A nine-year-old girl has joined forces with her headteacher in a desperate attempt to raise money for her cash-strapped school.

Lottie Howard-Merrill has penned her own letter to businesses pleading for financial support as St Barnabas' First School in Hart Street, Oxford, faces a shortfall of £17,000.

Parents have launched an emergency appeal after estimating they need to raise an extra £18,000 a year - or lose one of their six teachers.

Lottie's heart-rending letter, entitled Save Our Teacher, which has been sent out to education chiefs, reads: "My Little Sister Will Probably Won't (sic) Be Able To Read And Write Very Well Because Our School Has Not Got Enough Money! "I Love All Our Teachers. Here Is A Picture Of One Of Them (accompanied by a drawing). I Don't Want Him To Be Cut. Could You Give Us Some Money So We Can Keep All Of Him! Please! Please! Please! Love From Lottie".

Lottie's letter is being sent out alongside a letter written by headteacher Hilary Hiorns and Erica Hedges, chairman of the school's PTA.

Highlighting the appeal, they stress they have a deficit of £17,000 this year and parents, pupils and staff are doing all they can to raise money in a variety of different ways.

They state they have already spent all their reserves to offset previous cuts.

It adds that governors have reluctantly concluded that, unless they can increase their annual income by at least £18,000, the number of full-time teachers will have to be cut from six to five. That, in turn, will take class sizes considerably overGovernment guidelines and "seriously affect our ability to provide our wide range of children with the excellent level of education we currently offer". While collecting their children yesterday, parents spoke about their disgust at the situation the school has been put in.

Richard Fleming, a teacher himself, whose two children Clemmy, eight, and six-year-old Katie attend the school, said: "Clearly, it would be a terrible outcome if a school this size lost one of its teachers."

Carolyn Dodd, whose two sons Sam and Joe Goodman, aged seven and four, are at the school, said: "I am very much against there being less teachers."

Mrs Hiorns said: "This school, like many schools in Oxfordshire, is facing a deficit budget."

She added that the school had tried to maintain staffing levels but now needed to set up the emergency fund in order for that to continue. "We need to raise approximately £18,000 to maintain our current staffing levels."

Mrs Hedges believes the buck stops with Oxfordshire County Council, which should make more money available to schools.

She said: "This is a situation we should not be faced with. The council have not come up with what the school needs."

However, Nicola Kirkwood, of Oxfordshire County Council, told the Oxford Mail that responsibility for under-funding was the fault of the Government, which has failed to support the authority adequately.

Story date: Saturday 08 May

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