Independent school census

Today

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

19/04/2005

The annual census of independent schools in Scotland was published today. The results relate to September 2004.

The main findings are:

There were 30,254 pupils in independent schools in Scotland, 90 fewer than in 2003. This net difference consists of a decrease of 169 in mainstream schools and an increase of 79 in special schools.
Four per cent of all school pupils in Scotland were in independent schools. Numbers in independent schools have been falling at a slightly slower rate than in publicly funded schools.

Primary schools

There were 63 independent primary schools in 2004. The number of schools had previously declined from 74 in 1997 to 62 in 2003.
There were 11,568 pupils in independent primary schools in 2004, a decrease of one per cent from 2003. Numbers have fluctuated between 11,559 and 11,844 in recent years.
There were 903 teachers (Full time equivalent - FTE) in independent primary schools in 2004, a similar number to 2003. There were 12.8 pupils per teacher in 2004, compared to 13.0 in 2003.

Secondary schools

There were 55 secondary schools in 2004, the same as in 2003. The number of independent secondary schools has declined from 63 in 1999.
There were 17,554 pupils in independent secondary schools in 2004, a reduction of 51 from 2003, in line with the slight downward trend in recent years.
There were 2,065 teachers (FTE) in independent secondary schools in 2004, a similar number to 2003. There were 8.5 pupils per teacher in 2004, the same as in 2002 and 2003.

Special schools

There were 34 independent special schools in 2004, compared to 33 schools in 2003, and 32 in 2002.
There were 1,132 pupils in independent special schools in 2004, an increase of eight per cent over 2003.
There were 334 teachers (FTE) in independent special schools in 2004, a 17 per cent increase from 2003. There were 3.4 pupils per teacher in 2004, a decrease from 3.7 in 2003.

Special Educational Needs

There were 1,349 pupils with a Record of Needs and/or an Individualised Educational Programme. This is an increase of 105 (eight per cent) from 2003. The largest categories of main difficulty of learning were social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (22.6 per 1,000 pupils) and specific learning difficulties in language and/or mathematics - including dyslexia (6.7 per 1,000 pupils).