School Chooser

Attendance in England's schools

Across England's state schools, attendance averaged 93.8% in 2024/25 (20,422 schools). Since 2016 it has fallen by 1.8 points, which is the wrong direction. Official definition: 100 minus overall absence.

The trend

Trend
Attendance
2016 to 2025
All state schoolsPrimarySecondary
All state schools 2016: 95.6%95.6%All state schools 2017: 95.5%95.5%All state schools 2018: 95.3%95.3%All state schools 2019: 95.4%95.4%All state schools 2021: 95.5%95.5%All state schools 2022: 92.9%92.9%All state schools 2023: 93.2%93.2%All state schools 2024: 93.4%93.4%All state schools 2025: 93.8%93.8%Primary 2016: 96.1%Primary 2017: 96.0%Primary 2018: 95.9%Primary 2019: 96.0%Primary 2021: 96.4%Primary 2022: 93.7%Primary 2023: 94.1%Primary 2024: 94.5%Primary 2025: 94.8%Secondary 2016: 94.9%Secondary 2017: 94.7%Secondary 2018: 94.5%Secondary 2019: 94.5%Secondary 2021: 94.5%Secondary 2022: 91.0%Secondary 2023: 91.0%Secondary 2024: 91.0%Secondary 2025: 91.5%201620172018201920212022202320242025
Since 2016: -1.8%
Year by year
YearAllPrimarySecondarySchools
2024/2593.8%94.8%91.5%20,422
2023/2493.4%94.5%91.0%19,794
2022/2393.2%94.1%91.0%19,249
2021/2292.9%93.7%91.0%18,844
2020/2195.5%96.4%94.5%18,444
2018/1995.4%96.0%94.5%17,326
2017/1895.3%95.9%94.5%16,371
2016/1795.5%96.0%94.7%15,025
2015/1695.6%96.1%94.9%14,154

By region

Latest year, best first. The tick is the England figure.

Every council

151 councils ranked, best first. Councils with very few schools swing more from year to year.

