Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average cost is of a new (a) academy secondary, (b) secondary free and (c) maintained secondary school.

Core funding for all academies and free schools is calculated on the same basis as core funding for maintained schools, so that no school is financially advantaged or disadvantaged because of their status. They are all funded according to local formulae, set by the local authority and agreed by the local schools forum. An individual school’s funding allocation will depend on factors such as its size and the characteristics of its pupils. This includes all new schools, whose funding will also be adjusted to reflect the proportion of the year they are open. As individual circumstances vary so significantly, the Department does not calculate an average cost for a new school; every new school is considered on a case-by-case basis.

From 2018-19, funding for all schools will be calculated on an equal basis by a national funding formula. More detail on our proposals for the formula will be provided in a consultation to be published shortly.

New academies and free schools also receive a pre-opening grant to support the costs of opening. Rates vary based on school type, from a £25,000 grant for a converter academy, to £80,000-150,000 for secondary schools becoming sponsored academies, where the grant supports costs of school improvement as well as conversion. As detailed in the free school pre-opening guide, new secondary free schools receive a project development grant of £300,000 if they are the first school to be opened by a trust in a single academic year. The grant reduces to £200,000 for subsequent secondary free schools.