A Fifth of Primary Children Are from an Ethnic Minority

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Byline: SARAH HARRIS

ONE in five primary school children is from an ethnic minority, official statistics show.

And English is now the second language for more pupils than ever before.

The figures, published by the Department for Education and Skills in its annual school census, show the biggest year on year increase in children from ethnic backgrounds for a decade.

They account for 18.7 per cent of England's 6.7million primary and secondary school pupils, compared to 11 per cent in 1996.

In primary schools alone, the figure is 20.6 per cent, up from 19.3 per cent in 2005. This represents almost 690, 000 pupils.

The upward trend …