Schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compared
Each nation runs its own school system and publishes different things about it. This table puts the measures that exist in all four side by side, then lists what each publishes and withholds. Averages are across open state schools with the measure published, so a school counts once regardless of size.
Side by side
| Measure | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | 24,820now | 1,524now | 2,427now | 1,098now |
| PupilsPupils on roll (GIAS) | 8,841,002now | 457,553now | 695,927now | 344,833now |
| Pupils from low-income familiesEligible for free school meals, January census | 26.3%January 2026 | 20.5%January 2025 | 34.5%January 2026 | 28.1%January 2026 |
| Pupils learning EnglishFirst language other than English | 18.6%January 2026 | 11.1%January 2025 | 8.2%January 2026 | – |
| Attendance100 minus overall absence | 93.8%2024/25 | 92.3%2024/25 | – | 92.9%2024/25 |
| Average class sizeOne-teacher classes, January census | 25.0January 2026 | – | 21.0January 2026 | – |
| Pupils per teacherPupil to teacher ratio | 19.0January 2026 | 20.1January 2025 | 13.4January 2026 | – |
| Spend per pupilTotal expenditure per pupil | £9,2732024/25 | £6,3652025/26 | – | – |
| Pupils with special educational needs | – | – | – | 23.1%January 2026 |
| Newcomer pupils | – | – | – | 6.9%2025/26 |
| Five good GCSEs incl. English and maths (Year 12) | – | – | – | 71.9%2024/25 |
| Faith schoolsShare of state schools with a religious character | 29%now | 17%now | 100%now | 46%now |
| Five good GCSEs incl. English and maths (Year 12) | 1.9%2026/27 | 0.0%2026/27 | 0.0%2026/27 | 1.1%2026/27 |
Free school meals are measured differently: England counts pupils eligible at the January census, Wales a three-year average, Scotland pupils registered in P6 and above (every P1 to P5 pupil gets a free meal), Northern Ireland pupils entitled at the October census. Spend per pupil is the budget share per pupil in Wales and actual expenditure in England.
What each nation publishes
| Published for each school | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam results | Yes: KS2, GCSE, A level, by subject | Secondary only (Capped 9 points); no primary results since 2019 | No open data (dashboard only) | Post-primary only: Year 12 GCSE and Year 14 A level headline measures |
| Progress measure | Yes (Progress 8, KS2 progress) | No | No | No |
| Inspection grades | Yes (Ofsted report cards from Nov 2025; old grades before) | No grades since 2022 (Estyn) | Grades in reports but no dataset (HMIE) | No grades (ETI) |
| Attendance | Yes, plus persistent absence | Yes | No open school-level data | Yes |
| Suspensions and exclusions | Yes | No | No | No |
| Class sizes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Teachers and pay | Yes | Teachers and pupil-teacher ratio | Teachers and pupil-teacher ratio | No |
| Money | Yes (CFR and academy accounts) | Budget per pupil | No | No |
| Parent survey | Yes (Parent View) | No | No | No |
| Deprivation of the neighbourhood | Yes (IoD 2025) | Yes (WIMD 2025) | Yes (SIMD 2020) | No open postcode lookup |
| Our score | Yes | Secondary only | No | No |