Schools in Southampton: A Quantitative Approach to School Location,Closure and Staffing

Between 1965 and 1976 the number of children born in the UK decreased by about one third. The fall in the number of births was followed by a fall in the number of children on roll in compulsory education, which resulted in many schools being closed. This paper examines the dynamics of falling rolls in the city of Southampton. Multidimensional scaling techniques are used to explore the social characteristics of the schools proposed for closure. The paper examines also the consequences of the exercise of parental choice of school. It is shown that social dynamics and staffing rules based on constant pupil/teacher ratios remove resources from the schools that are most in need of them.