MORE than 10,000 pupils in East Yorkshire are being taught in overcrowded classrooms, according to new figures.

The class-size study compiled during a January census of schools across the UK showed the worst cases included one primary school class which had 55 pupils crammed into it.

More than 6,000 primary school pupils in the region are in classes of 30 or more pupils and 318 classes in East Yorkshire are regarded as overcrowded.

John Killeen, East Riding branch secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “The situation we have got now will only get worse next year.

“There is no doubt class sizes are going up and no teacher or head teacher will say large classes are good for children. The better the teacher-to-pupil ratio, the better the education.”

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s head of improvement and learning, Mike Furbank, said: “The East Riding is a severely underfunded authority, being in the ten worst funded authorities nationally.

“This leads schools to have to plan their curriculum and staffing as cost-effectively as possible. The level of funding equates directly to the number of staff that can be employed and this leads to unavoidable large class sizes.”

In 2001, schools were ordered by the Government to ensure classes for children under eight had no more than 30 pupils. East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull City Council will now be contacted and asked to put measures in place to reduce the class sizes.