§ Mr. Nicholas Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the continuing need for small village schools in rural areas in the light of paragraphs 272–75 of the White Paper "Better Schools", dealing with minimum size of school; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DunnThe White Paper "Better Schools" offered guidance on the minimum size of schools as a basis for discussion with the partners in the education service. In subsequent discussions the question of small rural primary schools has been raised on a number of occasions. The White Paper makes it clear that in isolated communities it is often right to retain a small village school; and education support grant has been made available for pilot534W projects to examine educationally and cost effective ways improving the quality and range of the curriculum in such schools.