THE NUMBER of primary schools stretched beyond their capacity limits has risen by a third in a decade, despite promises that new schools would help to tackle overcrowding. Since 2009, hundreds of schools have closed across the country with 200 fewer schools overall now than there were a decade ago.
Dozens of schools, the majority of them primaries, are now having to accommodate more than the maximum number of pupils they were designed for, with some teachers having to use reading rooms, family rooms and Portakabins as routine classroom alternatives.
In some cases schools are bulging with up to 42 per cent more children than they are meant to accommodate, sparking concerns over the impact on their safety and standard of education they receive.
Critics have accused the Scottish Government of failing on education and said children are being "crammed in like sardines".
Beatrice Wishart, the Liberal Democrats' spokeswoman for education, said the data showed that education was not a priority for Nicola Sturgeon's government, and added: "It's a far cry from fostering an environment that's conducive to learning."
While the number of over-capacity secondary schools has reduced in the last 10 years, from 42 in 2009 to 23 in 2018/19, the number or primaries schools has risen with 111 primaries now catering for 100 per cent or more of the pupils they were designed for, compared with 83 in 2009.
Analysis of the latest education statistics published by the Scottish government show the number of P1-3 children in classes with 18 or fewer students has also fallen in the last decade.
This is despite the Government's goal of reducing class sizes for youngsters in the first three years of primary to 18 pupils or less.
In 2009, 16.1% of students in their
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