Schools in deficit in England's schools
Across England's state schools, schools in deficit averaged 14.1% in 2024/25 (21,508 schools). Official definition: share with a negative revenue reserve.
The trend
All state schools14.1%2024/25, 21,508 schools
Primary14.6%16,344 schools
Secondary11.1%3,375 schools
Only one year of this measure is loaded so far; the trend will fill in as later releases arrive.
By region
Latest year, best (lowest) first. The tick is the England figure.
Every council
151 councils ranked, best (lowest) first. Councils with very few schools swing more from year to year.
| # | Council | Schools in deficit | Schools | vs England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 1.8% | 55 | -12.3 pts |
| 2 | Southend-on-Sea | 2.0% | 51 | -12.1 pts |
| 3 | Peterborough | 2.4% | 82 | -11.7 pts |
| 4 | Medway | 3.1% | 96 | -11.0 pts |
| 5 | Kent | 3.6% | 586 | -10.5 pts |
| 6 | Sandwell | 3.8% | 104 | -10.2 pts |
| 7 | Surrey | 3.9% | 385 | -10.2 pts |
| 8 | Torbay | 4.7% | 43 | -9.4 pts |
| 9 | Essex | 4.7% | 553 | -9.4 pts |
| 10 | North East Lincolnshire | 4.8% | 63 | -9.3 pts |
| 11 | Manchester | 4.8% | 188 | -9.3 pts |
| 12 | Harrow | 5.0% | 60 | -9.1 pts |
| 13 | Redbridge | 5.1% | 79 | -9.0 pts |
| 14 | Coventry | 5.1% | 118 | -9.0 pts |
| 15 | Kensington and Chelsea | 5.1% | 39 | -9.0 pts |
| 16 | North Somerset | 5.1% | 78 | -9.0 pts |
| 17 | Stockton-on-Tees | 5.1% | 78 | -9.0 pts |
| 18 | Hartlepool | 5.1% | 39 | -9.0 pts |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 5.2% | 58 | -8.9 pts |
| 20 | Kingston upon Hull, City of | 5.2% | 96 | -8.9 pts |
| 21 | Barnsley | 5.6% | 90 | -8.5 pts |
| 22 | Bradford | 5.7% | 211 | -8.4 pts |
| 23 | Walsall | 5.9% | 118 | -8.2 pts |
| 24 | Bromley | 6.0% | 100 | -8.1 pts |
| 25 | Redcar and Cleveland | 6.7% | 60 | -7.4 pts |
| 26 | Telford and Wrekin | 6.8% | 73 | -7.2 pts |
| 27 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 7.1% | 99 | -7.0 pts |
| 28 | Salford | 7.1% | 98 | -6.9 pts |
| 29 | Plymouth | 7.2% | 97 | -6.9 pts |
| 30 | Solihull | 7.3% | 82 | -6.8 pts |
| 31 | East Sussex | 7.5% | 174 | -6.6 pts |
| 32 | Hertfordshire | 7.6% | 525 | -6.5 pts |
| 33 | Sutton | 7.8% | 64 | -6.3 pts |
| 34 | Nottingham | 8.3% | 96 | -5.8 pts |
| 35 | Wakefield | 8.4% | 143 | -5.7 pts |
| 36 | Cornwall | 8.6% | 280 | -5.5 pts |
| 37 | Bolton | 8.6% | 128 | -5.5 pts |
| 38 | Wigan | 8.7% | 127 | -5.4 pts |
| 39 | Thurrock | 8.9% | 56 | -5.2 pts |
| 40 | Herefordshire, County of | 9.0% | 100 | -5.1 pts |
| 41 | Wolverhampton | 9.0% | 111 | -5.1 pts |
| 42 | Tameside | 9.1% | 99 | -5.0 pts |
