§ 100. Mr. K. Lindsayasked the Minister of Education whether it is the policy of his Department to pay grants to local education authorities who finance pupils at independent boarding schools; how many pupils have so far been financed; what is the principle of selection; and up to what limit is financial assistance permitted by local education authorities.
§ Mr. TomlinsonExpenditure by local education authorities on sending pupils to independent boarding schools under approved arrangements ranks for grant from my Department. Particulars are not available of the exact number of pupils affected. The fundamental principle of selection is laid down in Section 8 (2) (d) of the Education Act, 1944. The amount of assistance is usually assessed in accordance with an income scale and may cover the whole or part of the approved fees and expenses.
§ Squadron-Leader Kinghornasked the Minister of Education the number of primary, modern and grammar schools, and the number of public schools in England and Wales where the majority of the pupils are boarders.
§ Mr. TomlinsonThe schools in England and Wales which take boarders include 118 maintained secondary grammar schools, 80 direct grant grammar schools, 397 independent secondary schools recognised as efficient, and 381 independent preparatory schools recognised as efficient. All but a few of the "public schools" are included in one or other of the first three categories; and in most of these the majority of the pupils are boarders. It is not possible to say without prolonged research in how many of the rest the boarders are in a majority. In addition there are 22 direct grant primary schools attached to institutions in which children are boarded.