Almost 90 per cent of pupils in the South West will have less money spent on their education, it emerged last night.

The region is set to lose out under the coalition's new pupil premium, which will see cash channelled to other parts of the country.

Last night former Schools Minister and Dorset MP Lord Knight warned that heads in the region will have to make redundancies because of the lack of money.

As the Daily Press has reported, South West pupils have for years lost out on a postcode lottery over schools funding.

Now analysis of government data has shown the problems will continue in the next school year, when the Government's flagship pupil premium policy begins.

Schools will get an additional £430 for every pupil who is eligible for free meals, which are used as an indicator of deprivation.

The research shows 88.3 per cent of South West pupils will suffer spending cuts, compared to an average for England of 75 per cent.

The North East will see 65.8 per cent of pupils lose out, the West Midlands 65.9 and the North West 66.6 per cent, while in London it is just 58.3 per cent.

The reason for the difference is because in the capital and the North, more children receive free meals – so their schools get most of the pupil premium cash.

Senior Lib Democrats – who see their more affluent areas lose out under the premium – unsuccessfully lobbied for a different system, with a higher fee per pupil in places with little poverty.

Lord Knight, who was Schools minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, told the Western Daily Press: "It was always going to be the case that the move to a pupil premium in isolation, without producing any funding formula, was not going to be the answer to everything.

"The Liberals thought it would be wonderful.

"The old formula was rewarding areas with more deprivation and that is what the pupil premium will continue to do.

"The South West has done badly over a number of years in relative terms – although there was a rise of about £1,000 per pupil over the past 10 years.

Mr Knight added: "But there will be a lot of disappointed heads looking at their budgets, particularly if they have a sixth-form, as this will not make up for the loss of money for per pupil funding at sixth-form level. Quite a few heads are looking at redundancies and reducing the number of teachers."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "The pupil premium will target extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds – pupils we know underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers – in order to support them in reaching their potential."

Historically, the South West has done badly on education spending, with Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Devon usually in the bottom 10 of the nation's 149 authorities.

South Gloucestershire tended to come rock bottom of the tables, with its pupils receiving half the amount of children in the City of London.

The area has lost o ut partly because cash is allocated on Census estimates of population, which in fast-growing areas soon become outdated.