In the 2023/24 academic there were 32,149 schools in the United Kingdom, 601 schools fewer than there were in the 2010/11 academic year. Throughout most of this period, there has been a steady decline in the number of schools, with a slight uptick noticeable after 2019/20, when there were just 32,028 schools. Concrete crisis at UK schools in 2023 Due to its affordability, many schools built in the UK from the 1950s to the 1990s used reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Although not inherently unsafe, RAAC is a less durable version of standard concrete, and has a typically shorter lifespan. The issue of RAAC in schools suddenly became more urgent in 2018, when a school roof collapsed, confirming fears that RAAC structures weakened over time. Just before schools returned for the 2023/24 academic year, 147 schools in England were confirmed as having issues with RAAC, with 19 of these forced to delay the start of the school year, and a further four opting for fully remote learning. Number of UK pupils falls in 2023/24 After reaching a peak of 10.7 million in the 2022/23 academic year, the number of school pupils in the UK fell to 10.63 million in the following academic year. In the same year, the number of full-time teachers in the UK reached a high of 643,491, up from just 621,718 in the 2017/18 academic year. Although the pupil to teacher ratio at UK schools has overall been quite stable in recent years, there was a surge in the pupil to teacher ratio at nursery schools between 2012/13 and 2018/19, rising from 17.5 teachers per pupil, to 22.9

In 2023/24 there were 20,739 primary schools in the United Kingdom, a slight decrease when compared with the previous academic year. Since 2010/11 the overall number of primary schools in the UK has fallen by approximately 542 schools.

In the United Kingdom, there were ***** secondary schools in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with ***** in 2010/11. In the provided time period, the number of secondary schools in the UK has fluctuated between a low of ***** schools in 2011/12 and a high of ***** schools in 2021/22.

Information on all schools in England including local authority maintained schools, academies, free schools, studio schools, university technical colleges and independent schools. The information includes address, school type and phone number. This information comes from EduBase, DfE’s register of schools, and will be updated every month. http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml

In 2025, there were approximately 1,423 private or independent schools in the United Kingdom, compared with 1.411 in 2020.

This statistical release give a summary of academies' income and expenditure, using data from the Benchmarking section of annual Accounts Returns (AR) completed by each Academy Trust for the period ending 31 August (generally the academic year September to August).

Source agency: Education

Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Income and expenditure in Academies in England

Following significant government support, 81.9% of secondary schools are now academies according to the government, with maintained schools increasingly converting. Both types remain under strict government guidelines, but academies can decide term dates, curriculums, subject choices and budget decisions. Despite several years of economic turmoil, government funding has remained strong because of the importance of maintaining and improving UK education standards. Secondary education revenue is expected to have grown at a compound annual rate of 1.4% to £66.1 billion over the five years through 2024-25, growing by 2.1% in 2024-25. The COVID-19 outbreak severely disrupted the day-to-day running of schools throughout 2020-21, with temporary closures forcing pupils to stay at home and learn online. The Educational Recovery Fund has supported educational catch-up, totalling around £5 billion in February 2022, preventing a significant drop in revenue during the COVID-19 outbreak. In cash terms, total funding for all state-funded schools totalled £60.7 billion in 2024-25 due to a £3.9 billion funding increase in 2024-25. Private school pupil numbers have marginally dipped, with the ISC recording a 0.1% decline in independent secondary school pupil numbers over the year through January 2024, with the cost-of-living crisis having squeezed some parents' purse strings. For the start of the 2024-25 academic year, private school enrolments were down, especially for new starters in their first year of secondary school, with the potenital for fee hikes if VAT is added in January 2025 looming. This could pose a threat to profit and place more pressure on state schools to open up available places. Secondary education revenue is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2% to £72.9 billion over the five years through 2029-30. The number of international students attending independent schools has not fallen with immigration policies, as many independent schools hold Student Visa Sponsors. With school costs still continuing to grow by 4% in 2024-25, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, school funding per pupil will remain stretched.

There were approximately ***** million pupils attending schools in the United Kingdom in 2023/24, compared with **** million in the previous year and **** million in 2010/11.

As of 2025, there were approximately 545,640 pupils attending private or independent schools in the United Kingdom, compared with 565,550 in the previous year.

Schools are heavily reliant on funding, so government spending decisions shape the performance of primary schools. Tuition fees and donations that turn the lights on in independent schools are key to primary education revenue. The necessity of primary education protects it from large funding cuts since the UK economy relies on an educated and skilled population. Performance is sensitive to the number of children of primary school age, so a decade of slumping birth rates is catching up to the industry. In 2020-21, forced closures of primary schools owing to the COVID-19 outbreak hit revenue. Government support has propped up primary schools, providing funding of £5 billion between June 2020 and February 2022, according to the DfE. Although government funding has risen, revenue has inched downwards at a compound annual rate of 1.9% to £38 billion, largely because of the revenue fall during COVID-19 thanks to tuition fee repayments and freezes and school closures. Government assistance is set to support revenue growth of 0.7% in 2024-25. The minimum funding per pupil levels in 2024-25 is set at £4,610 per pupil for primary schools in 2024-25. The government has committed funding in support of primary education, making £2 billion more available for schools over 2023-24 and 2024-25. Its success will be determined by how higher costs are contained. Primary school children numbers will continue to decrease, reducing demand, encouraging consolidation of smaller schools and the closure of schools. The issue of falling pupil numbers is particularly prevalent in London. Issues with teacher numbers will put pressure on wage costs and constrain profit growth. Government funding assistance for teacher pay is helping schools cover the 5.5% pay rise in 2024-25. The introduction of VAT in January 2025 to private school fees may contribute to a dip in attendance at indepenent primary schools. Revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.3% over the five years through 2029-30 to reach £40.5 billion.

Absence of day pupils in schools in England. The dataset includes the total number of day pupils of compulsory school age, the total number of possible pupil sessions (also known as pupil half days) and the percentage of half days missed due to authorised absence, unauthorised absence and total absence in all schools. Figures covering maintained primary and secondary schools only for these variables are also included.

Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)

Publisher: Neighbourhood Statistics

Geographies: Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA), Local Authority District (LAD), Government Office Region (GOR)

Geographic coverage: England

Time coverage: 2004/05 to 2007/08

Type of data: Survey (census)

Published by the Department for Education based on information collected in the January 2015 school census, including information on the number of schools and pupils. It covers all types of school in England including: - local-authority-maintained schools - academies - free schools - studio schools - university technical colleges - independent schools The technical note explains the statistics. Information for London Borough of Barnet can be obtained by carrying out a search query on individual datasets.

This statistic shows the number of students attending school in England in January of 2018, by type of school. There were *** million pupils attending state-funding primary schools in this month, the most of any type of school.