Does class size matter?

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The latest thinking on the burning issue of class sizes: Is smaller better? This programme aims to pull together the very latest thinking on class sizes.At St. John's Mosley Common CE Primary school in Manchester, Year 3 teacher Andrea Heaton swaps her class of just 18 pupils with Year 5/6 teacher Joanna Walker's class of 28. Later the pair reflect on the experience. At Sydney Smith School in Hull, English and maths GCSE classes are delivered in double classes of 60 students, with a positive impact on pupil achievement. At John Cabot Academy in Bristol, an innovative approach sees a class of 80 pupils in Year 7 taught in a purpose-built learning centre. And at Fulneck Independent School in Leeds, Head of English Sue Meadows outlines the role of class size in her decision to leave state education. At the Institute of Education in London, Professor of Psychology and Education Peter Blatchford and Deputy Director Professor Dylan Wiliam add the academic dimension to the class-size debate.