There were 296 higher education institutions in the United Kingdom in the 2022/23 academic year, compared with the previous year when there were 288.

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 151,840 students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2021/22. University College London had the second-highest number of students at 46,830, followed by the University of Manchester at 46,140. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were 27,290, and 22,610 students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at 42,980 students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at 33,985 students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having 34,550 students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2023, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over 44,900 pounds. Although the students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing in recent years. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over 225.95 billion pounds in 2022/23, with the vast majority from students who studied in England.

In 2024 there were approximately 1,411 private or independent schools in the United Kingdom, compared with 1,374 in 2020.

The Cambridge Centre for Business Research Survey of Knowledge Exchange Activity with Universities by United Kingdom Companies, 2017-2021 contains the results of an online survey of directors of UK companies in 2020-2021.

The survey was designed to assess the extent and nature of the knowledge exchange interactions of their companies with the university sector. It covers the three-year period to March 2020 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and questions relating to the subsequent impact of the pandemic on knowledge exchange patterns. The researchers inquired about 33 modes of interaction grouped into four broad categories. These were commercialisation (3 modes), people-based (10 modes), problem-solving (12 modes) and community-based (4 modes).

The survey covers a sample of 3,823 companies in all sectors, regions and countries of the UK and employment sizes ranging from micro-firms less than 10 employees, to the largest public listed corporations. The response rate was 4.4 per cent and a detailed response bias analyses by survey wave and prompt wave showed largely insignificant sample response bias compared to the sampling frame drawn from the FAME database of all UK companies.

The dataset provides a unique source of data on a critical period of challenge for knowledge exchange in the UK. David Sweeney, the then Executive Director of Research England which sponsored the survey commented on an initial report of results in 2022 that "This report which has an exclusive focus on company interactions with universities, is an important addition to our understanding of the collaboration process" (The Changing State of Business-University Interactions in the UK. Centre for Business Research and NCUB. 2022 p2).

The survey dataset contains many variables comparable with a similar previous postal survey of an earlier period by two members of the current research team. The data from this is available from the Data Archive under SN 6464 - Cambridge Centre for Business Research Survey of Knowledge Exchange Activity by United Kingdom Businesses, 2005-2009.

The share of in-class content covered by remote learning materials at schools in the United Kingdom increased significantly between December 2020 and January 2021, rising from 56 percent to 85 percent in Primary schools, and from 73 percent to 87 percent at Secondary schools. This increase was due to schools generally closing their doors to regular attendance in early 2021, as the Coronavirus pandemic situation worsened in the UK.

Understanding Society, (UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.

Understanding Society (UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex and the survey research organisations Kantar Public and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.

The Understanding Society COVID-19 Study, 2020-2021 is a regular survey of households in the UK. The aim of the study is to enable research on the socio-economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the short and long term. The surveys started in April 2020 and took place monthly until July 2020. From September 2020 they took place every other month until March 2021 and the final wave was fielded in September 2021. They complement the annual interviews of the Understanding Society study. The data can be linked to data on the same individuals from previous waves of the annual interviews (SN 6614) using the personal identifier pidp. However, the most recent pre-pandemic (2019) annual interviews for all respondents who have taken part in the COVID-19 Study are included as part of this data release. Please refer to the User Guide for further information on linking in this way and for geographical information options.

Latest edition information

For the eleventh edition (December 2021), revised April, May, June, July, September, November 2020, January 2021 and March 2021 data files for the adult survey have been deposited. These files have been amended to address issues identified during ongoing quality assurance activities. All documentation has been updated to explain the revisions, and users are advised to consult the documentation for details. In addition new data from the September 2021 web survey have been deposited.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

Understanding Society (the UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.

The Understanding Society COVID-19 Study is a regular survey of households in the UK. The aim of the study is to enable research on the socio-economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the short and long term. The surveys started in April 2020 and took place monthly until July 2020. From September 2020 they take place every other month. They complement the annual interviews in the Understanding Society study.

This dataset contains school code variables for the Understanding Society COVID-19 study (SN 8644).

A file is provided for the fifth web wave of the Understanding Society COVID-19 study, the only one that school information has currently been gathered for. For each child it contains: state school code, country of state school, private school name and private school town variables for both mother and father responses. A child personal identification serial number (pidp_c) is also provided for matching to the main data in SN 8644.

