, or

Mean every child would have access to a laptop computer.

For years, the LEA and county schools have produced quality results on existing budgets and, understandably, the latter have been reluctant to broadcast how much better off schools in other areas are.

However, campaigners are pleading with every parent to do their bit and not to underestimate what the missing millions would mean to their children's education.

"I have no doubt we could be leading the country with this money," said Jonathan Pearsall, a leading campaigner, father-of-four and governor at Rose Hill School, in Warndon.

"Kids are coming home with good reports and parents think everything is OK but we are providing good education on the cheap. Our children can have better."

Headteachers, who have struggled for years to balance books and find other areas of funding, are also unanimous in their support of the non-political campaign.

"We will continue to give the best standard of education with what we've got but we would love to have the opportunity to put more money into facilities," said Clive Corbett, headteacher at Pershore High School.

"I know schools in the north of the county are finding it increasingly difficult to compete for teachers.

"Schools in Worcestershire have shown their forward thinking and most have now gained specialist status, but overall it is still an appalling situation.

"This money would transform Worcestershire schools."

At Elgar Technology College, in Bilford Road, Worcester, managing an increasingly tight budget is time-consuming.

"The money (from specialist status) only goes part of the way," said headteacher Tony James.

"The reality is that we have to commit a huge amount of time and effort to track down other funding sources. Our senior management team are spending a huge amount of time doing this when other authorities receive the extra money automatically."

The Government's reasoning for the funding discrepancies is that it costs more to educate pupils and pay for teachers in certain areas, specifically inner cities, such as Birmingham and London.

Indeed, schools in Worcestershire today receive far more Government cash than they did in 1997 - £680 more per pupil to be exact. The problem is that other authorities have had a far greater increase; Gloucestershire by £800, Herefordshire by £850, Warwick-shire by £910 and Birmingham by £1,170. And, as increases are worked out on a percentage basis, the gap will continue to widen under the current formula.

"Our system is based on a more realistic basic cost for educating a pupil - there will still be differences between areas, but it will stop the gap growing," said Mr Pearsall. "The bottom line is this is an opportunity for everyone to respond to the Government and demand changes to the allocation of education funding."

And if parents take it up, a campaign that started in the 1990s with protests in Westminster, and has since spread to dozens of other LEAs, could be on the verge of transforming county schools.

Anyone can download a copy of the letter from www.f40.org.uk or contact their school for details. All letters must be received before the May 5 General Election.

Students will soon have to put their thinking caps on

STUDENTS could be asked to sit additional "thinking skills" exams before going to university, amid concerns that A-levels fail to pick out the elite. Two assessment agencies are working together on a pilot scheme to test the ability of teenagers to reason and think, rather than specific knowledge.

It comes as universities say too many A-level candidates are getting straight A grades, making them hard to tell apart.

The multiple-choice questions, similar to the psychometric tests that many leading employers favour, will be piloted by 1,500 students this autumn. Numbers, visual images and use of language will be featured.

One sample "analogy" question shows candidates a picture of a television next to a cone, a cylinder and a sphere and asks what it suggests to them. They are offered a choice of answers including that "television has become fundamental" and "geometric shapes are infinitely flexible".

The single test is intended to avoid students sitting separate exams for every university they apply to.

Making more of the maths exam

ALL GCSE maths students in England will be given the chance to gain a grade C if a pilot scheme is extended.

Under the current system - a three-tier format decided by candidates' ability - the weakest students sit a modified course and can achieve a maximum D grade in their exam. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority proposes replacing this with two tiers, allowing every-one to gain a C.

Chief executive, Ken Boston said it was vital to "inspire and motivate" maths students. The revised assessment system, which would bring maths into line with other GCSE subjects such as English, could be in place next year.