| 43 | Dorset | 9.2% | 142 | -4.9 pts |
| 44 | Lincolnshire | 9.2% | 359 | -4.9 pts |
| 45 | North Lincolnshire | 9.5% | 74 | -4.6 pts |
| 46 | Rutland | 9.5% | 21 | -4.6 pts |
| 47 | Suffolk | 9.8% | 317 | -4.3 pts |
| 48 | Newham | 9.8% | 102 | -4.3 pts |
| 49 | Wandsworth | 9.9% | 81 | -4.2 pts |
| 50 | Luton | 10.0% | 70 | -4.1 pts |
| 51 | Shropshire | 10.0% | 150 | -4.1 pts |
| 52 | Calderdale | 10.1% | 99 | -4.0 pts |
| 53 | Hampshire | 10.1% | 523 | -4.0 pts |
| 54 | Doncaster | 10.2% | 128 | -3.9 pts |
| 55 | Sunderland | 10.3% | 116 | -3.7 pts |
| 56 | Lancashire | 10.5% | 626 | -3.5 pts |
| 57 | Blackpool | 11.4% | 44 | -2.7 pts |
| 58 | Kirklees | 11.6% | 181 | -2.5 pts |
| 59 | Kingston upon Thames | 11.8% | 51 | -2.3 pts |
| 60 | Blackburn with Darwen | 11.8% | 76 | -2.3 pts |
| 61 | West Northamptonshire | 11.9% | 185 | -2.2 pts |
| 62 | Southwark | 12.0% | 100 | -2.1 pts |
| 63 | Nottinghamshire | 12.0% | 341 | -2.1 pts |
| 64 | Devon | 12.3% | 333 | -1.8 pts |
| 65 | Birmingham | 12.6% | 436 | -1.5 pts |
| 66 | Oldham | 13.0% | 108 | -1.1 pts |
| 67 | St. Helens | 13.0% | 69 | -1.0 pts |
| 68 | County Durham | 13.1% | 259 | -1.0 pts |
| 69 | Somerset | 13.3% | 248 | -0.8 pts |
| 70 | Warrington | 13.4% | 82 | -0.7 pts |
| 71 | Bedford | 13.5% | 74 | -0.6 pts |
| 72 | Sheffield | 13.6% | 176 | -0.5 pts |
| 73 | Brent | 13.6% | 88 | -0.5 pts |
| 74 | Rotherham | 13.7% | 124 | -0.4 pts |
| 75 | Stoke-on-Trent | 14.0% | 93 | -0.1 pts |
| 76 | Bexley | 14.3% | 84 | +0.2 pts |
| 77 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 14.4% | 97 | +0.3 pts |
| 78 | Wokingham | 14.5% | 69 | +0.4 pts |
| 79 | Slough | 14.6% | 41 | +0.5 pts |
| 80 | Swindon | 14.8% | 88 | +0.7 pts |
| 81 | Rochdale | 14.8% | 88 | +0.7 pts |
| 82 | Leicester | 14.8% | 115 | +0.7 pts |
| 83 | Warwickshire | 14.8% | 250 | +0.7 pts |
| 84 | North Yorkshire | 15.1% | 332 | +1.0 pts |
| 85 | Milton Keynes | 15.2% | 112 | +1.1 pts |
| 86 | Wiltshire | 15.3% | 235 | +1.2 pts |
| 87 | Buckinghamshire | 15.5% | 232 | +1.4 pts |
| 88 | West Sussex | 15.6% | 282 | +1.5 pts |
| 89 | Gloucestershire | 15.8% | 292 | +1.7 pts |
| 90 | Liverpool | 15.8% | 152 | +1.7 pts |
| 91 | Norfolk | 15.9% | 365 | +1.8 pts |
| 92 | Ealing | 16.0% | 94 | +1.9 pts |
| 93 | North Northamptonshire | 16.2% | 142 | +2.1 pts |
| 94 | Oxfordshire | 16.5% | 303 | +2.4 pts |
| 95 | Darlington | 16.7% | 42 | +2.6 pts |
| 96 | Sefton | 16.7% | 102 | +2.6 pts |
| 97 | Dudley | 16.7% | 108 | +2.6 pts |
| 98 | Trafford | 16.7% | 90 | +2.6 pts |
| 99 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 17.7% | 62 | +3.7 pts |
