As far as I remember (!) in my primary school we had a desk each, apart from the infants class, but in secondary school they were in the process of changing from the older wooden desks with inkwells and storage to the new table-style ones, but with the introduction of the new desks we had to have new metal lockers as well (presumably increasing the cost?) - I don't know if the school started having issues with thefts out of the old-style desks, but I didn't hear of anything and I think all of us carried our purses in a pocket or bag so I don't think that was a reason in our school, was probably the cost of maintaining/replacing one against the other. I do remember our History teacher (who endlessly imprinted the French Revolution in my brain by marching around the classroom singing the Marseilles!) saying we couldn't/wouldn't concentrate when not facing her desk and asked us to move the new-style desks to all face-front at the start of each lesson - she said she'd get more taught in a 50-minute lesson having done that, than an hour lesson with them as they were before! (though when she spent half the time marching and chanting, you have to ask why bother moving the desks?!)