Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of pupils that attend independent schools in each school year group in each local authority.

The department publishes annual statistics on the number of pupils at schools in England according to the kind of school they attend. The most recent figures are for January 2023 and are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23.

The department does not collect year group data for independent school pupils as these schools are not required to follow the national curriculum and year groups may not apply. The department does publish figures by age. A table showing independent school pupils by age as of January 2023 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8b927366-344b-4505-8cc9-08dc706299c6. Generally, national curriculum year 1 corresponds to pupils aged 5 years old at the start of the school year and compulsory schooling ends at year 11 with pupils aged 15 years old at the start of the school year.

Average class size figures are published by local authority for state-funded primary and secondary schools but not by year groups within those schools. The attached table contains the breakdowns requested.