Statistical Bulletin - Summary Results of the September 1998 School Census

Introduction

1.1 This bulletin presents provisional summary results from the September 1998 School Census of primary, secondary and special schools. The majority of the results relate to publicly funded schools (local authority, grant-aided and opted-out), although some statistics are provided for independent schools.

1.2 Most of the tables and text within the body of this bulletin relate to the national picture for Scotland. At the back of the bulletin, there are a small number of tables providing summary statistics for publicly funded schools by local authority.

1.3 The results of the first census of pre-school education centres in Scotland, conducted in February 1999, will be published in the Autumn 1999.

1.4 Additional notes and definitions appear in the Annex.

2. Summary of Main Points

2.1 At September 1998, there were 3,035 primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland. The large majority of these, 2,868, were publicly funded.

2.2 Just over 789,000 pupils were attending schools in Scotland at September 1998, a slight decrease over 1997-98. Over the same period, the number of teachers (FTE) increased by over 750 to nearly 51,700.

Around 437,000 pupils attended publicly funded primary schools at September 1998, a decrease of 3,500 from 1997-98. In contrast, the number of primary teachers increased by 320 over the same period, leading to a pupil/teacher ratio of 19.4 in 1998-99.

In addition, there were 1,500 non-teaching classroom staff working with teachers in primary classrooms in 1998.

2.5 At September 1998, the average class size in publicly funded primary schools was 24.9, virtually unchanged from the 1997 level.

2.6 Around 16 per cent of P1-P3 classes had more than 30 pupils in 1998, compared with over 19 per cent in 1997. This results in 5,800 fewer P1-P3 pupils in classes of more than 30 pupils.

2.7 Just under 313,300 pupils attended publicly funded secondary schools in September 1998, a fall of 1,600 pupils from 1997. Over the same period, the number of secondary teachers in publicly funded secondary schools increased by just over 200, leading to a pupil/teacher ratio of 13.0 in 1998-99. In addition, 2,000 adults attended secondary schools for day education in 1998.

2.8 At September 1998, about 8,300 pupils were based in publicly funded special schools in Scotland (see Annex note 2.1.2). In addition, some 5,800 pupils attended special units integrated with publicly funded primary and secondary schools.

3. Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

3.1 At September 1998, there were 3,035 primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland. The large majority of these, 2,868, were publicly funded (local authority, grant-aided and opted-out). There were 2 opted-out schools at September 1998 (one primary and one secondary) and 9 grant aided (one primary, one secondary and 7 special).

3.2 Nearly 789,300 pupils were attending schools in Scotland at September 1998 - a decrease from 1997. The number of publicly funded primary and secondary school pupils fell slightly (around half of one per cent). The number of pupils in publicly funded special schools increased from 8,056 to 8,264.

3.3 Just under 3.9 per cent of pupils were attending independent schools, the same proportion as in 1997.

3.4 The number of full-time equivalent teachers in Scottish schools was 51,686 in 1998. This was 765 (1.5 per cent) more than in 1997. In publicly funded primary schools the number of teachers rose by 1.4 per cent and by 0.9 per cent in publicly funded secondary schools.

3.5 In 1998, the overall pupil/teacher ratio in publicly funded schools was 15.6 and 9.6 in independent schools. In publicly funded schools, the pupil/teacher ratio fell in primary schools to 19.4 from the 1997 level, and to 13.0 in secondary schools.

Schools, pupils and teachers by school sector
Table 1

⁽¹⁾ Excludes adults attending for day education. See Annex note 3.3.
⁽²⁾ Includes 10 special units attached to mainstream schools, in 1998 only. See Annex note 2.1.2.