SIXTH form pupils across Ceredigion will have to pay £390 a year for council-run transport or face making their own way to school in a move council chiefs admit could put teenagers off studying A-levels.

The council will launch a consultation into the plan to introduce a charge of £130 per term for transport for sixth form students, along with a similar charge for pupils who currently use ‘spare seats’ on buses to get to schools.

While the council has justified the introduction of the charge, saying that it could bring in around £440,000 in additional funding, it has admitted that it could drive some youngsters away from attending sixth form.

The charge would be introduced in September 2017 and based on current pupil figures would affect around 770 sixth form pupils and around 360 pupils who currently benefit from ‘spare seats’ on buses which are not full.

The council’s consultation document insists that the £390 charge each year is “reasonable” as the auth­ority currently spends over £1,160 on transport for sixth form pupils and said that as some pupils receive the £30 a week Education Maintenance Allowance, that could be used to cover transport costs.

It says: “The average cost to the council of a post-16 pupil’s seat on school/college transport is £1,164 per year.

“On this basis, the proposed charge of £390 per academic year is considered reasonable.

“For families with a low income or for students with a low income living independently, the Education Maintenance Allowance is available to help with further education costs.”

However, the document adds: “The proposal will help towards keeping post-16 students in education as opposed to a removal of support altogether.”

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