An extra £1.8m could be pumped into the Powys schools budget next year which would see the total funding smash through the £100m ceiling.

And in a bid to improve exam results in the county, the official ratio of pupils to teachers is set to drop for Years 10 and 11.

A meeting of Powys County Council’s Learning and Skills committee on 15 January, will receive a report outlining a raft of proposals which follow a review of the council’s funding formula.

The report explains that the proposal come from a consultation between the council and schools which took place from the end of September to 6 November.

Only 17 responses to the proposal were received from the county’s 80 schools.

If agreed the proposals would see the ratio of funding per pupil changed in primary schools and go up while the threshold for top up funding in secondary schools brought down.

Amongst the proposals is one to bring down class sizes in Years 10 and 11 by changing the ratio of staff per pupil from one to 25 to one to 20.

The ratio change is a response to the need to be able to teach a wider number of subjects and vocational courses which form the new Curriculum for Wales which is set to be phased in over the next couple of years.

The report said that this change would: “Enable Powys secondary and all-age schools to successfully deliver the qualification reform and ensure all Powys schools can offer a bespoke combination of new qualifications.”

The report said: “The proposed formula and scheme changes will lead to a stable, transparent and fair funding arrangement for Powys learners and schools.

“The proposed formula changes will create more equitable funding provision for all primary and secondary mainstream schools across Powys.