School characteristics

The Department for Education has just published ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’.

The statistics are based on the current 2023-24 academic year, compiled from  school censuses. They refer to all schools, state and independent, in England. Headline statistics as follows:

• In January 2024 the total student headcount across all settings was 9,092,073, an increase of 18,200 on last year
• There was a 1.10 per cent increase in the number of students in state-funded secondary schools (from 3,630,171 to 3,669,933). This can be attributed to the 2013 peak in the birth rate, as those children are now secondary age. The number of pupils in primary schools has dropped marginally, by 0.71 per cent to 4,614,990 and in nurseries, to 36,726, a 2 per cent decrease
• The independent sector had a less than 1 per cent increase in student numbers to 593,486. These students make up 6.53 per cent of the total headcount
• Alternative provision (AP) settings show a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of students in AP schools, to 15,866 closer to pre pandemic levels
• The total number of schools is 24,453. Of these, 43.5 per cent were academies, serving 56.2 per cent of all students. 81.9 per cent of secondary schools were academies or free schools, with 42.7 per cent of primaries and 46.8 per cent of special schools
• The average state infant (Reception and key stage 1) class size remained stable at 26.6, down just 0.1 per cent from last year. 57,183 infant children are in classes of 31 to 35 students, while there are 296 in classes of more than 36 students.
• At secondary level an average class size was 22.4. This is consistent with last year, though a not insignificant increase from 2015-16, when the average was 20.4
• The number of students eligible for free school meals (FSM), (not actually receiving them) increased by 74,660 to 2,094,169, or 24.6 per cent of all students
• Most carers were found in secondary school, where 32,473 are listed as providing care at home, however 21,001 primary-aged carers were identified
• The proportion of students with a first language “known or believed to be other than English” is 20.8 per cent this year, nurseries had the highest percentage at 30.7 per cent. This dropped to 22.8 per cent at primary and 18.6 per cent at secondary.