David Ruffley MP has today released details of his House of Commons questioning of Jim Knight MP, Minister of State at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, which revealed that secondary and middle school class sizes in Suffolk are larger now than in 1997.

In 1997 the pupil teacher-ratio in Suffolk's secondary schools was 16.6. This figure now stands at 17. This goes against the national and regional trend of decreasing class sizes. Nationally the pupil-teacher ratio has fallen slightly over the same period.

David said:

'When this Government came to power all we heard was the mantra 'education, education, education'. Ten years have passed and the people of Suffolk can see no difference in secondary school class sizes, in fact they have increased slightly since 1997.

'We are fortunate enough to have some first rate schools in our part of Suffolk but, despite a small improvement this year in the pupil-teacher ratio in our county, the situation in Suffolk's secondary schools remains worse than the national average.

'It is commonly accepted that smaller class sizes result in a better quality of education. The people of Suffolk deserve a first rate education system and I will be demanding answers as to why we in Suffolk, once again, seem to be getting a raw deal from this Government.'