§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the criteria used by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland when deciding whether or not to approve arrangements for the provision of an A-level curriculum in schools in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1985, c. 71]: Criteria for A-level provision are contained in the arrangements for approval of extended course provision in secondary schools. Details are contained in the Department of Education circular 1983/17 dated 29 April 1983, which has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of A-level students in (a) Enniskillen collegiate school, (b) Fivemiletown high school and (c) Portora royal school during (i) 1983–84, (ii) 1984–85 and (iii) the projected figures for 1985–86.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1985, c. 71]: The number of pupils following GCE A-level courses in these schools is as follows: 144W
1983–84 1984–85 A. Enniskillen Collegiate 114 113 B. Fivemiletown High School 18 23 C. Portora Royal School 85 86 Projected figures for 1985–86 are not available centrally.
§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the subjects offered at A-level and the number of students taking each subject in (a) Enniskillen collegiate school, (b) Fivemiletown high school and (c) Portora royal school during (i) 1983–84, (ii) 1984–85 and (iii) the projected figures for 1985–86.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1985, c. 71]: Information on subjects offered at A-level is not held centrally, but the numbers of pupils entered for NI GCE A-level subjects in Enniskillen collegiate and Fivemiletown high school in 1983 and 1984 is as follows:
Fivemiletown High School Enniskillen Collegiate 1983–84 1983–84 Art — 4 Biology 3 37 Chemistry 4 14 English Literature 1 25 German — 7 French — 8 Geography — 7 History 1 11 History and Appreciation of Art 1 10 Home Economics 1 11 Mathematics 4 7 Physics 6 15 Spanish — — Technical Design and Graphics 1 — Music — 2 Latin — — Further Mathematics 1 — Similar information is not available centrally for Portora royal school, as most of its A-level students are entered for examinations conducted by Great Britain examination boards. Projected figures for 1984–85 and 1985–86 are not available centrally.
§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under what circumstances the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has approved the provision of an A-level curriculum in Northern Ireland schools where there are only two, three or four students per subject; and if he will now agree to extend such approval to any secondary schools which make such a request and will provide adequate extra staff for this purpose.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1985, c. 71]: It is possible within the criteria that the overall extended course approval for a school could include classes with a relatively small number of pupils. In addition, in the first year of operation of the new extended courses policy the Department was prepared to give provisional approval in some marginal cases. A number of these approvals will be reviewed for the 1985–86 school year. Requests from each individual school to provide extended courses will be considered on their merits having regard to the criteria.