Headteachers say Kingston schools are unfairly losing out on Government cash in a "funding crisis" that makes it difficult to train and retain teaching staff.

Outdated salary weightings, along with a lack of accommodation for 'key workers' like teachers, mean the borough is a less attractive prospect for those considering the profession, heads claimed at a meeting with both of Kingston's MPs.

Primary school heads also warned parents by letter that a lack of cash could mean bigger classes and fewer school trips.

James Berry and Zac Goldsmith were grilled by dozens of headteachers at the King Charles Centre on Friday about how they planned to ensure a better funding deal for Kingston schools which, one head suggested, were cutting back on projects because of poor cash flow.

Mark Clutterbuck, of Coombe Hill Junior School, said: "It's the actual per-pupil funding that comes to Kingston school which is significantly less than in other boroughs.

"It means that schools are using their reserves to fund things. You're not doing the building work you were doing before, you're having to look at recruitment."

Burlington Junior School headteacher Pip Utting said: "It would help attract teachers if there was more key worker housing in Kingston.

"We were trying to brainstorm some ways that we could attract more teachers to an outer London borough.

"In outer London you get a smaller top-up. They just don't make a difference any more. They used to."

Mr Berry, who is petitioning the Government over schools funding, said: "Kingston schools are the third worst-funded in London.

"Schools in Tower Hamlets, 14 miles away, get £7,000 per pupil per year, and we get £4,500. That's before you take into account pupil premium.

"The area-level deprivation here isn't bad, because our average prosperity is quite high. But that masks pockets of deprivation.

"They should look at pupil-level deprivation. It's the 'leafy borough' image coming back to bite us."

On salary weightings he added: "We're asking for that to be re-looked at. It's more expensive to live in Kingston than it is to live in five inner London boroughs."

Mr Goldsmith said: "With the cost of housing escalating across London, we do need to find ways to accommodate key workers. Community land trusts are one model.

"More broadly, I have argued that the way developers calculate how much affordable housing they can include in any given development needs to be made open and transparent, so that communities know they are getting a fair deal. That needs to happen urgently."

Read more: Kingston Council given £6.5m from Government for school places in 2018/19

In March the Government announced it would consult on plans for a new funding system based on "need rather than the oddities of history, meaning areas with the highest need will attract the most funding".

The letter sent to parents by primary school headteachers claimed the plan would fund all pupils at the same rate, which the Department for Education said was "misleading".

The heads also told parents that rising pension and wage costs had outstripped Government funding, giving schools less to spend on pupils.

They further cited a report by the Association of School and College Leaders union which said consequences could include bigger classes, fewer school trips and fewer support staff.

Surrey Comet:

Grilling: Mark Clutterbuck with James Berry

A DfE spokeswoman said: "We have protected the core schools budget in real terms, so that as pupil numbers increase so will the amount of money in our schools.

"At the same time we are making funding fairer, and have consulted on proposals for a new national funding formula to address the historic unfairness in the system.

"We are not proposing to fund all pupils at the same rate, and to suggest so is misleading.

"There will be additional funding for pupils from deprived backgrounds, pupils with low prior attainment and pupils with English as an additional language.

"Our proposals also include plans for an uplift for those areas with the highest wage costs, such as London boroughs.

"We are also supporting schools to recruit high quality teachers by investing hundreds of millions in teacher recruitment, so that every child has access to the education they deserve."

The Government gave Kingston a £300,000 share of increased funding for pupils with special needs this financial year, she added.