City pupils being short-changed?

Edinburgh schools have the worst pupil-to-teacher ratios in Scotland, new figures have revealed. According to the statistics, the Capital had 15.1 pupils to every teacher across both primary and secondary schools.

Only East Lothian was equally bad, with the 30 other local authorities enjoying a lower ratio.

In contrast, Glasgow has a ratio of just 13.1 pupils for every teacher, while Aberdeen has a ratio of 14.1.

And the figure has got worse for Edinburgh over the years. In 2015 it was 14.9, while back in 2007 it was just 13.5.

The national average last year was 13.6 pupils for every teacher.

Edinburgh Conservative education spokesman Councillor Callum Laidlaw said: “These figures show that pupils in the Capital are being short-changed.

“It’s completely inexcusable that children in Edinburgh should be taught in busier classrooms than almost anyone else in the country.

“Not only does that negatively impact the education of youngsters, but it places teachers in Edinburgh under immense strain too.

“Since the SNP came to power in 2007, the pupil-teacher ratios in classrooms have got worse.

“Now that we have an SNP administration in the council, there seems almost no prospect of conditions in Edinburgh’s classrooms improving.”

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davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer