Council figures reveal the estimated saving from removing transport entitlement for QEGS pupils – while questions remain over whether bus costs will actually fall
Westmorland and Furness Council's decision to remove free
school transport for some children attending Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
(QEGS) is expected to produce an estimated £304,725.76 saving after a five-year
transition period, according to information released by the council under the
Freedom of Information Act.
The figure relates specifically to pupils in the council's
modelling who would lose transport eligibility because QEGS is not their
nearest school.
The council's FOI response identifies 128 pupils in the
modelling cohort who would no longer qualify for free home-to-school transport
on that basis.
It calculated the projected saving using an average pupil
transport cost of £2,380.67, producing an estimated saving of £304,725.76 after
the five-year transition period.
The council says the precise level of savings will depend on
factors including pupil numbers, home addresses and parental school
preferences, and that it will take five academic years from September 2027 for
the full impact of the savings to be precisely quantified.
The figure is significantly different from the council's
wider estimate that the overall changes to school transport could eventually
generate up to £1 million in savings per year.
That £1 million figure relates to the wider policy rather
than specifically to QEGS pupils. The council's financial modelling said that,
by the end of the implementation periods, the overall changes could generate up
to £1 million a year.
QEGS Headteacher David Marchant told the council's Cabinet
that transport arrangements between QEGS and Ullswater Community College (UCC)
are unusual because the same council-provided vehicles serve both schools.
Children travelling from places including Shap can currently
use the same bus whether they attend QEGS or UCC.
Under the new policy, however, a child who has secured a
place at QEGS but lives closer to UCC would no longer qualify for funded
transport to QEGS.
The council's own explanation of the new policy confirms
that where QEGS is not the nearest school, free transport will instead be based
on the nearest suitable school. The council has also confirmed that the new
arrangements will apply to new pupils from September 2027.
Mr Marchant questioned the practical financial benefit of
the change in Penrith, pointing out that removing a pupil's entitlement does
not necessarily mean the council stops operating the bus.
If the same vehicle continues along the same route to serve
pupils attending UCC and QEGS, the underlying cost of running that vehicle may
remain.
In his representation to Cabinet, Mr Marchant argued that
the policy would therefore not necessarily save money in this particular
situation unless the council intended to use smaller buses or otherwise reduce
the transport provision.
The council was specifically asked how much would be saved
by no longer providing transport to QEGS pupils who had been offered a place
but whose nearest school was UCC.
Its response identified 128 pupils in the modelling cohort
who would no longer be eligible because QEGS was not their nearest school.
The council then applied the average pupil cost of £2,380.67
to those pupils and calculated the projected saving of £304,725.76 after the
five-year transition period.
The calculation therefore provides an estimate of the
financial impact based on the number of pupils affected.
It does not, however, set out the precise reduction in the
cost of operating the buses currently carrying those pupils.
That distinction is important in Penrith because, as Mr
Marchant told Cabinet, QEGS and UCC pupils are currently transported together.
The changes also mean that families will still be able to
choose QEGS, but the council will no longer necessarily provide free transport
where another school is considered the nearest suitable school.
The council has said the new policy is based on providing
free transport to the nearest suitable school rather than the previous
arrangement, under which pupils could qualify based on their nearest or
catchment school.
The council has stressed that the policy does not prevent
parents from choosing another school, but parents choosing a school other than
the one qualifying for transport may have to make their own arrangements.
Mr Marchant also raised concerns about the impact on
disadvantaged pupils, arguing that families who cannot afford alternative
transport could be placed at a disadvantage despite their child having secured
a place at the selective grammar school.
The council responded that selective education was not
itself a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, but said the
potential impacts on QEGS had been considered as part of its equality
assessment.
It also said that eligible low-income families would retain
enhanced transport support under the relevant criteria.
The council has confirmed that the full impact of the
changes will only become clear over the five-year implementation period.
The new arrangements affecting secondary school admissions
are due to begin from September 2027.
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