Give parents vouchers for school choice

Graham Brady says parents should be allowed to use the per-pupil cost allocated to state schools for each child
Graham Brady says parents should be allowed to use the per-pupil cost allocated to state schools for each child
CORBIS

Parents should be given school vouchers so they can send their children to a new generation of low-cost private schools, a leading Conservative MP has said.

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, says parents should be allowed to use the per-pupil cost allocated to state schools for each child.

The average figure was around £4,550 per pupil last year although it varies by local authority, falling to £4,000 in some shire counties and rising to £5,000 in provincial cities and £6,000 or higher in some London boroughs.

Average fees for a private day school were £12,723 last year, but Mr Brady said a national funding formula for schools should save large amounts of money and push per-pupil spending higher.

Mr