THE campaign to win a better funding deal for schools in rural areas has been taken directly to the very top.

Country schools have been shown to be at a disadvantage to their urban counterparts under the current national funding formula.

The campaign, led in North Yorkshire by Richmond’s Tory MP Rishi Sunak, has now handed in a petition signed by hundreds to the Prime Minister at No 10.

And to back up the case he was accompanied to Downing Street by Charlotte Harper, headteacher of three schools in Upper Wensleydale - Askrigg, Bainbridge and West Burton - and three pupils.

The petition is calling on the Government to introduce a new funding formula to replace the existing distribution method, which the campaigners claim is arbitrary and unfair.

Under the present scheme schools in rural areas in North Yorkshire and elsewhere in the country receive hundreds of pounds less per pupil than urban authorities.

The MP was out and about over the weekend gathering signatures for the petition at a street stall in Northallerton High Street.

“Despite the appalling weather, we had a great response from the many people we spoke to and I’m grateful to them for taking the time to talk to us about this important issue,” he said.

“I believe the Government is listening to us about this fundamental unfairness in the way our schools are funded and I am hopeful of a positive move on the formula.”

The fairer funding campaign was launched in North Yorkshire last month at a forum of more than 60 primary school headteachers and governors held at Scotch Corner.

At that forum, Mr Sunak described the current funding formula used by Government to distribute cash as out of date and unfair.

He claimed it was based upon historic criteria that discriminated against rural areas and said there could be no justification for a formula which gave schools in Bradford and Middlesbrough about £400 per pupil more than North Yorkshire.

But while acknowledging a recent adjustment to the formula so North Yorkshire would receive an extra £10m he said more needed to be done.

“Even with this extra money, schools in our area still receive substantially less than schools in other parts of the country and that’s simply not fair.”

Many other MP representing rural constituencies are backing a national campaign on the issue. Last week, more than 30 MPs from both main parties called for the formula to be changed at a Westminster debate and 111 MPs have written to the Prime Minster about the issue.