53. Mr. G. Wilsonasked the Minister of Education the respective percentages of pupils aged 17 and 18 years in full-time secondary education for the years 1938, 1948, and 1953.
§ Sir D. EcclesI am glad to say that compared with pre-war figures there has been a steady and satisfactory increase in the proportion of these children who stay on at school. This increase is continuing. The following are the 301W figures. They are expressed as percentages of all the children in England and Wales aged 17 and 18, respectively:
GRANT-AIDED SCHOOLS — March, 1938 January, 1948 January, 1953 17 year olds … 2.5 4.8 5.5 18 year olds … 1.1 1.1 1.7
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS RECOGNISED AS EFFICIENT — March, 1938 1948 1953 17 year olds … Not 1.4 1.8 18 year olds … available 0.3 0.5