Marginal drop in number of pupils in private sector

THE number of pupils in Scotland’s independent schools has fallen in the past year - but by a much smaller proportion than the state sector.

Class sizes in the private sector have also stayed the same at a time when they are increasing in state schools.

Figures released yesterday reveal there were 30,254 pupils in the country’s private schools last September - 90 fewer than the year before.

But the 0.3 per cent drop is much smaller than the overall fall in the number of pupils enrolling at publicly funded schools.

Census results released by the Scottish Executive last week revealed that the overall state school roll had dropped by 8,568 between 2003 and 2004 - a drop of 1.2 per cent.

Average primary school class sizes in the private sector remained at 18.6 for the second year running.

By contrast, the average class size in state primary schools rose from 23.7 to 23.9 between 2003 and 2004.

The rate of school closures differs widely between the sectors.

Last week’s state school census showed that the number of primary schools had fallen by 31 in the past year. But in the private sector, the number of primary schools has risen from 62 to 63.