SCHOOLS have warned an estimated £17.5m black hole in finances by 2020 could see them forced to cut staff and drop subjects.

The Oxford Academy’s headteacher Niall McWilliams said the school’s amazing improvement in the past four years is at risk unless the Government finds more money for education in Oxfordshire.

It comes as the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) produced a report that suggested schools in the county could be £17.5m worse off compared to their current yearly budget - in real terms within four years – the equivalent of £217 per pupil.

The unions said schools in poorer areas would be the worst hit as they often have higher costs due to needing to provide more services for pupils.

The Department for Education accused both unions of 'irresponsible scaremongering' but Mr McWilliams said the figures did not appear to be inaccurate.

The Oxford Academy in Sandy Lane West, was recently ranked the 14th best in the country and was handed a good Ofsted rating just years after being placed in special measures and being rated one of the worst schools in England.

Mr McWilliams said: “The progress we have made could be lost unless the Government supports us with funding.

“If we cannot maintain staffing levels it will be very difficult for us to improve.

“The Government is cutting and cutting and cutting and it is impossible for schools that are in challenging communities to succeed.

"Attainment, achievement, family support, students’ social cohesion – all of those fields that schools do that people almost take for granted could be affected.”

The report estimates The Oxford Academy would be one of the worst hit schools, losing almost £600,000 in real terms from its budget by 2020.

Windmill Primary School stands to lose £51,000 under the projections.

Headteacher Lynn Knapp said: “We have increased costs, we have to buy in HR, even our email system we have to pay for.

“I have got no doubt the figures in the report are accurate, £50,000 sounds not as bad as what we have been expecting.

“The new national funding formula keeps getting pushed back, it is not a priority at the moment."

Marie Hale from Headington has two sons – Lucas and Bodhi – who attend Windmill Primary.

She said: “It is a sad state of affairs, the education of our children should be one of the things we invest in.

“The teachers at Windmill do a great job, it would be a big worry if there was less of them.

“We should be putting more money into our kids’ education.”

In March the Government announced plans to shake-up school funding by ending historic disparities between some local authorities, which left Oxfordshire as one of the worst-funded parts of England.

It was meant to come into effect by the 2017-18 academic year but in July new Education Secretary Justine Greening pushed this back by a year.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “This would appear to be irresponsible scaremongering, based on figures that are entirely speculative. As the NUT and ATL’s own report admits, they do not even reflect the Government's proposed fairer funding formula for schools, which is yet to be published.

"The government's fairer funding proposals will ensure that areas with the highest need attract the most funding and end the historic unfairness in the system."

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said: "At a time when schools at all levels locally are making such a huge effort to raise standards and many like the Oxford Academy showing great progress it really is a kick in the teeth for them to be facing such cuts.

"I shall be taking up the issue with schools affected."