Class sizes in Britain are among the highest in the developed world, reports the Daily Telegraph today.
An international study published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed that only six other countries - Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Chile and Israel - have more children in primary school lessons
Teachers criticised the findings and challenged Gordon Brown to deliver on his pledge to match budgets in state schools to those in the private sector.
Parents claimed that large classes were to blame for thousands of children leaving primary school unable to read or write properly.
The annual study – Education at a Glance – said that 25.8 pupils aged five to 11 shared the average lesson in 2005, and this was "large by international standards". It put Britain behind countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, Mexico and Slovenia in a league table of 29 nations.
Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "While Britain has now achieved the average spent on education by industrialised countries there is much more to do.
"I look to the fulfilling of the Prime Minister's commitment to match public with private spending on education. State school class sizes must be brought down."
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