More than 30,000 Scottish schoolchildren receive their education in independent schools, according to the 2006 census of independent schools.
The total of 30,519 is an increase of 198 from 2005, a net
difference which consists of a decrease of 16 pupils from primary
schools, 29 from special schools and an increase of 243 in secondary
schools.
The report finds that, while the number of pupils in
independent schools has remained fairly stable over the past decade,
this has occurred at a time of population decline, which has therefore
represented a slow but steady increase in the percentage of school
pupils who are in independent schools, which has risen from 3.9 per
cent in 2000 to 4.2 per cent in 2006.
There were 61 independent
primary schools identified in the survey, which is an increase of one
of the previous year. There were 11,576 pupils in independent primary
schools in 2006, a slight 0.1 per cent decrease from the 2005 census.
There
were 55 secondary schools identified, a decrease of two compared to
2005, and a fall from 63 in 1999. These schools accounted for 17,840
pupils, which was an increase of 1.4 per cent on 2005.
The
survey also showed that there were 34 independent special schools in
2006, compared to 33 schools in the previous survey. There were 1,103
pupils in independent special schools, a 2.5 per cent decrease on a
year ago, of which 97 per cent are funded by local authorities.
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