HC Deb 07 March 2003 vol 400 c1265W
Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of primary school pupils in England are in classes of(a) 20 and under, (b) 24 and under, (c) 26 and under,(d) 28 and under and (e) 30 and under; and if he will make a statement. [99817]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

The information requested is shown in the table.

Maintained Primary Schools(1): Number of Classes and Pupils (2)
January 2002
England
Classes taught by one teacher
No. of classes No. of pupils %of pupils
Classes with:
20 or fewer pupils 18,440 290,317 7.4
21 to 24 pupils 25,864 588,228 14.9
25 to 26 pupils 21,251 542,625 13.8
27 to 28 pupils 24,645 678,429 17.2
29 to 30 pupils 38,594 1,142,816 29.0
31 or more pupils 21,382 703,097 17.8
Total 1,50,176 3,945,512 100.0

Notes:

  1. 1. Includes middle schools as deemed.
  2. 2. Classes as taught during the one selected period in each school on the day of the census.

Source:

Annual Schools Census

The infant class limit of 30 or below became a statutory duty on admissions authorities from September 2001. Section 4 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, defines an infant class as one in which the majority of pupils will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 in the course of the school year.