HL Deb 10 July 1995 vol 565 cc100-2WA
Lord Skidelsky

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What percentage of pupils in compulsory education paid school fees in 1938, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990; and

What percentage of pupils receiving compulsory education in the state sector in 1938 paid school fees in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools.

The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Lord Henley)

Information on the numbers of fee-paying pupils in compulsory education is not collected centrally. The table shows the available information on the percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age who were in non-maintained schools in the United Kingdom. Most pupils in such schools would have been fee-paying; some would have been assisted from public funds. Information for the United Kingdom prior to 1965–66 is not readily available.

Percentage of pupils in non-maintained schools1, 1965–66 to 1990–91
(Percentages)
Academic Year Children of compulsory school age2
1965–66 6.0
1970–71 5.1
1980–81 5.4
1990–91 6.1

Source: Education Statistics for the United Kingdom, HMSO.

Notes:

1 Including former direct grant and grant-aided schools, which hitherto were regarded as part-maintained but are now in the non-maintained sector.

2 The minimum school leaving age was increased from 15 to 16 in 1972–73.