THE proportion of infants taught in classes larger than 30 has dropped in line with Labour’s manifesto promise, according to new government figures. In January there were 356,000 pupils aged five to seven in classes with more than 30 pupils - a fall of 485,000 from the year before. The number of junior children in over-sized classes also fell slightly. There were an extra 2,700 teachers and, overall, an extra 12,000 primary places.
Don Foster, the Liberal Democrats’ education spokesman, said that average primary classes were still larger than in 1997, with 32 per cent of children in classes larger than 30. The Secondary Heads Association has also warned that secondary-school classes are increasing in size at an alarming rate.
