I have fought hard for fairer funding for local schools from the government – and it has paid off. Schools across Surrey were awarded an extra £212 per child in ‘per pupil’ funding, and our schools’ basic capital funding was doubled to £24million up until the end of 2017 – investing in our young people’s futures. I continue to listen to our local schools, and raise their ongoing pressure on finances with the government.
Looking forward, I regularly meet with Surrey County Council and our schools to review pressures on local school places. Working as a team and liaising with central government, we have secured funding for two new secondary Free Schools in Cobham and the Walton/Molesey area, as well as a major expansion and renovation at Rydens Enterprise School in Hersham. In total as a result of this teamwork and the injection of investment by this government, by 2020 we will have an additional 2.5 new secondary schools in the constituency, easing the pressure on places right across the borough.
Both locally and nationwide, I also believe we need to do more to boost social mobility. In 2014, I published The Meritocrat’s Manifesto, making the case for the Conservative school reform agenda as well as broadening vocational options for bright – but not necessarily bookish – children.
