School enrolment dropped to an all-time low in 2020, statisticians have revealed.

The low pupil numbers, which sat at 8,916 pupils two years ago, the latest figures available, has dropped 1 per cent almost every year between 2011 and 2020.

A Department of Statistics spokeswoman said that government school enrolment fell 4 per cent in 2020 to 4,434 pupils.

She added that the 2021 Digest of Statistics showed that public school enrolment had declined every year in the previous decade with the exception of 2013.

The decrease in government school attendance was seen as a key factor in the drop in total education enrolment, which included private schools and post-secondary education.

Private school enrolment rose 2 per cent to 3,177, but had also mostly fallen in the previous decade.

Enrolment for males and females declined at equal rates between 2011 and 2020 and females represented 52 per cent of total enrolment.

Primary, middle and secondary school enrolment also fell over the period, with primary school enrolment down 4 per cent to 3,549 pupils.

The department spokeswoman said that primary school enrolment had “never been lower” and highlighted “significantly decreasing numbers of births” between 2009 and 2015 as a contributor.

Secondary school enrolment also reached its lowest recorded level this year at 1,935 pupils.

But middle school enrolment reached 1,805 pupils, up 2 per cent from last year’s record low of 1,766.

Student enrolment at Bermuda College had seen a decline every year from 2011 to 2014 before it rose by almost 200 students to 1,296 in 2015.

Enrolment fell to 926 students in 2016, but went up to 1,307 students by 2019 before a drop of just two in 2020.

The college also saw the largest disparity in enrolment by sex as females made up 66 per cent of students in 2011, although the gap had narrowed to 61 per cent by 2020.

To read the full digest, click the link in “Additional Media”.

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2021 Digest of Statistics.pdf