This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the second year of reporting using the new data model. Once again, a comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes. The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: -Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; -Publicly funded HE providers in Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

This bulletin provides details of staff employment at UK higher education (HE) providers on 1 December 2023. Detailed analysis of the HESA staff record is available in the Higher Education Staff Open Data. This bulletin has been produced by Jisc in collaboration with statisticians from the Department for Education, the Office for Students, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. It has been released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

In 2022/23 there were estimated to be over 2.94 million students enrolled in higher education courses in the United Kingdom, which was the highest number of enrolled students during this provided time period. Although the number of students in the UK fell from 2.5 million in 2011/12 to 2.27 by 2014/15, this trend reversed in subsequent years, reaching the peak in the most recent year. Largest UK universities At 140,215 students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2022/23. University College London had the second-highest number of students at 51,810, followed by the University of Manchester at 46,860. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were 27,340, and 22,975 students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at 39,755 students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at 32,725 students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having 32,085 students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2024, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over 48,470 British pounds. Although students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing recently. In 2024, students from Scottish Universities graduated with an average of 16,680 pounds of debt, compared with 37,360 in Wales, and 25,730 in Northern Ireland. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over 259 billion pounds in 2023/24, with the vast majority of this debt from students who studied in England.

In the 2023/24 academic year, 29 percent of undergraduates obtaining their degree were awarded a degree with first-class honors, the highest possible grade for UK graduates. Almost half of all students achieved an upper second or 2.1, with 20 percent obtaining a lower second or 2.2, and just four percent of graduates obtained a third, the lowest possible pass grade. The share of UK students graduating with a first-class degree has increased significantly in this time period, while the share of students obtaining a 2.2 has fallen the most in the same time period. GCSE and A-Level grades also on the rise Higher grades for the UK's main qualification for high school students, the general certificate of secondary education (GCSE), have also increased recently. In 1988 for example, approximately 8.4 percent of GCSE entries received the highest grade, compared with 21.8 percent in 2024. This is also the case to a lesser-extent for advanced level GCSE results (A-Levels), with the share of entries being awarded an A or A* increasing from 17.8 percent in 2000 to 27.8 percent in 2024. There is no consensus on if these improvements are due to increased ability, or to grade inflation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, grades in the UK were a lot higher than in other years. This was due to teacher and tutor assessments being giving a higher weighting than normal, with exams being postponed or cancelled completely. The UK's top universities Britain's oldest and most famous universities, Cambridge and Oxford, remained the two highest-ranked universities in the UK in 2025, with the London School of Economics finishing third. According to the ranking, the University of St Andrews was the top university outside the south of England, with Durham University being the highest-ranked university in the north of England. The largest university in terms of enrolled students was the mainly remote focused Open University, which had over 140,000 students in 2022/23. Among universities that mainly taught on-campus, University College London had the most students enrolled, at almost 52,000.

In the academic year of 2022/32, more than ******* Chinese students were studying in the United Kingdom. The number of Chinese students studying in British higher education institutions increased by more than ** percent in the last decade. An attractive destination for Chinese students In recent years, the United Kingdom has overtaken the United States as the top choice among the destination countries for Chinese prospective students. The more affordable tuition fees in the country compared to destinations such as the United States and Australia, the shorter duration of the postgraduate programs, and the reputation of British universities as seen in international rankings have all contributed to the high popularity of the United Kingdom among Chinese students and employers. The diversification of international study destinations At the same time, destinations for Chinese students have become more diverse. The high academic and research performance of the United States in many sectors continues to make it a desirable destination for affluent Chinese students. For students from middle-class or less well-off backgrounds, studying in places such as Japan, Germany, and France are more practical options as these countries offer more affordable programs.

Further education and skills learner participation and achievements by detailed learning difficulty and/or disability. Breakdowns for adult (19+) Education and training can also be obtained. Academic years: 2018/19 to 2023/24 full academic yearsIndicators: Total Participation and Achievement by Level Filters: Minority Ethnic flag, LLDD, Primary LLDD, Age group (with unknowns), Age group (under 19/19+), Sex, Provision type

This statistics release provides summary data on the number of students completing T Levels, as reported to the Department for Education through the manage T Level results service.

Data includes:

• provisional outcomes for the fourth cohort of T Level students, who started in September 2023
• revised outcomes for the third cohort of students, who started in September 2022

T Levels are an alternative to A levels, apprenticeships and other 16 to 19 courses. Equivalent in size to 3 A levels, a T Level focuses on vocational skills and can help students into skilled employment, apprenticeships, college or university.

Find out more about how T Levels developed.

In Summer 2025, GCSE students in the United Kingdom had a pass rate (achieving a grade of C/4 or higher) of 67.4 percent, compared with 67.6 percent in the previous year. The COVID-19 pandemic, and closure of schools in the UK led to exams throughout the country being cancelled, with grades in 2020 and 2021 based on assessment by teachers and schools. During this provided time period, the highest pass rate was reported in 2021, when 77.1 percent of GCSE entries achieved a pass grade, while it was lowest in 1988, when just 41.9 percent of entries were awarded a pass grade. Gender attainment gap Among female students, the proportion of GCSE entries that received a pass rate in 2025 was 70.5 percent, compared with 64.3 percent of male students. This attainment gap between male and female students has been a consistent feature of GCSE exam results in recent years, with female A-Level students also outperforming their male counterparts. Among undergraduates, this gap is less pronounced, with UK degree results for 2023/24 showing female undergraduates attaining only slightly higher grades than males. Growing negativity about UK education system According to a survey conducted in April 2025, approximately 39 percent of British adults thought that education across the country was in a bad shape, compared with 31 percent who thought it was doing well. This is down from 2021 when just under half of adults believed that the national education system was good, and just 27 percent who thought it was bad. Although education currently lies behind several other issues for Britons in terms of importance, such as the economy, immigration, and health, the growing discontent about education will likely be one of the many issues the current Labour government will have to face in the coming months.