§ Mr. Evelyn Kingasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has as to the number of schoolchildren now present in non-selective schools in Great Britain who are now in their last year at school.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonInformation about the number of pupils attending school in January 1976 is not yet available. Due to annual fluctuations in the numbers of pupils leaving school arising from a complex interaction of many factors it is not possible to provide reliable estimates of the number of children of compulsory school age who are actually in their last year at school. However, in England and Wales at January 1975 there were 458,230 pupils in attendance at comprehensive schools who were in their last year of compulsory education. Education in Scotland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.