§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list those local education authorities whose systems involve the transfer of children from first to middle schools at or before the age of nine years.
§ Dr. BoysonIn January 1982, the latest date for which figures are readily available, 45 local education authorities had systems which included the transfer of children to middle schools at or before the age of nine. These authorities are as follows, together with the age(s) of transfer and, in brackets, the number of schools involved.
LEA Ealing 8 (33) Harrow 8 (22) Merton 9 (16) Birmingham 8 (14) Dudley 8 (2) and 9 (5) Walsall 9 (2) Wirral 8 (21) Barnsley 9 (2) Doncaster 8 (24) and 9 (13) Sheffield 8 (44) Bradford 9 (60) Kirklees 8 (7) and 9 (8) Leeds 8 (4) and 9 (62) Wakefield 8(11) and 9(26) Newcastle-upon-Tyne 9 (12) North Tyneside 9 (20) Bedfordshire 9 (43) Berkshire 8 (17) and 9 (6) Buckinghamshire 8 (71) and 9 (4) Cambridgeshire 9 (2) Cheshire 8 (10) Derbyshire 9 (2) Devon 8 (12) and 9 (5) Dorset 8 (11) and 9 (16) East Sussex 8 (25) Hampshire 8 (82) Hereford and Worcester 8 (4) and 9 (34) Hertfordshire 9 (11) Humberside 8 (19) and 9 (56) Isle of Wight 9 (16) Kent 9 (10) Lincolnshire 8 (11) Norfolk 8 (51) Northamptonshire 9 (24) Northumberland 9 (47) Nottinghamshire 9 (11) Oxfordshire 9 (13) Shropshire 9 (3) Somerset 9 (9) Staffordshire 9 (35) and 9 (36) Suffolk 9 (35) Surrey 8 (118) and 9 (3) Warwickshire 8 (59) West Sussex 8 (17) and 9 (2) Wiltshire 9 (4)