London schools will be faced with an £85 million energy bill when government support runs out at the end of this month as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, a new analysis shows.
It comes amid calls for more help for schools to deal with rising bills. One London headteacher who is expecting his energy bills to quadruple said: “We’ve cut everything we can — what else is there to cut?”
Schools energy bills are capped under the energy bill relief scheme, but it is due to end this month and be replaced with a less generous discount scheme.
Analysis by the Liberal Democrats found that the average London primary school will see support cut by £55.62 per pupil per year, while for secondary schools the figure is £80.42 per pupil per year. Schools will have to pay these additional costs from their budgets.
Simon Hawley, head of Stanley Primary School in Teddington, said: “Our school is looking at an increase in our electricity bills from £19,000 to £85,000, which is just unsustainable.”
He added that the school had resorted to asking parents for help in areas such as buying IT equipment, despite the cost of living crisis.
Lib Dem calculations based on Department for Education data on schools’ energy usage, suggests that London primary schools would face a total cut in support of £39.4 million per year, and secondary schools would see a £45.8 million cut per year. The party has criticised the Chancellor for failing to use the Budget to continue the existing energy bill relief scheme.
