Head teachers claim Government cuts have left their schools in crisis, with multi million pound savings still to be made and "nowhere left to turn".

Increasing costs and a severe drop in education spending has meant Redbridge secondary schools have been forced to make "horrific" cuts over the last three years.

But with funding per pupil expected to fall by £8 million a year in real terms by 2020, and school leaders nationwide facing £3 billion in further cuts, Redbridge head teachers say they are at "crisis point".

At a meeting of more than half of the borough's secondary schools this week (April 24), chair of the Redbridge Secondary Heads Group (RSHG) and Woodford County High School head teacher Jo Pomeroy urged the Government for a "serious rethink".

She said: "In Redbridge we've been talking about a school funding crisis for a long time.

"We've been making cuts for over three years, but now it's come to a head, and we just don't know where to go from here."

Ms Pomeroy and her fellow heads wrote to the Department for Education over Easter to ask them to "stop playing with their pupils' futures" with such severe austerity measures.

They have also written to parents explaining the "horrific" situation.

Ilford County High head Rebecca Drysdale said: "We can't afford to offer our children art or music A level anymore. We've stopped teaching languages too.

"The number of free periods teachers have has gone down, so they're doing more teaching, more marking, and are under more pressure.

"I've had teachers resign because they just don't want to do it anymore."

Wanstead High School's head Bob Hamlyn added how "heartbreaking" it is to have to tell students they cannot study the subjects they want.

He said: "We've got a block of toilets that have been broken for ages, but we can't repair them because the money just isn't there."

Valentine's High leader Richard Laws says class sizes have risen considerably over recent years, which has meant a drop in teaching quality and increased behavioural issues.

He also stressed the Government's "fair funding formula", which will see schools in urban areas like London lose out on cash to rural schools, is only a very small part of the problem.

He said: "We're worried about funding full stop.

"We're at crisis point.

"We've been making cuts for years, but now we've trimmed all the fat we possibly can, what more can we do?"

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting and Redbridge Council cabinet member for children and young people Cllr Elaine Norman have given their full backing to the Redridge heads' concerns.

Mr Streeting said: "We've got all sorts of different schools in Redbridge and they're all suffering with the same problems – costs are increasing and funding isn't keeping up.

"When you put education cuts alongside council ones, you see the harsh reality of how tough this can be on struggling families outside the school gates too.

"I think it's important to stress just how urgent this situation is, because head teachers aren't the sort of people who normally wade into political debates, they just get on with the job.

"But we need to embarrass Theresa May by showing people just how bad things have got so she gives them the support our schools desperately need."

Ilford South MP Mike Gapes added: "The Government's cuts are pushing our schools to breaking point and putting our children’s education at risk.

"Any further cuts will lead to a serious deterioration of the excellent level of education our schools can deliver."

Seven Kings High head Tracy Smith said: "We have to ask the fundamental question of what schools are actually for.

"If we cut everything down to the very core subjects, our schools are going to become very souless places."

The Department for Education said in light of the upcoming General Election it could not comment.

The Guardian has contacted the Conservative Party.