Fifth of schools over capacity
A FIFTH of primary schools and a quarter of secondaries were full or had too many pupils last year, official figures show.
Statistics which were published by the Department for Education (DfE) reveal that more than 4,000 schools across England were at or above the limit in terms of student numbers.
It suggests that some schools are feeling the squeeze on places more than others – with Bristol and parts of London among those hardest hit. The data shows 3,438 primary schools (20.4 per cent) were full or had pupils in excess of school capacity as of May last year, along with 837 secondaries.
At the same time, nationally, there were 444,410 unfilled primary places, with a further 396,240 available in secondary schools – many of these are in rural areas.