In addition, this dataset contains a file of school code variables that can be matched to a dataset released with the main Understanding Society COVID-19 study containing data taken from waves 10 and 11 of the main Understanding Society survey specifically for the respondents in the Understanding Society COVID-19 study. Child school codes are only available for Wave 11 as they are only collected in odd-numbered waves. For each child it contains the state school code and country of state school variables as well as a personal identification serial number (pidp) and a household identification serial number for wave 11 (jk_hidp). Further details on the files in this dataset can be found in the Understanding Society COVID-19 User Guide.

Additional information can be found on the Understanding Society COVID-19 website, including Data documentation. A list of Understanding Society COVID-19 Research Outputs (regularly updated) is also available.

New edition information
For the second edition (January 2021), both previously deposited files have been revised to include a significant number of additional school codes resulting from manual coding. For further details please refer to the UKHLS COVID-19: Data Changes document, included in the main COVID-19 study (SN 8644).

Main Topics:

This study contains school code variables for the Understanding Society COVID-19 study.

India has the most universities worldwide. According to data from July 2023, there were an estimated 5,350 universities in India. Indonesia had the second most universities, counting 3,300, followed by the United States with 3,200 universities.

Higher education has a crucial role to play in responding to the climate crisis, not only through carrying out research, but also through teaching, community engagement and public awareness. The Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) project aimed to strengthen the contribution of universities to addressing the causes and impacts of climate change in lower-income contexts. In doing so, it contributed to the broader task of understanding the role of education in achieving the full set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First starting in 2020, it focused on five countries: Brazil, Fiji, Kenya, Mozambique and the UK. The project sought to answer two main research questions in these countries: What are the effects of locally-generated university initiatives on actions and ideas relating to climate change?; and How do they inform our understandings of the role of higher education in sustainable development? The qualitative and quantitative collections of data deposited here contribute to an analysis of that answers these questions.

We start with a description of the qualitative data collection. A case study design was adopted to guide the research. The focus of the case studies was variously on community engagement, curriculum and campus greening activities. The collaborations and partnerships that exist between the university and external organisations on climate action were also examined during the study. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a range of key informants (community members, academics, students and non-government organisations). The broad aim of the interviews and focus groups was to establish respondents' views on the role of universities in responding to climate change through and beyond the teaching, research, community engagement and public awareness functions. This was in order to determine the extent to which universities can themselves be transformed in order to respond to the climate crisis, as well as transform the marginalised communities surrounding universities.

The qualitative case studies formed part of the broader research method for the project – participatory action research (PAR). Not all of the participating universities made formal data collection of interviews and focus groups as part of the PAR. Qualitative data from four of the participating institutions are included in this dataset.

We now turn to a description of the quantitative data collection. A survey on climate change was conducted in twelve universities in Brazil, Fiji, Kenya and Mozambique. The survey examined the experiences of students, their engagement in climate action and their attitudes towards environmental issues. It responded to the overall aim of the project, which was to generate insights into how to maximise the contribution of universities to the mitigation and adaptation challenges of climate change, and to understand how universities might contribute to climate justice. To this end, the survey aimed to assess students’ perceptions and experiences regarding climate change and their universities, and their environmental attitudes. It was designed to be internationally comparable and to draw on existing work and questions, so a number of previous surveys and studies were reviewed in the process of drafting our questionnaire.

As the UK went into the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team behind the biggest social survey in the UK, Understanding Society (UKHLS), developed a way to capture these experiences. From April 2020, participants from this Study were asked to take part in the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey, henceforth referred to as the COVID-19 survey or the COVID-19 study.

The COVID-19 survey regularly asked people about their situation and experiences. The resulting data gives a unique insight into the impact of the pandemic on individuals, families, and communities. The COVID-19 Teaching Dataset contains data from the main COVID-19 survey in a simplified form. It covers topics such as

• Socio-demographics
• Whether working at home and home-schooling
• COVID symptoms
• Health and well-being
• Social contact and neighbourhood cohesion
• Volunteering

The resource contains two data files:

• Cross-sectional: contains data collected in Wave 4 in July 2020 (with some additional variables from other waves);
• Longitudinal: Contains mainly data from Waves 1, 4 and 9 with key variables measured at three time points.

Key features of the dataset

• Missing values: in the web survey, participants clicking "Next" but not answering a question were given further options such as "Don't know" and "Prefer not to say". Missing observations like these are recorded using negative values such as -1 for "Don't know". In many instances, users of the data will need to set these values as missing. The User Guide includes Stata and SPSS code for setting negative missing values to system missing.

• The Longitudinal file is a balanced panel and is in wide format. A balanced panel means it only includes participants that took part in every wave. In wide format, each participant has one row of information, and each measurement of the same variable is a different variable.

