PRESSURES on funding at Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College in Northwich have been highlighted in Parliament.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury raised the issue speaking during a Commons debate, outlining the impact of a seventh successive national freeze to sixth form funding on teachers and staff.

He said: “Last week, it was confirmed that teachers and students at Sir John Deane’s sixth-form college in my constituency and elsewhere will lose out yet again following the confirmation that the national funding rate for sixth formers will remain at £4,000 per student next year.

"That is the seventh consecutive year that funding has been frozen. How can the Secretary of State claim that austerity is over?”

Responding, education secretary Damian Hinds accepted that sixth form funding had been under pressure.

He said: “It is true that five-to-16 education funding in this country has been protected since 2010 and that that pledge did not apply to sixth forms.

"Yes, funding has been tight for sixth forms and that is one of the things we will consider when looking at future funding.”

Mike, a former careers advisor, has been a strong advocate of further education provision and is currently collecting signatures on a petition to oppose the closure of Hartford Campus in Northwich.

He said: “For a long time further education has been forgotten about by this government, yet it provides a vital link between school and the world of work or higher education.