Churchstoke is only a few miles from the English border

Ian Roberts, of Churchstoke Primary School, Powys, says teaching colleagues the other side of Offa's Dyke are getting a better deal.

Schools in England with more to spend could tempt parents to desert the Welsh education system, he believes.

However, the Welsh Assembly Government says Welsh schools do as well as their English counterparts.

I think more parents will decide to send their children to schools in England if the discrepancy in funding continues Ian Roberts, head teacher

Mr Roberts said: "I've written to (First Minister) Rhodri Morgan about this because I'm so concerned about schools on the border.

"Schools in Wales don't get direct funding unlike ones in England and overall I think we just don't get the same deal as schools in England.

"In England, schools will receive �55,000 each of direct funding following an increase in education spending by Gordon Brown in his budget last month - we won't see �55,000.

"Last year English primary schools received �52,000 - we didn't see anything like that either."

"I think more parents will decide to send their children to schools in England if the discrepancy in funding continues.

"This is something the National Assembly needs to address in border areas. However, there is no difference in teaching standards."

He added: "We've had a standstill budget in Powys for the last two years and this year every department has had to make 2% cuts.

"As for my school, support staff have had their hours cut and we'll probably have to make redundancies later in the year."

School spending 2003/4 Wales: �3,368 per pupil England (excluding London): �3,604 Powys: �4,010 Welsh Assembly Government figures

One Churchstoke pupil, 10-year-old Lucinda Roberts, has written to all 60 AMs appealing for support. So far, she has received just one reply.

Lucinda, who has two brothers and one sister, said: "Mr Roberts asked our parents to write to complain about funding and said that if children received permission they could write to AMs too."

Churchstoke Primary School has 100 pupils and four teachers. The village is just four miles from the nearest English town of Bishop's Castle, in Shropshire, but 10 miles from Welshpool where the nearest Welsh high school is based.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Assembly Government said: "The minister is fully aware of the concerns about school funding, but there are some areas where the evidence does not bear out the concerns that schools in Wales are not funded as well as those in England.

"Evidence given to the assembly's education committee demonstrates this is not the case although there will be individual differences between local authorities in Wales and between local authorities in England and Wales."