Glasgow schools have 74% of asylum seeker pupils in Scotland

There were 1,588 school pupils who are asylum seekers in Glasgow last year – more than 13 times higher than the 118 in Edinburgh, which had the second highest number.

Schools in Scotland’s largest city are also teaching 2,194 refugee pupils, which is about a third of the total in Scotland.

It recently emerged that Glasgow has a higher proportion of asylum seekers receiving local authority support than any other council area in the UK, at close to 4,500.

In total there were 2,155 school pupils who were asylum seekers in Scotland last year, with almost 74 per cent being in Glasgow, the largest asylum dispersal area in the country.

Councillor Christina Cannon, city convener for education and early years, said: “Glasgow has been Scotland’s only asylum dispersal authority for almost a quarter of a century and supports more asylum seekers that any other UK council area.

“It stands to reason there will be more asylum seekers and refugees in our schools than elsewhere in Scotland.

“Providing sanctuary to those fleeing war, famine and persecution has always had challenges, but Glasgow has risen to meet these pressures and our city is a more diverse, integrated international city as a result.

“Indeed, the diversity within Glasgow’s schools and the extraordinary success stories of many refugee pupils has enriched our wider communities.”

However, Councillor Cannon has also said that the UK government should be providing local authorities with greater assistance to support high numbers of asylum seekers, particularly following a sharp rise in recent months linked to the streamlining of application decisions.

Glasgow City Council is currently embarking on a controversial programme of education spending cuts, including reducing teacher numbers.

However, local authorities receive funding based on the size of their school rolls, including the number of asylum seekers and refugees.

Separate data shows how Scottish schools have become far more multicultural in recent years, with the number of pupils from minority ethnic groups more than doubling, from 36,910 in 2012, to 79,703 last year.

The number of “white British” pupils has dropped from 600,299 to 561,481 in the same period.