#CouncilAttendanceSchoolsvs England
1Rutland95.1%20+1.3 pts
2Westmorland and Furness94.9%144+1.1 pts
3Bracknell Forest94.8%35+1.1 pts
4Richmond upon Thames94.8%59+1.0 pts
5Cumberland94.7%165+0.9 pts
6East Riding of Yorkshire94.7%142+0.9 pts
7Wokingham94.6%57+0.9 pts
8Leicestershire94.6%277+0.8 pts
9Wiltshire94.5%222+0.7 pts
10Herefordshire, County of94.5%95+0.7 pts
11Calderdale94.5%97+0.7 pts
12Staffordshire94.5%379+0.7 pts
13Trafford94.4%85+0.6 pts
14North Yorkshire94.4%331+0.6 pts
15Gateshead94.3%81+0.6 pts
16Derbyshire94.3%390+0.6 pts
17Nottinghamshire94.3%318+0.5 pts
18North Lincolnshire94.3%75+0.5 pts
19Telford and Wrekin94.2%63+0.4 pts
20Lewisham94.2%83+0.4 pts
21Warrington94.2%76+0.4 pts
22Bedford94.2%70+0.4 pts
23Cheshire East94.2%145+0.4 pts
24Hampshire94.2%508+0.4 pts
25Harrow94.2%57+0.4 pts
26Havering94.1%80+0.4 pts
27Bromley94.1%98+0.4 pts
28Brent94.1%79+0.4 pts
29Merton94.1%53+0.4 pts
30Lancashire94.1%576+0.4 pts
31Cornwall94.1%269+0.4 pts
32Barnet94.1%124+0.3 pts
33Central Bedfordshire94.1%121+0.3 pts
34Cambridgeshire94.1%258+0.3 pts
35West Berkshire94.1%73+0.3 pts
36Devon94.1%355+0.3 pts
37Shropshire94.1%130+0.3 pts
38West Northamptonshire94.1%175+0.3 pts
39Windsor and Maidenhead94.1%62+0.3 pts
40Greenwich94.1%81+0.3 pts
41Tameside94.1%82+0.3 pts
42North Tyneside94.0%75+0.3 pts
43Buckinghamshire94.0%224+0.3 pts
44North Somerset94.0%77+0.3 pts
45Doncaster94.0%125+0.2 pts
46Oxfordshire94.0%295+0.2 pts
47Kingston upon Thames94.0%48+0.2 pts
48Barnsley94.0%85+0.2 pts
49Wigan94.0%122+0.2 pts
50North East Lincolnshire94.0%59+0.2 pts
51County Durham93.9%239+0.2 pts
52North Northamptonshire93.9%136+0.2 pts
53Surrey93.9%362+0.2 pts
54York93.9%60+0.1 pts
55Luton93.9%61+0.1 pts
56Sutton93.9%55+0.1 pts
57Gloucestershire93.9%292+0.1 pts
58West Sussex93.9%268+0.1 pts
59Thurrock93.9%55+0.1 pts
60Kirklees93.9%162+0.1 pts
61Northumberland93.9%155+0.1 pts
62Bexley93.9%82+0.1 pts
63Leeds93.9%266+0.1 pts
64Lincolnshire93.9%343+0.1 pts
65Hertfordshire93.9%496+0.1 pts
66Bath and North East Somerset93.8%78+0.1 pts
67St. Helens93.8%65+0.1 pts
68Swindon93.8%86+0.1 pts
69Bolton93.8%119+0.0 pts
70Norfolk93.8%402+0.0 pts
71Darlington93.8%39+0.0 pts
72Peterborough93.8%79+0.0 pts
73Milton Keynes93.8%106+0.0 pts
74Worcestershire93.8%228+0.0 pts
75Cheshire West and Chester93.8%148+0.0 pts
76Wolverhampton93.7%910.0 pts
77Stockton-on-Tees93.7%710.0 pts
78Warwickshire93.7%229-0.1 pts
79Stockport93.7%97-0.1 pts
80Wakefield93.7%133-0.1 pts
81Kingston upon Hull, City of93.7%87-0.1 pts
82Suffolk93.7%295-0.1 pts
83Hackney93.7%69-0.1 pts
84Essex93.7%535-0.1 pts
85Dorset93.7%152-0.1 pts
86South Tyneside93.6%57-0.1 pts
87Sandwell93.6%119-0.2 pts
88Derby93.6%96-0.2 pts
89Redbridge93.6%76-0.2 pts
90Barking and Dagenham93.6%59-0.2 pts
91Slough93.6%44-0.2 pts
92Somerset93.6%250-0.2 pts
93Haringey93.6%73-0.2 pts
94South Gloucestershire93.6%108-0.2 pts
95Hounslow93.5%75-0.2 pts
96Waltham Forest93.5%71-0.3 pts
97Blackburn with Darwen93.5%70-0.3 pts
98Dudley93.5%98-0.3 pts
99Ealing93.5%80-0.3 pts
100Rotherham93.5%117-0.3 pts
101Redcar and Cleveland93.5%58-0.3 pts
102Wandsworth93.5%72-0.3 pts
103Southwark93.4%92-0.3 pts
104Stoke-on-Trent93.4%89-0.3 pts
105Enfield93.4%94-0.4 pts
106Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole93.4%98-0.4 pts
107Coventry93.4%113-0.4 pts
108Oldham93.4%92-0.4 pts
109Newham93.4%89-0.4 pts
110Southend-on-Sea93.4%48-0.4 pts
111Kent93.3%574-0.4 pts
112Leicester93.3%106-0.4 pts
113Lambeth93.3%80-0.5 pts
114Sunderland93.3%105-0.5 pts
115Plymouth93.3%92-0.5 pts
116Medway93.3%94-0.5 pts
117Salford93.3%91-0.5 pts
118Isle of Wight93.2%45-0.5 pts
119Rochdale93.2%74-0.6 pts
120Middlesbrough93.2%53-0.6 pts
121Croydon93.2%118-0.6 pts
122Kensington and Chelsea93.2%33-0.6 pts
123Solihull93.2%77-0.6 pts
124Manchester93.2%169-0.6 pts
125Nottingham93.2%99-0.6 pts
126Newcastle upon Tyne93.2%95-0.6 pts
127Bradford93.1%198-0.6 pts
128Walsall93.1%90-0.7 pts
129Sefton93.1%96-0.7 pts
130Hammersmith and Fulham93.1%51-0.7 pts
131Hartlepool93.1%36-0.7 pts
132Birmingham93.0%387-0.8 pts
133Hillingdon93.0%91-0.8 pts
134Bury92.9%71-0.8 pts
135Reading92.9%55-0.9 pts
136Brighton and Hove92.9%57-0.9 pts
137Halton92.9%61-0.9 pts
138Tower Hamlets92.9%87-0.9 pts
139Westminster92.9%45-0.9 pts
140Torbay92.8%42-1.0 pts
141Liverpool92.8%152-1.0 pts
142Wirral92.8%110-1.0 pts
143East Sussex92.8%175-1.0 pts
144Sheffield92.8%160-1.0 pts
145Portsmouth92.7%61-1.1 pts
146Camden92.6%51-1.1 pts
147Southampton92.5%72-1.2 pts
148Blackpool92.5%42-1.2 pts
149Knowsley92.3%59-1.5 pts
150Islington92.3%54-1.5 pts
151Bristol, City of92.3%133-1.5 pts

How to read this

Each figure is a simple average across open state schools that have the measure published. A school counts once whatever its size, so the figures can differ a little from the Department for Education's national figures, which count pupils. Special schools and alternative provision are left out of results measures. Independent schools are left out throughout. Sources and update calendar.