Written question asked by Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 2 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 November 2005. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 November 2005 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Class Sizes

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of pupils in primary school classes was within each education and library board in the Province in 1997.

Answer

The information requested is as follows:

Education and library board area	Average class size (1997–98)
Belfast	24.3
Western	22.9
North Eastern	23.7
South Eastern	24.8
Southern	23.0
Northern Ireland average	23.7
Note: Figures apply to those pupils in year 1 to year 7 only.

Secondary information