TEACHERS and parents say schools are at “breaking point” as school leaders are forced to make tough decisions on which basic supplies they need to slash.

Campaigners, including pupils, picketed outside on six Lewes schools on Friday.

Lewes Priory, in Mountfield Road; Southover Primary in Potter’s Lane; Western Road Community Primary; South Malling Primary in Church Lane; Wallands Community Primary in Gundreda Road and Iford and Kingston Primary School in Wellgreen Lane are all part of the Save Lewes School group.

It which was started to stop the schools from becoming a multi-academy trust.

Some of the children gathered were asked to draw up a list of things their schools needed.

An 11-year-old pupil at Southover said: “We need things like whiteboard pens, paper and maths books.

“My teachers are worried about it but they try not to show it in front of us so that we don’t worry.”

Tony Smith, headteacher of Priory School, said: “Some special educational needs provision has had to be reduced, we have fewer teaching assistants and less resources. Our class sizes have had to increase as has the teaching load of staff.

“We can only carry out urgent repairs to the building and are unable to invest in capital without donations from parents and the community.”

Holly Atkins, whose son Rudy is a Year one student at Western Road, said: “The central Government is starving schools of funding.

“Our teachers are so devoted to what they do and they will always go above and beyond for their pupils.

“We are at a breaking point. At Rudy’s school teachers and parents are fundraising to pay for essential IT equipment.

“In Wallands School the children can’t use the swimming pool because they can’t afford to maintain the water.

“I have read in the news that a headteacher had to clean the toilets himself because the school couldn’t afford to pay for a caretaker.”

Phil Clarke, National Education Union secretary for Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden said “The Government need to stop spending their time denying the crisis and do the only thing that can make a difference, increase funding to schools on a real terms per pupil basis.

“The huge increase in redundancies the National Education Union has had to deal with in the last few years is just the tip of the iceberg and many, many more members of staff are not replaced when they leave or SEN provision they deliver is cut back. The funding crisis in our schools is very real and the anger from headteachers, teachers and parents is growing to unprecedented levels.”