HC Deb 29 July 1943 vol 391 cc1768-9
59. Mr. Kenneth Lindsay

asked the President of the Board of Education how many classes in elementary schools contained over 35 pupils on the latest date for which statistics are available?

Mr. Butler

Owing to the necessity for reducing the collection of statistics to a minimum in war-time I am unable to give particulars for a date later than 31st March, 1938, when there were 74,455 classes containing 36 or more pupils in public elementary schools.

Mr. Harvey

Can the Minister give any indication as to whether there has been an increase, broadly, in the number of over-crowded classes?

Mr. Butler

It is impossible to give a generalisation, but in some cities there is a tendency for some classes to be too large.