The kitchen sets the size. Twelve stations means twelve students in a practical session regardless of how many the classroom seats, and admitting beyond that produces a course where half the group watches.
Placements are relationships. Which employer takes how many students, when, who supervises and whether it went well is a record that decides whether that kitchen takes anybody next year.
Teaching food is a budget line. Ingredients ordered for a session, what gets used and what is wasted is forecastable, and schools that treat it casually discover the cost only at the end of a term.
Practical assessment needs evidence. What was cooked, to what standard, observed by whom and photographed is what supports a qualification and what an awarding body may ask to see.