A NEW £7m Liverpool academy is picking up government funding based on pupils who do not exist.

In January, De La Salle college, in Croxteth, broke free from town hall control and became the city’s first media academy.

It secured £7m for existing facilities and new buildings and extra cash for items like free school uniform.

Because it technically closed, it meant its £500,000 debts had to be met by Liverpool council.

Now it has emerged it will benefit from more financial assistance because the Government will give it funding for the next three years based on its 750-place capacity, rather than the number of pupils on the roll – in this case, just 500.

Council-run schools are penalised for having empty desks because they are funded based on the number of students on roll.

But De La Salle academy gets funding for at least 90% of its capacity, which is 675 pupils.

Union and education officials branded the situation “a disgrace” and proved academies create “a two-tier system”.

And Liverpool Schools Forum, which represents headteachers across the city, is to write to education secretary Michael Gove condemning the situation.