A SURVEY of secondary school funding in the north west once again shows Bury among the losers in Government spending.

However, education bosses say they are doing their best to make up the shortfall -- and that Bury pupils have never had it so good.

In a survey by the union GMB, Bury ranks 19th out of 21 education authorities in the region for the amount per pupil from the Department of Education and Skills.

Bury's figure of £2,797 places it more than £1,000 below the national average of £3,829.

Pupils in the borough are allocated £1,328 less than those in neighbouring Manchester according to the report based on figures for the year ending summer 2003.

However, finance chiefs at Bury's education department say that they have been helping to make up the difference.

In the past year, classroom have seen an increase of £537 for each child met by Bury Council itself. An effort to secure more cash from the Government has proved successful, although this has been largely offset by a loss of grants.

Bosses point out that despite poor funding from Whitehall, Bury is currently the fourth best performing English authority out of 150.

Head of education finance Peter Lowe said: "The council now spends £1.5 million more every year on its education service than the national formula requires.

"There have been some results from Bury's campaigning for extra funds, and coupled with the additional monies provided by the council, the borough's schools are now enjoying the highest spending levels they've ever had. We're still pressing for more money so that our schools can still proudly claim to be among the best in the country."