Pupil numbers and school capacity

The City Council is the main provider of school places in Plymouth and, like all Local Authorities, has a statutory duty to ensure that sufficient school places are available now and in the future, and report annually to the Department for Education (DfE).

Essential elements of school place planning are pupil number forecasts and school capacity assessments. The City Council undertakes this work on behalf of all schools/academies and other professional stakeholders in Plymouth.

The Council forecasts pupil numbers based on city level national curriculum year group numbers. The documents below show this city level data and the methodology used to obtain the numbers.

Plymouth city forecast data - July 2011 [10KB]

Pupil forecasting methodology - 2011 [37KB]

Primary school data

Primary forecast data is used to estimate potential demand within the city at primary age based on regular information about the number of 'live births'. These forecasts are presented by school and are used to plan for the next five years.

Primary school forecasts - July 2011 [14KB]

Primary school capacity data - July 2011 [12KB]

Secondary school data

Secondary forecast data is used to estimate potential demand within each secondary school based on the number of children leaving primary school. Currently the number of secondary school aged children is in decline and this trend will continue until 2015. Thereafter the pupil roll will begin to increase.

Secondary school capacity data - July 2011 [10KB]

For further enquiries, please contact us on 01752 307533.