• Weights: both the cross-sectional and longitudinal files include survey weights that adjust the sample to represent the UK adult population. The cross-sectional weight (betaindin_xw) adjusts for unequal selection probabilities in the sample design and for non-response. The longitudinal weight (ci_betaindin_lw) adjusts for the sample design and also for the fact that not all those invited to participate in the survey, do participate in all waves.

• Both the cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets include the survey design variables (psu and strata).

A full list of variables in both files can be found in the User Guide appendix.

Who is in the sample?

All adults (16 years old and over as of April 2020), in households who had participated in at least one of the last two waves of the main study Understanding Society, were invited to participate in this survey. From the September 2020 (Wave 5) survey onwards, only sample members who had completed at least one partial interview in any of the first four web surveys were invited to participate. From the November 2020 (Wave 6) survey onwards, those who had only completed the initial survey in April 2020 and none since, were no longer invited to participate

The User guide accompanying the data adds to the information here and includes a full variable list with details of measurement levels and links to the relevant questionnaire.

This project uses interview data to investigate the implications, implementation and consequences of Brexit for UK universities, including the effects in relation to migration, international education and financial sustainability. The generic research questions are: 1) What are the perceived implications of Brexit for UK universities as leaders and others see it? 2) What are the principal responses of universities and what are their capabilities to monitor, judge, strategies, respond, initiate and make internal changes, in relation to Brexit? 3) How do these factors vary by UK nation; university mission, status, resources; and discipline? The dataset includes 124 semi-structured transcripts of semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2017 to September 2018. Participants were from 12 universities in the UK. This project is part of the ESRC’s 'The UK in a Changing Europe' initiative which supports research into the relationship between the UK and the European Union (EU).UK universities are extensively engaged in Europe, in collaborative research and infrastructure and through EU citizen staff and students. The UK’s departure from the EU has many potential consequences for UK universities and their staffing, research, international education and financial sustainability.

Brexit is an unprecedented development with implications in almost every domain of UK higher education (HE) and a range of possible forms and consequences for individual UK HEIs, with marked potential for differential effects (e.g. in research capability, international students, staffing, mission, income) across the variation of HEI types. Though Brexit has many possible forms, in any form it is likely to disrupt existing projects, networks and activities, and could imply sharp reductions in staff, students and/or income, in some or all HEIs. It also calls for new and innovative lines of institutional and discipline-based development on and off shore.In an uncertain and fast changing setting characterised by multiple possibilities and sudden shocks, HEIs will be required to monitor, respond, adjust, strategize, reorient and initiate with unprecedented speed and effectiveness; to build new relations and activity portfolios in Europe and beyond; and to grapple with new challenges to human resource management, risk management, financial sustainability, mission, governance and local implementation systems. This research investigates the policy implications, implementation and consequences of Brexit for UK HE, in two priority areas identified by the Economic and Social Research Council: implications of Brexit for migration, and impacts in the economy and future trade arrangements. UK higher education institutions (HEIs) are extensively engaged in Europe and in this sector EU relations have been unambiguously positive and productive. While there is a range of possible Brexit scenarios, UK HE is closely affected by the Brexit-related policy settings for staff mobility, retention and recruitment ('migration'); for international student policy and regulation, with consequences for tuition revenues and balance sheets ('trade'); and by the effects of Brexit in research relations between UK and European HEIs. Research papers co-authored with colleagues in Europe outweigh total papers co-authored with US and other English-speaking countries, more than 20 per cent of UK R&D funding is from international sources with much from collaborative European research schemes. The role of UK universities in Europe is central to their outstanding global research performance: UK accounts for 3.2 per cent of global R&D spending, 9.5 per cent of scientific papers downloaded, 11.6 per cent of citations, and 15.9 per cent of the most highly-cited papers. EU frameworks enable many UK researchers to lead, while sharing the best ideas and people from other EU member countries. The research capacity and reputation of UK HEIs also underpins the nation's role as the world's second largest exporter of international education after the US. The government has stated that it hopes to raise education exports by almost 50 per cent to 30 billion pa in 2020. The main data collection consists of qualitative case studies in 12 UK HEIs, with participating institutions selected from all four nations and illustrating the diversity of the sector. There are 127 semi-structured interviews, with senior academic leaders of HEIs, chief financial officers, heads of human resources, executive deans in three disciplines (health, science, social science), research professors from these disciplines, and student representatives. The project also conducted policy-oriented seminars which will have both data gathering and dissemination/public discussion purposes. The practical outcomes of the research are (a) through research, public events and briefings, to draw to the attention of policy makers and public the implications of different Brexit scenarios in higher education, (b) within...

