Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury has been accused of ‘money grabbing’ by angry parents after it asked for around £47 to cover one or two GCSE entries.

The school spends more than £50,000 entering pupils for nine or more GCSEs every year and has said this places ‘extreme demands’ on its budget.

In a letter to parents, sent last month, the school asked: “Could you cover the costs of one or two subjects or the average costs of your son’s entries? Any donation that you can give us will help us enormously.”

'This is ridiculous'

However, many parents were not sympathetic to the calls for help.

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Salisbury Journal: “Over the last year the school has asked for 'voluntary contributions' for a number of things, ranging from drugs awareness talks, sports, school plays and are now asking for contributions towards GCSEs. This is ridiculous.

"When will this money-grabbing stop? They are not a private school.”