12.5 David has recently been elected as a local councillor for an area in England served by two primary schools (note: English primary school education lasts for 6 years). The council has threatened to close the smaller of the two schools (School A) on the grounds that it provides poor value for money compared with the larger school

(School B). The biggest single item of cost is teaching staff salaries. David has asked for, and received, a summary of the salary cost for both schools for the 2011/12 financial year (see below). There is substantial local opposition to the threatened closure.

David has asked you, as a preliminary step in his investigation of the issue, to:

a) Tell him whether or not, on this evidence, School A does appear to provide poor value for money.

b) Suggest possible reasons for any discrepancy in salary costs between the schools.

Appendix: Data on Schools A and B for 2011/12 School A School B School roll 75 132 Average numbers of teaching staff 4.3 6.2 Teaching staff salary cost £166 200 £210 000