MORE than 16,500 schools face draconian cuts to their budgets because of Tory austerity, with those in deprived areas the worst-hit, six unions warned today.

All involved in education and part of the School Cuts Coalition, they analysed the government’s own statistics and found that 83 per cent of schools will receive less funding in 2020 than they did in 2015.

In spite of PM Boris Johnson’s boasts of “levelling up” educational inequalities, 16,523 schools will face budget cuts in April 2020.