§ Patrick MercerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what initiatives her Department has in place to reduce class sizes in English secondary schools. [20626]
§ Mr. TimmsThe average size of a secondary class taught by one teacher in England in January 2001 was 22.0. The January 2001 figure also shows that the secondary pupil/teacher ratio improved for the first time in 10 years and now stands at 17.1. The improvement reflects increased Government spending on schools.