§ Lord Balnielasked the Minister of Education (1) what percentage of all girls leaving the State schools went to universities in each of the years 1951 to 1956;
(2) what percentage of all boys leaving the State schools went to universities in each of the years 1951 to 1956.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydThe percentage of pupils leaving maintained schools and known to be going to the universities was as follows:
Boys Girls 1951–52 2.3 per cent. 1.1 per cent. 1952–53 2.6 per cent. 1.0 per cent. 1953–54 2.8 per cent. 1.0 per cent. 1954–55 3.1 per cent. 1.3 per cent. 1955–56 3.5 per cent. 1.4 per cent. 1956–57 3.3 per cent. 1.4 per cent. The great majority of boys and girls leave school at 15 or 16 and variations in the size of the age groups provide one explanation of the variations in this table; thus in 1956–57 there was a large increase in the number of fifteen-year-old leavers.