In Surrey, almost one in five children attend a private school. According to Department for Education data from 2021 to 2022, some 40,054 pupils attend private schools out of a total of 201,993 pupils in the county.
Using the Government’s assumption that 6pc of those children will join state schools, it means the local authority needs to find additional places for 2,403 children.
Clare Curran, a cabinet member at Surrey County Council said: “To date, there has been no need to commission additional school places in Surrey to specifically accommodate children withdrawing from the independent sector.
“However, we are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to manage any tangible increases in school applications as and when they occur to ensure that a school place is offered to any Surrey child who requires one.”
Ms Curran added the data included schools who had capped their intake despite the school building being able to accommodate more children and said the council would explore increasing the size of these state schools if needed.
In July, The Telegraph reported schools in
Surrey received close to 600 queriesin a two-week period from private school parents enquiring about availability for their children.
Last month, The Telegraph revealed the council received 161 applications from private school pupils applying to join state schools between June and the beginning of September.
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