SCHOOLS in Oxfordshire will be handed £18.7m in the next academic year to help their "disadvantaged" pupils.

New figures from the Department for Education showed 17,677 of the 81,449 pupils in the county would be eligible for pupil premium money from September.

Almost one in three pupils in Oxford East are eligible, a higher percentage than any other part of Oxfordshire.

Pupil premium is given to schools to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap with their more affluent peers, as well as supporting children whose parents serve in the armed forces.

Schools may use the money in a number of different ways, such as hiring more staff to work with disadvantaged children or buying more books and learning materials to help them.

Primary schools get £1,320 for each eligible child while secondary schools get £935.

Schools also get £1,900 for children who have been in care and £300 for children whose parents are in the military or receive a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.

The Government defines children as disadvantaged if they have been in care or if they receive, or have recently received, free school meals.