Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per student her Department provides to schools in order to fulfil the entitlement that every student taking drama GCSE or A level experiences live theatre.

The updated content for GCSE drama and A level drama and theatre studies clarifies that all pupils studying for these qualifications have the entitlement to experience live theatre. This reaffirms the Government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education. Taking pupils to see a live performance is a small part of the cost of providing a drama GCSE or A level and a small portion of a secondary school’s overall budget. The vast majority of schools already take GCSE and AS/A level drama students to live performances.

We have just announced that under the national funding formula there will be an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, on top of existing spending plans. This means that core funding for schools will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19. In 2019-20, this will rise again to £43.5 billion. Full details of the arrangements are set out at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/justine-greening-statement-to-parliament-on-school-funding.