§ 29. Mr. Brian Parkynasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many primary schools in Bedford have over 50 per cent. non-English born pupils.
§ Miss BaconSix, Sir. The pupils include children born outside the British Isles whose parents were of overseas origin and children born in the United Kingdom whose parents came here as immigrants within the previous 10 years.
§ Mr. ParkynWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that very interesting reply, may I ask her to assure the House that in trying to provide special help for these schools, priority will be given to 611 those which have an extremely high ratio compared with the normal ratio rather than treating all schools with more than one-third non-English pupils on an equal basis?
§ Miss BaconI am not sure that I follow the precise point my hon. Friend has in mind. I assure him that we want to help all schools, whether the percentage is below or above 30 per cent. One reason why my right hon. Friend and I are visiting schools is to see how this rule is working.