HC Deb 12 January 1987 vol 108 cc81-2W
Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the intake of first-year students at the Scottish school of physical education at Jordanhill college and at Dunfermline college of physical education, respectively, in each of the last three years.

Mr. Rifkind

The numbers of United Kingdom-based first-year students in physical education entering the colleges in each of the years 1984–85, 1985–86 and 1986–87 were Dunfermline 40, 40, 40 and Jordanhill 20, 22, 20 respectively.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when a final decision will be taken on the proposed closure of the Scottish school of physical education at Jordanhill college.

Mr. Rifkind

In the light of my decision to centralise physical education teacher training, there will be no further intake of physical education students to Jordanhill college of education. The working party set up to consider the implementation of the rationalisation of training in this field has recommended that no pre-service physical education students should be trained at Jordanhill after June 1989.

I await the views of the governing bodies concerned on the report as a whole.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional facilities, including covered sports halls and playing fields, will be required if the centralisation of physical education training at Dunfermline college goes ahead as planned; and what will be the costs of such developments.

Mr. Rifkind

I refer to my hon. Friend's reply of 7 November to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill at column633. The working party set up to consider the implementation of the centralisation of the training of physical education teachers and the merger of Dunfermline college of physical education with Moray House College of Education identified a number of priorities for enhancing existing facilities at the merged college. Although precise costings were not available, it recommended inter alia the sale of playing fields owned by Moray house and a financial appraisal of the consequent provision of a floodlit synthetic pitch at the Dunfermline campus. The working party noted that increasingly national and regional sporting centres expect to have such a facility, which Jordanhill also lacks. It is not possible at this stage to give an estimate of the net expenditure, if any, which this project would entail. The working party also supported a longstanding proposal to upgrade and extend the games hall facilities at Dunfermline.

I await the views of the governing bodies concerned on the report as a whole.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate his Department has made of the likely entry to the first year in colleges of education of students studying physical education in each of the next three years; and what proportion of these will be (a) male and (b) female.

Mr. Rifkind

My Department's statistical model has predicted that the required intake to teacher training courses in physical education in each of the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 will be 88, 94 and 103 respectively. The Department has recently consulted education authorities and others about the extent to which the 1987 estimate needs to be adjusted in the light of wider supply issues, including authorities' own estimates of their likely needs. I expect to decide soon on the 1987 intake in the light of these consultations.

To maintain the existing sex distribution of PE teachers in schools, about one-third would be male, but the actual proportion of male and female students in the intake will depend on decisions made by the college in the light of the applications for places.