AN EXTRA £50 million will be ploughed into Sussex schools next year – but many will be left worse off, campaigners have claimed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to give extra funding to cash-strapped schools, equating to £5.3 million in Brighton and Hove, an extra £15.2 million and West Sussex an additional £29.2 million.

The announcement means that Brighton and Hove’s schools will be given a total of £138.7 million for the 2020-2021 school year, which works out as an extra 4.1 per cent per pupil.

However, despite the promise of an extra £49.7 million across the whole county, campaigners fear the announcement was a “political game” and warned that Brighton and Hove schools would be worse off.

Kemp Town mother Alison Ali, who co-founded the Save Our Schools campaign, said the under-funding was already so severe, the extra cash would not even be enough to break even.

She said: “I don’t think this Government cares about kids but especially not kids in deprived areas.

“The devil is in the detail.

“Where the money is going is to a lot of historically under-funded areas.

“Brighton and Hove will be worse off than last year.

“They are apportioning money per local authority not per child.

“In Brighton there are more pupils in the system than there is money or teachers to support them.”

The Save Our Schools campaign, founded by a group of Brighton and Hove mothers and supported by the actor Steve Coogan, has been highlighting the critical gap in school funding since 2016.

Alison said: “This announcement feels like political game playing. Up until two months ago they were denying there was a funding issue at all.

“Anyone with children at school knows exactly how it is – and can clearly see that we are losing teaching assistants and being asked to pay direct debits.

“It is an attempt to paper over the cracks without tackling the real issues.

“It is the schools in the most deprived areas who will be the worst off.

“At the moment Brighton and Hove schools are £15 million short of breaking even.

“Next year they will be £30 million short.”

The Prime Minister announced last month there would be an extra £14 billion spending on the country’s schools over the next three years with the breakdown of the first £2.6 billion announced on Friday.

Making the announcement, Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson said: “Our schools do a brilliant job and I want parents and teachers to know that we’ve listened to them and are investing in our children’s futures.

“That’s why this Government has announced the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade which will give every school more money for every child, with the biggest increases going to the schools that need it most.

“I recognise the pressures schools have faced and want them and parents to be safe in the knowledge that all children can get the top-quality education they deserve in classrooms across the country.”

The exact breakdown of the cash pot was detailed in complicated funding formulae but many headteachers were left unable to work out their budgets.

Helen Longton-Howorth, headteacher at Carden Primary in Brighton, tweeted: “So many additional things to factor in before we know the real figures.

“Might as well have been written in ‘elfish’ for all the sense it makes.”

Mr Johnson said: “I promised on my first day in Downing Street to make sure every child has equal opportunities to succeed – regardless of their background or where they live.

“Because I believe that talent and genius is evenly distributed but so often opportunity is not and my job is to change this.

“We’re already delivering on this promise with schools receiving more than £14 billion additional funding over the next three years, meaning every pupil in every school will get more money, and funding across the country will be levelled up.

“Today we are setting out more detail about how schools across the country will benefit next year.

“This investment will give schools, teachers and parents the certainty to plan, helping further improve standards and ensure our children and young people get a truly world-class education.”