asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what the teacher-pupil ratio is in the Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire county council areas.
In January 1979, the latest date for which information is available, the average ratios of pupils per qualified teacher within maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools for
| Nursery | Primary | Secondary | Total | ||||
| Berkshire | … | … | … | 19·3 | 23·8 | 16·8 | 19·9 |
| Buckinghamshire | … | … | 35·9 | 24·2 | 16·8 | 20·8 | |
| Oxfordshire | … | … | … | 23·6 | 24·2 | 17·9 | 20·5 |
The above pupil-teacher ratios relate to qualified teachers actually in schools at the time of survey.There are other teachers not included above being paid by the authority (e.g. seconded for other duties lasting a term or more, student teachers, instructors and those employed to cover short absences of regular teachers). The overall ratio of pupils in nursery, primary and secondary schools to all the teaching staff paid by local authorities in January 1979 were Berkshire 19·6, Buckinghamshire 20·1 and Oxfordshire 19·6.