The Europa School in Culham, within the Henley Constituency, is known and valued by many families across Oxfordshire, and in parts of Berkshire, for its unique educational offer. Students are taught multilingually throughout their school journey.
The school is primarily funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and John has been working with the school over some considerable time to seek as much Government support as he can. However in 2015 the school made a decision to open a third entry stream without the formal agreement of the Local Education Authority. This has led to some financial difficulties which have put a strain on the school and which has caused great concern among parents. There has been a lengthy dialogue about the funding with the Department for Education and the ESFA which John has helped initiate. He has also facilitated a series of meetings for senior representatives from the school to discuss their concerns with Ministers and the appropriate officials. However the most recent meeting with the ESFA Regional Directorate for the South East, held last month, resulted in mutual agreement that there was no additional funding to come forward for the school.
This outcome is a disappointment but the issues have been fully explored through formal channels. The school has met with parents to explain the situation and to seek voluntary donations from them to augment the budget. John is pleased to learn that this has received a good response and acknowledges the ongoing financial squeeze on the school. He is grateful to parents for their willingness to support the school in this way to enable it to continue to offer this special educational experience to their own children and those to follow.
A full copy of the briefing from the school and a copy of the letter to parents are attached to this note.