| 100 | Halton | 18.2% | 66 | +4.1 pts |
| 101 | Hillingdon | 18.3% | 93 | +4.2 pts |
| 102 | Staffordshire | 18.4% | 408 | +4.3 pts |
| 103 | Derbyshire | 18.4% | 418 | +4.3 pts |
| 104 | West Berkshire | 19.2% | 73 | +5.1 pts |
| 105 | Wirral | 19.2% | 125 | +5.1 pts |
| 106 | Bristol, City of | 19.2% | 151 | +5.1 pts |
| 107 | Northumberland | 20.1% | 164 | +6.0 pts |
| 108 | Cambridgeshire | 20.4% | 270 | +6.3 pts |
| 109 | Worcestershire | 20.6% | 243 | +6.5 pts |
| 110 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 20.8% | 149 | +6.7 pts |
| 111 | Tower Hamlets | 21.3% | 94 | +7.2 pts |
| 112 | Cheshire East | 21.3% | 155 | +7.2 pts |
| 113 | Bury | 21.4% | 84 | +7.3 pts |
| 114 | Richmond upon Thames | 21.4% | 56 | +7.3 pts |
| 115 | Croydon | 21.6% | 125 | +7.5 pts |
| 116 | Gateshead | 21.7% | 83 | +7.6 pts |
| 117 | Isle of Wight | 21.7% | 46 | +7.6 pts |
| 118 | Stockport | 22.1% | 113 | +8.0 pts |
| 119 | Cumberland | 22.2% | 158 | +8.1 pts |
| 120 | Islington | 22.6% | 62 | +8.5 pts |
| 121 | Derby | 22.6% | 106 | +8.6 pts |
| 122 | Westminster | 22.6% | 53 | +8.6 pts |
| 123 | Bath and North East Somerset | 22.8% | 79 | +8.7 pts |
| 124 | Camden | 22.8% | 57 | +8.7 pts |
| 125 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 22.8% | 57 | +8.7 pts |
| 126 | Knowsley | 23.0% | 61 | +8.9 pts |
| 127 | Merton | 23.2% | 56 | +9.1 pts |
| 128 | Leeds | 23.4% | 278 | +9.3 pts |
| 129 | South Gloucestershire | 23.5% | 115 | +9.4 pts |
| 130 | Greenwich | 23.9% | 88 | +9.8 pts |
| 131 | Enfield | 24.2% | 95 | +10.1 pts |
| 132 | Central Bedfordshire | 24.2% | 128 | +10.1 pts |
| 133 | Southampton | 24.7% | 77 | +10.6 pts |
| 134 | Hackney | 25.0% | 60 | +10.9 pts |
| 135 | Cheshire West and Chester | 25.0% | 160 | +10.9 pts |
| 136 | Leicestershire | 25.3% | 285 | +11.2 pts |
| 137 | Waltham Forest | 25.3% | 79 | +11.2 pts |
| 138 | York | 25.4% | 63 | +11.3 pts |
| 139 | Hounslow | 27.6% | 76 | +13.5 pts |
| 140 | Reading | 27.9% | 61 | +13.8 pts |
| 141 | Lewisham | 29.1% | 86 | +15.0 pts |
| 142 | Havering | 29.1% | 79 | +15.0 pts |
| 143 | North Tyneside | 30.3% | 76 | +16.2 pts |
| 144 | Barking and Dagenham | 31.1% | 61 | +17.1 pts |
| 145 | Westmorland and Furness | 32.1% | 140 | +18.1 pts |
| 146 | Lambeth | 33.0% | 88 | +18.9 pts |
| 147 | Bracknell Forest | 33.3% | 36 | +19.2 pts |
| 148 | South Tyneside | 35.5% | 62 | +21.4 pts |
| 149 | Barnet | 36.4% | 129 | +22.3 pts |
| 150 | Haringey | 37.8% | 82 | +23.7 pts |
| 151 | Brighton and Hove | 48.4% | 62 | +34.3 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.