School Chooser

Lancashire schools in numbers

How Lancashire's 696 schools compare with North West and England on every headline measure, with the council's rank out of the English councils that have data. Ranks run from best to worst for each measure (highest attendance first, lowest exclusions first, and so on).

Schools696open, all types
Pupils183,411on roll
Primary schools484
Secondary schools83

Who the pupils are

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Pupils from low-income familiesJanuary 2026 · 627 schools24.6%29.0%26.3%58thof 151
Pupils attracting pupil premiumnow · 601 schools25.1%29.8%27.1%57thof 151
Pupils learning EnglishJanuary 2026 · 627 schools12.9%16.7%18.6%95thof 151
Pupils with SEN supportJanuary 2025 · 642 schools13.4%14.5%14.5%106thof 151
Pupils with an EHC planJanuary 2025 · 642 schools12.1%12.7%11.6%73rdof 151

Classrooms and teachers

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Average class sizeJanuary 2026 · 547 schools25.224.925.069thof 151
Classes with more than 30 pupilsJanuary 2026 · 547 schools13.9%11.5%10.6%134thof 151
Pupils per teacherJanuary 2026 · 617 schools19.519.119.0106thof 151
Teachers leaving each year2024/25 · 606 schools13.8%13.5%15.0%49thof 151
Average teacher payJanuary 2026 · 603 schools£51,456£51,081£51,37757thof 151
Sick days per teacher2024/25 · 473 schools6.05.04.7146thof 151

Attendance and behaviour

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Attendance2024/25 · 576 schools94.1%93.7%93.8%30thof 151
Persistently absent pupils2024/25 · 576 schools14.6%15.9%15.8%35thof 151
Suspensions per 100 pupils2024/25 · 577 schools5.66.77.055thof 151

Money

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Spend per pupil2024/25 · 616 schools£9,189£9,291£9,273
Spent on teachers per pupil2024/25 · 616 schools£3,943£4,183£4,229110thof 151
Reserves as a share of income2024/25 · 626 schools7.0%6.6%8.3%91stof 151
Schools in deficit2024/25 · 626 schools10.5%15.2%14.1%56thof 151

Results

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE2024/25 · 81 schools44.0%42.3%46.1%84thof 150
Average GCSE score2024/25 · 81 schools45.945.347.078thof 150
Reached the expected level at 112024/25 · 445 schools60.8%61.3%63.1%113thof 151
Reached the higher level at 112024/25 · 445 schools7.5%7.1%8.3%90thof 151

Ofsted, score and places

MeasureLancashireNorth WestEnglandRank
Inspected under the new report cardsnow · 580 schools18%15%13%22ndof 151
Good or outstanding (old grades)now · 381 schools92%93%94%115thof 151
Scored above similar schoolsnow · 543 schools33%32%35%82ndof 151
Places taken2024/25 · 553 schools88.0%88.5%86.2%63rdof 151
Academies and free schoolsnow · 669 schools20%38%52%147thof 154
Free breakfast clubsnow · 669 schools9.3%14.6%12.0%95thof 154

Trends

Trend
Attendance
2016 to 2025
LancashireEngland
Lancashire 2016: 95.9%95.9%Lancashire 2017: 95.9%95.9%Lancashire 2018: 95.7%95.7%Lancashire 2019: 95.8%95.8%Lancashire 2021: 95.7%95.7%Lancashire 2022: 93.5%93.5%Lancashire 2023: 93.7%93.7%Lancashire 2024: 93.7%93.7%Lancashire 2025: 94.1%94.1%England 2016: 95.6%England 2017: 95.5%England 2018: 95.3%England 2019: 95.4%England 2021: 95.5%England 2022: 92.9%England 2023: 93.2%England 2024: 93.4%England 2025: 93.8%201620172018201920212022202320242025
Since 2016: -1.7%
Trend
Pupils from low-income families
2019 to 2026
LancashireEngland
Lancashire 2019: 15.5%15.5%Lancashire 2021: 19.4%19.4%Lancashire 2022: 20.5%20.5%Lancashire 2023: 22.6%22.6%Lancashire 2024: 23.5%23.5%Lancashire 2025: 24.1%24.1%Lancashire 2026: 24.6%24.6%England 2019: 16.0%England 2021: 21.2%England 2022: 22.6%England 2023: 24.4%England 2024: 25.0%England 2025: 25.8%England 2026: 26.3%2019202120222023202420252026
Since 2019: +9.1%
Trend
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE
2017 to 2025
LancashireEngland
Lancashire 2017: 46.5%46.5%Lancashire 2018: 46.8%46.8%Lancashire 2019: 45.5%45.5%Lancashire 2022: 47.9%47.9%Lancashire 2023: 43.1%43.1%Lancashire 2024: 45.2%45.2%Lancashire 2025: 44.0%44.0%England 2017: 45.4%England 2018: 45.1%England 2019: 44.7%England 2022: 50.6%England 2023: 46.0%England 2024: 46.9%England 2025: 46.1%2017201820192022202320242025
Since 2017: -2.5%
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2016 to 2025
LancashireEngland
Lancashire 2016: 56.3%56.3%Lancashire 2017: 63.3%63.3%Lancashire 2018: 67.3%67.3%Lancashire 2019: 65.9%65.9%Lancashire 2023: 59.9%59.9%Lancashire 2024: 60.4%60.4%Lancashire 2025: 60.8%60.8%England 2016: 55.8%England 2017: 63.4%England 2018: 66.3%England 2019: 66.6%England 2023: 60.7%England 2024: 61.7%England 2025: 63.1%2016201720182019202320242025
Since 2016: +4.6%
Trend
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2007 to 2025
LancashireEngland
Lancashire 2007: 3.83.8Lancashire 2008: 4.3Lancashire 2009: 3.53.5Lancashire 2010: 3.4Lancashire 2011: 2.72.7Lancashire 2012: 2.6Lancashire 2013: 2.82.8Lancashire 2014: 3.4Lancashire 2015: 3.13.1Lancashire 2016: 3.6Lancashire 2017: 3.63.6Lancashire 2018: 3.3Lancashire 2019: 3.73.7Lancashire 2020: 2.3Lancashire 2021: 2.72.7Lancashire 2022: 4.4Lancashire 2023: 5.25.2Lancashire 2024: 5.1Lancashire 2025: 5.65.6England 2007: 2.7England 2008: 2.6England 2009: 2.5England 2010: 2.4England 2011: 2.7England 2012: 2.6England 2013: 2.6England 2014: 2.7England 2015: 3.1England 2016: 3.3England 2017: 3.6England 2018: 3.9England 2019: 4.0England 2020: 2.8England 2021: 2.9England 2022: 4.4England 2023: 5.8England 2024: 7.0England 2025: 7.02007200920112013201520172019202120232025
Since 2007: +1.8