§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many infant, junior, primary and secondary schools were closed between 1979 and May 1997 in each county of Wales indicating how many closed(a) for financial reasons, (b) as a result of demographic change and (c) for other reasons; and if he will make a statement. [10245]
§ Mr. Hain[holding answer 24 July 1977]: The information requested is not held centrally. Details of the number of primary and secondary schools in each of the former counties of Wales in 1979 and 1996—the latest available data collected in this form—are shown in the following table:
January 1979 January 19961 Maintained primary schools2 Clwyd 266 241 Dyfed 354 310 Gwent 285 211 Gwynedd 200 191 Mid Glamorgan 319 301 Powys 131 105 South Glamorgan 174 157 West Glamorgan 201 165 Wales 1,930 1,681 Maintained secondary schools Clwyd 33 32 Dyfed 25 31 Gwent 32 33 Gwynedd 23 23 Mid Glamorgan 41 43 Powys 12 13 South Glamorgan 30 26 West Glamorgan 28 27 Wales 224 228 1Includes grant maintained schools. 2Primary schools comprise 3 types of school: infants' for children aged 5 to 7, junior for those aged 7 to 11 and combined junior and infants for both age groups. Many primary schools also provide nursery classes for children aged under 5.