The provided table illustrates the shifts in proportions of pupils attending four distinct secondary school types—Specialist, Grammar, Voluntary-controlled, and Community Schools—between the years 2000 and 2009. Overall, there was a noticeable divergence in attendance patterns, with Community Schools experiencing a substantial increase while Voluntary-controlled Schools saw a significant decline.
In 2000, Voluntary-controlled Schools held the largest share of pupils at 52%, followed by Grammar Schools at 24%. Specialist Schools and Community Schools accounted for 12% each. Over the subsequent nine years, the landscape of school attendance underwent considerable changes.
By 2005, the proportion of students in Voluntary-controlled Schools had dropped to 38%, continuing its downward trend to just 20% by 2009. Similarly, Grammar Schools experienced a steady decrease, falling from 24% in 2000 to 19% in 2005 and further to 12% in 2009. Specialist Schools also saw a slight but consistent decline, starting at 12% and gradually decreasing to 11% in 2005 and 10% in 2009.
Conversely, Community Schools witnessed a dramatic surge in popularity. Their proportion of pupils more than doubled from 12% in 2000 to 32% in 2005, ultimately becoming the most attended school type by 2009, with an impressive 58% of pupils. This highlights a clear shift in preference towards Community Schools over the decade, coinciding with the declining attendance in the other three school typ
es.