More than a million primary pupils are being taught in classes of more than 30 - an increase of more than 90,000 on the previous year.
The figures obtained by Stephen Byers, Labour MP for Wallsend, from Robin Squire, the schools minister, date from January this year. Of a total 3, 813,472 primary pupils, 1,076,469 were taught in classes of more than 30.
Mr Byers said: “These figures show that the situation is simply going from bad to worse. Our children deserve better than this. The Government keeps saying that class size does not matter, but parents know better. They recognise that teaching a class of more than 30 is about crowd control, not a learning experience.”
