§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools with a specialist designation there were in each of the last five years; and what percentage of specialist schools have chosen to exercise the option to select by aptitude.[101038]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 10 March 2003]: The number of schools in the Specialist Schools Programme in September for the last five years is as follows:
Number 1998 327 1999 403 2000 536 2001 685 2002 992 Our figures suggest that less than 6 per cent. of schools that were specialist in summer 2002 (685 schools) used aptitude as part of their admission arrangements.