Parents are being asked to pay £1,000 a year to help a top state school make ends meet.
King David School in Manchester introduced the voluntary donation after its budget was cut by £1million over six years.
The school, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, is also struggling as costs have increased by £500,000 in that time, including £300,000 to cover a rise in teacher salaries.
King David School in Manchester, which teaches just under 800 pupils, is rated ‘outstanding’
In order to keep on teachers, the school has written to parents asking if they could make a £1,000 donation.
The leading state school has also raised half a million pounds in pledges when they organised a gala dinner for parents.
Chairman of governors Joshua Rowe said the school did not want to reduce its high standards.
Speaking to The Times, he said: ‘Excellence costs money. If we keep cutting we’ll end up as a bog standard comprehensive.
‘Every school is now looking at money, money, money, rather than education, education, education.’
Mr Rowe said more than half of parents have pledged to make the £1,000 donation, but many simply cannot afford it.
He added: ‘That’s how we make up the difference, we have to keep asking parents for more and more money.’
The Jewish school, which teaches just under 800 pupils, is rated among the top five non-selective schools in Britain.
But in recent years the school has struggled to make ends meet.
A-Level students are encouraged to study just three subjects, as opposed to four, and the number of children in each class has risen.
It had also got rid of three A-Level subjects and two GCSEs as the school simply cannot afford to keep them going.
Despite facing cuts, the school still achieves excellent results as around a third of its A-Levels in 2017 received an A*.
Mr Rowe also told the newspaper he regretted losing the school’s counsellors as mental health in high schools is on the rise.
In its last Ofsted report in May 2015, the school received an ‘outstanding’ score in each category and was praised for the progress of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds.