SCHOOLS are set to receive at least an extra two per cent more per pupil in government funding next year, it has been confirmed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday (July 20) that all state schools in England will receive two per cent more next year which means each secondary school pupil will receive at least £5,150 - an extra £150 - and each primary school pupil will receive at least £4,000 next year - up from £3,750.

The Department for Education said the annual increase will see most council receive rises of at least three per cent per pupil.

Mr Johnson said: "Every child deserves a superb education - regardless of which school they attend, or where they happened to grow up.

"That is why we are providing additional funding now and for the future for every school - with those historically underfunded receiving the greatest increase."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "This year has been incredibly challenging for schools, teachers and students due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

"Not only are we confirming another year of increased and better targeted funding for our schools, but with our transformative national funding formula we are making sure the money is distributed fairly across the country so all schools can drive up standards."

The Department for Education said schools would also benefit from the Government's one-off £1 billion Covid-19 "catch up" package to make up for the impact of lost teaching time due to school closures.

Under the scheme a secondary school with 1,000 pupils will receive £80,000 and a 200-pupil primary school will receive £16,000.

Labour said the increases would still leave schools worse off than they were when the Conservatives first came to power in 2010.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: "The fact is schools will still be worse off in 2023 than they were in 2010 under these plans, as a direct result of the Conservatives' decision to cut school budgets."

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of the NAHT school leaders' union, welcomed the additional funding for smaller schools but warned the money from the "catch-up" package may not be enough.

"A per-pupil allocation will take account of the size of the school but is unlikely to reflect the scale of the challenge faced," he said.

"Schools serving the most deprived communities may find that additional funding may not go far enough to address the true cost of this crisis."