School Funding & Expenditure
Evaluating a school's financial resources provides parents with insight into the level of investment available for student education, facilities, and staffing. The Department for Education publishes financial benchmarking data that allows us to see how resources are allocated at St Aldhelm's Academy compared to other state-funded schools in the area.
For the 2024-25 academic year, the total per-pupil expenditure at St Aldhelm's Academy was £7,528. This figure encompasses all school running costs divided by the number of pupils on roll.
To understand what this means locally, we can compare it to the broader Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) dataset. Across the 22 secondary-phase schools with published data, the average expenditure for all schools sits at £7,275, while the average specifically for non-selective schools is £7,382. St Aldhelm's Academy's funding level is therefore above the BCP average. Schools with higher proportions of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (45.4% at this school) often receive additional Pupil Premium funding, which can increase the overall per-pupil expenditure figure to help close the attainment gap.
Of that total expenditure, £4,214 per pupil was spent directly on teaching staff. This metric helps illustrate the proportion of the budget dedicated to frontline education versus premises, administration, or other operational costs.