FARNHAM secondary school heads joined 3,500 schools across England on Tuesday in an unprecedented mass protest against a new national funding formula that could force the introduction of a four-day week.

Surrey schools say they face budget cuts of up to 10 per cent, due to the proposed imposition of a further £3 billion of “efficiency savings” by 2020.

They warn that over the next few years, this will result in staffing cuts, increased class sizes, reduced numbers of teaching and support staff, cuts to essential support services and restrictions to the depth and breadth of the curriculum offer.

The “dire financial situation may even result in some schools being forced to contemplate a reduced school week, including the very real possibility of Surrey schools moving to a four-­­day week,” they stated.

In a hard-hitting letter to town MP Jeremy Hunt, Weydon head John Winter and Farnham Heath End head Nick Phillips, voiced “mounting fears” about the effects on services.

They have joined 13 other secondary school heads in Surrey, together with thousands more state schools across the country, to “speak with one voice”. Those supporting the campaign say they have been left with no choice but to take action because, in spite of the “increasingly damaging financial situation”, the Department of Education has provided no adequate response to their concerns about its spending proposals.

Urging Mr Hunt to back their concerns “for the sake of children in Surrey”, headteachers wrote separately from across his constituency, stating: “School leaders simply want a reasonable settlement that sees every child in every school adequately funded.

“As a collective group representing over 3,500 schools and I.5million pupils we do not wish to be ignored any longer. We need, therefore, for our local political representatives to stand up for every school in their constituency and make clear that considerable changes to funding arrangements/proposals must be put in place.”

In a letter to parents sent out yesterday, Mr Winter said:“You will be aware from the recent news coverage that the state school funding system is in an extremely bleak situation. As a consequence, a national campaign has been started to try to persuade the government to change its position.

“It is understandable that parents and the public might see the wonderful environment here at Weydon, and believe that we must be a rich school, and that these cuts to funding will not affect us.

“The money used to create our school was ring-fenced capital money from Surrey County Council which has been used to complete the expansion project. Legally, it could not have been used to pay for teachers or resources. Please do not confuse the well managed and designed school buildings we enjoy, with the idea that the school is wealthy.

“In reality if this campaign is not successful, our school budget will shrink by 10 per cent. Staff costs represent 80 per cent of our expenditure; therefore it is inevitable that this decrease in revenue will have its greatest impact on staffing levels and ultimately class sizes. I promise that this is not scare mongering.

“I am urging every parent to join us, to save our state school system and protect Weydon. Please write to your local MP and urge them to support the campaign against these drastic cuts. This is a political decision because it appears our Government does not see education as a priority. The future of your child’s education is at stake; it is vital that we act on their behalf.

“As parents, the standards that you expect of us at Weydon are very high, and I am deeply challenged at the prospect of continuing to meet those expectations with the resources I will have at my disposal. All the staff at Weydon work way beyond government expectations and this is your chance to recognise what they do by supporting this campaign. The future of a ‘free’ state school education is at stake.

“I trust that you will understand if this letter lacks a professional tone, this issue is so important that I find it impossible to write in a dispassionate manner.”

Surrey County Council is also pushing for an urgent rethink of the new national funding formula proposals. Linda Kemeny, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet member for schools, skills and educational achievement, said: “Growing demand for school places means that Surrey needs to create an extra 11,000 over the next five years at a time when our finances are also under huge pressure from rising demand for other services such as adult social care so we need to be properly funded to provide the additional school places that are required across the county.”

Responding, a Department for Education spokesman said: “The government has protected the core schools’ budget in real terms since 2010, with school funding at its highest level on record at more than £40bn in 2016-17. But the system for distributing that funding across the country is unfair, opaque and outdated. We are going to end the historic post code lottery in school funding and under the proposed national schools funding formula, more than half of England’s schools will receive a cash boost.

“Under our proposals schools across Surrey would benefit from an increase in funding of 3.1 per cent, which amounts to an additional £18 million.

“We are consulting on the factors that will make up the formula and we know that it is important that we get this right so that every pound of the investment we make in education has the greatest impact.

“The consultation will run until March 22 and we are keen to hear from as many schools, governors, local authorities and parents as possible.”