Apple’s iPad is outnumbering Android tablets 14 to one in classrooms across the UK as schools almost in unison opt against any tablet under the Google OS’ banner.

The findings, which were made by education app developer Apps in My Pocket, also revealed that as many as 40 per cent of primary schools are either using or trialling an edition of the Apple iPad, with only 3.3 per cent of schools trialling Android slates.

“Android tablets might be beating iPads for market share in most situations. But in education they barely have a foot in the door. I think this is down to a number of factors,” said John Friend, director of Apps in My Pocket.

“Not only does Apple have a good track record of education support, but I think Android and Windows 8 are caught in a catch-22 for education. Schools won’t buy their tablets because they don’t have the popular educational apps, and developers won’t port their apps because schools are just buying iPads,” Friend added.

In all there were 87 implementations of the iPad in primary schools and pre-schools whereas in Android’s case there were just six primary schools using tablets running on the OS.

The limited availability of educational apps on Android tablets is shown by the fact that only one of the top ten education apps recommended by parents is in the Google Play Store.

“I am struggling to see any evidence that Android devices are making any headway to our market. It’s impossible to justify developing for that platform at the moment,” Friend added.

Most of the parents that took part in the survey support the use of iPads in both primary schools and pre-schools with some 88 per cent that use educational apps with their children supporting the educational establishments doing so as well.

The news came on the same day that Ofcom revealed that the use of tablets among children tripled in a year as tablet use by those aged between five and 15 rose from 14 per cent to 42 per cent this year.