§ 19. Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools currently have class sizes of over 30 for five, six and seven-year-olds; and how many will have such class sizes after September. [50286]
§ Mr. HainIn September 1997 there were 563 schools with 1,063 infant classes of over 30 children. School census data for January 1998 will be available shortly. Grants totalling £3.7 million for 1998–99 have been awarded to 280 schools, mainly for additional teachers. This will reduce the number of infant classes with over 30 children by 683. Information on the number of schools with infant class sizes of over 30 in the 1998–99 school year will be collected by the January 1999 School Census.