HC Deb 17 April 2000 vol 348 cc352-5W
Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what was the average size of sixth form classes taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years; [119409]

(2) how many pupils were taught at Key Stage 4 in classes with 30 or more pupils in maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years; [119412]

(3) how many sixth form classes taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools had (a) 25 or more and (b) 30 or more pupils in each of the last five years.[119418]

Ms Estelle Morris

The information requested is shown in the tables.

Provisional national estimates of class sizes in maintained secondary schools, which were published on 12 April, found reductions between January 1999 and 2000 in the numbers of pupils in classes of 35 or more taught by one teacher. Overall, only 0.2 per cent. of pupils in maintained secondary schools in England were in classes of over 35 pupils. For 14 and 15-year-old pupils, only 0.1 per cent. of pupils are in classes of over 35, representing a fall of nearly one half between January 1999 and 2000. Similarly, within the same time period, the number of pupils aged 16 or more in classes over 35 also fell to only 775 pupils, a reduction in the number of pupils of about one third. These figures were published in a Statistical First Release, "Class sizes in maintained schools in England: January 2000 (15/2000)".

Number of classes in maintained secondary schools for pupils aged 161 and over taught by one teacher, by size of class in England: 1996–2000
Position as at January each year
Year Number of classes with 25 or more pupils Number of classes with 30 or more pupils
20002 287 86
1999 238 73
1998 260 86
1997 251 72
1996 262 80
1 Ages as 31 August (start of the academic year)
2 Provisional

Average size of classes for pupils aged 16 or more1 taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in England: 1996–2000
Position as at January
Year
20002 10.7
1999 10.5
1998 10.7
1997 10.8
1996 10.6
1 Ages as at 31 August (start of the academic year)
2 Provisional

Number of pupils in classes of 30 or more for pupils aged 14 and 151 taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in England: 1996–2000
Position as at January each year
Year
20002 133,717
1999 125,077
1998 116,325
1997 105,038
1996 106,350
1 Ages as at 31 August (start of the academic year)
2 Provisional

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many classes taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools had more than 30 pupils in each of the last five years. [119416]

Ms Estelle Morris

The information requested is shown in the table.

Number of classes with more than 30 pupils taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in England: 1996–2000—position as at January each year
Year 30 pupils All classes
20001 10,466 134,457
1999 9,790 132,283
1998 8,842 130,859
1997 7,695 129,663
1996 7,351 127,719
1 Provisional

In respect of classes with more than 35 pupils taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools, provisional national estimates (published on 12 April) found reductions between January 1999 and January 2000 in the numbers of pupils in such classes. Overall, only 0.2 per cent. of pupils in maintained secondary schools in England were in classes of over 35 pupils. For 14 and 15-year-old pupils, only 0.1 per cent. of pupils are in classes over 35, representing a fall of nearly one half between January 1999 and 2000. Similarly, within the same time period, the number of pupils aged 16 or more in classes over 35 also fell to only 775 pupils, a reduction in the number of pupils of about one third. These figures were published in a Statistical First Release "Class sizes in maintained schools in England: January 2000 (15/2000)".

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the average size of classes taught by one teacher in former grant-maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years. [119417]

Ms Estelle Morris

The information requested is shown in the table. Class sizes in former grant-maintained secondary schools are generally smaller than those in local education authority maintained secondary schools.

Average size of classes taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in England: 1996–2000—position as at January
Local education authority (LEA) maintained secondary schools Grant maintained (GM) secondary schools Overall secondary
20001, 2 22.2 21.4 22.0
1999 22.1 21.1 21.9
1998 22.0 20.9 21.7
1997 21.9 20.9 21.7
1996 21.8 20.9 21.7
1 Provisional
2 Includes schools who, under the new framework, were redefined as Community or Voluntary-Aided schools

Provisional national estimates of class sizes in maintained secondary schools were recently published in Statistical First Release "Class sizes in maintained schools in England: January 2000 (15/2000)" on 12 April 2000.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what recent research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of large class sizes, including in sixth forms, on secondary schools; [119413]

(2) what recent representations he has received on class sizes in secondary schools; [119414]

(3) what plans he has to reduce class sizes in secondary schools; and if he will make a statement; [119415]

Ms Estelle Morris

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State receives representations from time to time on various issues related to class sizes. The evidence, including from Ofsted, indicates that class size is most important at Key Stage 1. That is why we pledged to reduce the size of infant classes to 30 or below, ensuring that all children benefit, and helping to give young pupils the important start they need. We are well on track to deliver our pledge by September 2001 at the latest.

The average number of pupils in secondary classes is 22—about five fewer than in primary schools. The pupil/teacher ratio in secondary schools is 17.1—more than six lower than in primary schools. Class sizes in secondary schools have been rising steadily since 1998, when the figure was 19.9.

In the recent budget, secondary headteachers each received between £30,000 and £50,000. It remains for headteachers to decide how to use this money but, spent on teachers, the secondary pupil/teacher ratio could be reduced by 0.4. More generally, between 1997–98 and 2000–01, overall funding per secondary school pupil has increased in cash terms by some £580—an increase of around 20 per cent.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils were taught(a) English, (b) maths and (c) science in classes with 30 or more pupils taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [119411]

Ms Estelle Morris

Information on the size of classes by subject area in maintained secondary schools in England is not collected by the Department.

Provisional national estimates of class size in maintained secondary schools were published in a Statistical First Release, "Class sizes in maintained schools in England: January 2000 (15/2000)", on 12 April 2000. This release is available from the Library.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list each local authority with pupils in classes of 36 or more taught by one teacher in maintained secondary schools, indicating the number of such pupils in each such local authority. [119410]

Ms Estelle Morris

Information on classes of size 36 or more for secondary schools by local education authority area has been placed in the Library.

Provisional national estimates of class sizes in maintained secondary schools, which were published on 12 April, found reductions between January 1999 and 2000 in the numbers of pupils in classes of 36 or more taught by one teacher. Overall, only 0.2 per cent. of pupils in maintained secondary schools in England were in classes of over 35 pupils. For 14 and 15-year-old pupils, as few as 0.1 per cent. of pupils are in classes over 35, representing a fall of nearly one half between January 1999 and 2000. Similarly, within the same time period, the number of pupils aged 16 or more in classes over 35 fell to only 775 pupils, a reduction in the number of pupils of about one third. These figures were published in a Statistical First Release, "Class sizes in maintained schools in England: January 2000 (15/2000)".