Local authorities are responsible for balancing the demand and supply of school places in their area. They have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places, the needs of the local community are served, and good quality education is provided in a cost-effective way.
The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of school places and the number of pupils on roll via an annual survey. Local authorities also provide area-wide forecasts of pupil numbers at primary and secondary levels. The earliest data available are for 2003 and the most recent are for 2007.
The following table shows the number of school places, pupil numbers and the level of surplus places in Chipping Barnet for the past five years.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Primary Capacity1 8121 8238 8238 8247 8053 NOR2 7401 7543 7538 7453 7630 Surplus3 720 695 700 794 423 Secondary Capacity1 7447 7460 7460 7460 8020 NOR2 7340 7350 7378 7496 7555 Surplus3 107 110 82 0 465 1 Capacity is the number of school places as at January 2 NOR relates to the number of pupils on roll as at January 3 Surplus relates to the difference between the capacity of a school and the number of pupils on roll