To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his estimates of the numbers of (a) primary school children and teachers and (b) secondary school children and teachers for each year of the 1990s.
The projected numbers of pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools in England and of teachers overall are given in the table. The numbers of teachers in future years will depend upon many factors. The projection is based on an illustrative assumption that the current overall pupil teacher ratio of 17:1 will be maintained in future years. Further assumptions would be needed to disaggregate the overall figure between the nursery, primary and secondary sectors, and no attempt has been made to do this in the figures shown.
| Thousands | |||
| At January of each year | Primary schools | Secondary schools | Teachers overall |
| 1990 | 3,967 | 2,851 | 397 |
| 1991 | 4,011 | 2,818 | 396 |
| 1992 | 4,046 | 2,833 | 399 |
| 1993 | 4,093 | 2,866 | 404 |
| 1994 | 4,164 | 2,912 | 410 |
At January of each year
| Primary schools
| Secondary schools
| Teachers overall
|
| 1995 | 4,236 | 2,967 | 418 |
| 1996 | 4,316 | 2,999 | 424 |
| 1997 | 4,385 | 3,031 | 430 |
| 1998 | 4,452 | 3,063 | 436 |
| 1999 | 4,512 | 3,106 | 442 |
Notes:
1. Pupils in maintained nursery and special schools are excluded, as are those in independent schools.
2. The projections take account of the mid-1988 population projection provided by the Government Actuary's Department.
3. Pupils of all ages are included. For primary schools, part-time pupils under the age of five are each counted as one.
4. The overall number of teachers employed for service in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England is given. Teachers in nursery schools are included, to be consistent with the usual coverage of the overall aggregate employed for public expenditure planning. All full-time equivalent teachers are counted, including student teachers, instructors, occasional teachers and secondments.