HC Deb 17 February 1993 vol 219 c267W
Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average class size of(a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) sixth form colleges, (d) colleges of further education, (e) colleges of higher education and (f) infant schools in each year since 1979.

Mr. David Hunt

The average class size in primary and secondary schools and further and higher education courses in Wales since 1979 is shown in the following table. Figures are not available for further and higher education courses before 1982–83 and for secondary schools before 1986–87. Information on the average class size of infant schools and sixth form colleges is not collected separately. Information for the colleges of the University of Wales is not available.

Primary Secondary1 Further Education2 Higher Education2
1979–80 24.3 n/a n/a n/a
1980–81 23.9 n/a n/a n/a
1981–82 24.1 n/a n/a n/a
1982–83 23.9 n/a 13.5 12.5
1983–84 23.7 n/a 13.5 13.2
1984–85 24.1 n/a 14.0 13.7
1985–86 24.3 n/a 13.3 13.4
1986–87 24.4 19.4 13.2 14.2
1987–88 24.5 19.1 13.5 14.1
1988–89 24.8 19.0 314.0 313.5
1989–90 24.8 18.9 14.0 13.9
1990–91 23.1 19.2 14.3 15.7
1991–92 25.4 21.5 n/a n/a
1 Prior to 1986–87 information on the size of classes in secondary schools was collected on a different basis. These data, relating to the numbers of classes by size, are given in the Secondary Education section of 'Statistics of Education in Wales: Schools', copies of which are available in the Library.
2 Average class sizes for Wales are calculated on a further education or higher education basis and the figures do include a small number of further education courses run at higher education establishments and higher education courses at further education establishments.
3 Changes in methodology, introduced in 1988–89, may affect comparisons of indicators between 1987–88 and 1988–89.