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INCREASING numbers of London children are being taught in classes so large they break the law.
This year's government school census also shows mounting evidence of a shortage of primary school places.
More than 3,500 pupils aged five to seven were in classes of more than 30, a rise of one third in a year. The number of groups judged to be "unlawful" jumped by 50 per cent since last year.
Labour promised in 1997 to cut class sizes for infants and ministers introduced laws to limit classes to 30 pupils for five to seven-year-olds. But schools are allowed to exceed the limit in "exceptional" circumstances. The figures follow warnings from council leaders that London's primary schools are struggling to cope with demand. Councils blame large numbers of families opting for state schools instead of paying fees, a rising birth rate and sluggish housing market. The census shows:
■ A 35 per cent rise in the number of London pupils being taught in classes of more than 30 since January last year, to 3,530.
■ Some 940 pupils were in "unlawfully large classes" of 31 or more, where the school has no good reason for such sizes, up from 720 children last year.
■ The biggest problems were in outer London boroughs such as Richmond, Ealing and Brent.
The London Councils lobby group warned parents would face growing problems getting primary school places without more funding. Ministers have promised £200million to help struggling local authorities cope with the pressure.
Liberal Democrat schools spokesman, David Laws, said: "These huge classes make it difficult for teachers to give our youngest children the individual attention they need. The situation could be even worse next year given the shortage of school places and the problems allocating places."
In Richmond, 217 pupils were being taught in unlawfully large classes this year, up from 93 last year and the highest number of any London borough.Malcolm Eady, Richmond cabinet member for education, said the borough's primaries were in high demand because they were so good.
"In a small number of cases, for instance where families have moved nearer to a school after the start of the academic year, they can only be accommodated as the 31st child in a class as no local schools have vacancies," he said.
A spokesman for the Department for Children said: "Infant class sizes were a national disgrace in 1997. We now have strong legal measures to ensure that almost all infant classes are below 30." Almost all of the London classes which were too large have been tackled, he said.