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which was established in September 2017, provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. This school-based survey is the first and largest established physical activity survey with children and young people in England. It gives anyone working with children aged 5-16 key insight to help understand children's attitudes and behaviours around sport and physical activity. The results will shape and influence local decision-making as well as inform government policy on the PE and Sport Premium, Childhood Obesity Plan and other cross-departmental programmes. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2019-2020 began as the usual school-based survey (i.e. completed at school as part of lessons). From 20 March 2020, schools, colleges and nurseries were closed in the UK due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained closed until 1 June 2020, when there was a phased reopening for reception, and Years 1 and 6. The Active Lives survey fieldwork in Spring term finished two weeks early before the end of term, in line with the school closures.

Due to the closure of schools, the survey had to be adapted for at home completion. The adaptions involved minor questionnaire changes (e.g. to ensure the wording was appropriate for both the new lockdown situation and to account for the new survey completion method at home) and communication changes. For further details on the changes, please see the accompanying technical report. The circumstances and adaptations resulted in a delay to survey fieldwork re-starting. This means that the data does not cover the full lockdown period, and instead re-starts from mid-May 2020 (when the survey was relaunched). Sample targets were also reduced as a result of the pandemic, resulting in a smaller proportion of summer term responses for 2019-20 when compared to previous years. As part of Sport England’s official publication, an additional Coronavirus report was produced, which outlines changes during the ‘easing restrictions’ phase of lockdown from mid-May to the end of July, comparing the summer term in 2020 with summer 2019. Due to the reduced summer term sample, it is recommended to analyse within term and/or school phase for academic year 2019-20.

The survey identifies how participation varies across different activities and sports, by regions of England, between school types and terms, and between different demographic groups in the population. The survey measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and less active), attitudes towards sport and physical activity, swimming capability, the proportion of children and young people that volunteer in sport, sports spectating, and wellbeing measures such as happiness and life satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of variables, such as gender, family affluence and school year.

The following datasets have been provided:

1. Main dataset: includes responses from children and young people from school years 3 to 11, as well as responses from parents of children in years 1-2. The parents of children in years 1-2 provide behavioural answers about their child’s activity levels, they do not provide attitudinal information. Using this main dataset, full analyses can be carried out into sports and physical activity participation, levels of activity, volunteering (years 5 to 11), etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross.csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).
2. Year 1-2 dataset: includes responses from children in school years 1-2 directly, providing their attitudinal responses (e.g. whether they like playing sport and find it easy). Analysis can be carried out into feelings towards swimming, enjoyment for being active, happiness etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross.csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).
3. Teacher dataset – this .sav file includes response from the teachers at schools selected for the survey. Analysis can be carried out into school facilities available, length of PE lessons, whether swimming lessons are offered, etc. Weighting was formerly not available, however, as Sport England have started to publish the Teacher data, from December 2023 we decide to apply weighting to the data. The Teacher dataset now includes weighting by applying the ‘wt_teacher’ weighting variable.

For further information about the variables available for analysis, and the relevant school years...

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in England closed their buildings to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers on 20 March 2020, representing an unprecedented disruption to the education of children and young people. This project explores schools' responses to the Covid-19 emergency and the impact this is having on pupils and teachers. Data will be collected via two school surveys, each administered to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice panel, and all remaining publicly-funded mainstream primary and secondary schools in England. The survey is offered for completion by a senior leader and a number of teachers within each school. The first survey (Wave 1) was administered in schools between 7 and 17 May 2020. The second (Wave 2), focused on the challenges schools would face from September, and was administered between 8 and 15 July.

Further information and research findings may be found on the NFER Schools' responses to Covid-19 webpage.

Latest edition information
For the second edition (December 2020), data and documentation for Wave 2 were added to the study.

Main Topics:

Senior Leaders' survey:

Wave 1:

• Mechanisms for supporting remote learning
• Curriculum, teaching and learning and assessment via remote learning
• In-school provision for vulnerable children and the children of keyworkers
• Remote support for vulnerable pupils who are not attending school
• Job satisfaction
• Preparing schools for opening more fully
• Personal characteristics

Wave 2:

• The school’s provision during the Covid-19 crisis
• 'Catch-up' arrangements
• Preparing for the new school year
• Staffing in the school
• Personal characteristics

Teachers' survey:

Wave 1:

• Mechanisms for supporting remote learning
• Curriculum, teaching and learning
• Provision for vulnerable children and the children of keyworkers
• Job satisfaction
• Personal characteristics

Wave 2:

• Questions about teaching and learning during the Covid-19 crisis
• Identifying pupils' needs and deciding where support is most needed
• Personal characteristics