Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland, No.3: 2012 Edition

Table 3.1 shows the distribution of P1-P3 pupils in publicly funded schools by ranges of class size. The Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities to maintain the reductions in class size in the early stages of primary education seen in recent years, and will continue with progressive reductions in the future. At September 2012, 18.8 per cent of P1-P3 pupils were taught in classes of 18 or fewer (including those taught by two teachers at all times with a class size of 36 or less), down 1.4 percentage points from 2011. The number of pupils taught in classes of 26 or more decreased from 57,424 in 2006 to a low of 32,702 in September 2009, before increasing again. In September 2012, the number of pupils taught in classes of 26 or more was 38,278 which is 23.2 per cent of pupils.

Table 3.1: Class sizes of P1-P3 pupils, 2006-2012⁽¹⁾

(1) The percentage of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer include two-teacher classes with 36 or less. Classes taught by two teachers at all times are treated as two classes of half the size.