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Pupil Numbers

Question for Department for Education

UIN 71754, tabled on 24 April 2017

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the difference is between the number of pupils currently studying in England and the number forecasted in 2015.

Answered on

27 April 2017

The Department publishes both pupil level projections and, separately, data on the numbers in school on an annual basis. The most recent figures on the numbers in school are from January 2016 school census and can be found in the statistical first release available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016.

The 2015 projection of the 2016 school population (published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-pupil-projections-trends-in-pupil-numbers-july-2015), and the equivalent school census figures, are given in the table below.

Projected and actual school population, January 2016, England

Full-time equivalent figures up to and including age 15

All schools1

State funded schools2

2016 census

7,842

7,365

2015 projection for 2016

7,837

7,362

thousands

1 State funded nursery, primary, secondary, special and alternative provisions schools, plus independent and non-maintained special schools

2 As 1 but omitting independent and non-maintained special schools

Named day
Named day questions only occur in the House of Commons. The MP tabling the question specifies the date on which they should receive an answer. MPs may not table more than five named day questions on a single day.