§ Mr. Thorntonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many children were of primary and secondary school age—at the recent most convenient date—in (a) the whole of Eng-
Thousand pupils* January of each year Actual Projected 1968 1974 1975 1978 1980 1985 1990 1995 England and Wales 7,589 8,996 9,069 9,098 † 8,850 7,700 7,300 8,100 Metropolitan areas and Greater London — 3,488 3,498 3,436 3,290 — — — Merseyside metropolitan area — 328 328 318 301 — — — * Counting part-time pupils as 1.0. † Wales as at September 1977.