Now the Scots get smaller class sizes than the English

The revelation revived the row over 'apartheid' in public services caused by differences in funding north and south of the border.

The Scottish Executive plans to reduce to 18 class sizes for four- to eight-year-olds, claiming research shows it is the critical limit for improving academic performance in poor areas.

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An extra 300 teachers will be employed at a cost of £9million a year to help Scottish councils bring down the size of teaching groups.

Infant class sizes in Scotland are already considerably smaller than in England, with a current limit of 25.

South of the border, the legal maximum for classes of five to seven-year-olds was set at 30 in 2001.

Labour trumpeted the limit as one of its key achievements during its first term in office, but opponents have accused the party of failing to capitalise on falling birth rates to reduce class sizes still further.

Official figures show 4,320 infants are being taught in classes that are illegally large. A further 18,480 are grouped in classes that have been allowed by the Government to exceed the 30 limit.

The Scottish announcement follows a study found that pupils there are significantly more likely to do well at school and progress to university than their English counterparts. Smaller class sizes in Scottish schools were cited as a key factor behind the attainment gulf.

More than 37 per cent of pupils in Scotland go on to college or university compared with just 25 per cent of English students. Scottish children are also up to a third more likely to get good grades at age 16.

The findings came as controversy raged over a long-standing funding arrangement which gives Scotland about £1,500 per head more than England to spend on public services.

Benefits enjoyed by the Scots include free tuition fees for all students from 2009 while students in England must pay up to £3,000 a year for their studies.

The Scots also have access to expensive drugs for illnesses such as Alzheimer's and eye disease, which are not available on the Health Service in England.

In the latest development, English taxpayers face footing the bill for Scots to have free prescriptions. Scots patients with chronic conditions will not pay for their drugs from April and the Scottish National Party plans to extend the benefit to all within four years.

The £22billion Scottish budget is calculated under a formula introduced in the 1970s to deal with differing levels of poverty and population across Britain.