§ Mr. Clemitsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the current total number of young 327W people at school; and what is the corresponding figure for each of the past five years;
(2) what, on current projections, will be the number of children and young persons at school in each of the next five years.
§ Mr. Gerry FowlerThe numbers of pupils attending schools in England and Wales in each year from 1970 to 1975 are given below, together with the projected numbers for each year from 1976 to 1981:
Year (January) Number of Pupils (full-time equivalent) '000 1970 … … 8,628 1971 … … 8,837 1972 … … 9,076 1973 … … 9,241 1974 … … 9,621 1975 … … 9,688 1976 (projected) … … 9,749 1977 (projected) … … 9,801 1978 (projected) … … 9,744 1979 (projected) … … 9,620 1980 (projected) … … 9,449 1981 (projected) … … 9,232 NOTE. Two part-time pupils count as one full-time equivalent.