Data set from A level and other 16 to 18 results

Retention - local authority district

Latest data

Published 26 March 2026

Last updated 26 March 2026

Retention metrics by local authority district.

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On this page

Data set details

• Theme: School and college outcomes and performance
• Publication: A level and other 16 to 18 results
• Release: Academic year 2024/25
• Number of rows: 7,875
• Geographic levels: Local authority district
• Indicators:
  • % retained
  • % retained and assessed
  • % returned and retained for a second year
• Filters:
  • Cohort
• Time period: 2020/21 to 2024/25

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Data set preview

Table showing first 5 rows, from underlying data

time_period	time_identifier	geographic_level	country_code	country_name	version	lad_name	lad_code	exam_cohort	level_of_study	student_count_year_1	student_count_year_2	retained	retained_and_assessed	returned_and_retained	perc_retained	perc_retained_and_assessed	perc_returned_and_retained
202021	Academic year	Local authority district	E92000001	England	Final	Barking and Dagenham	E09000002	A level	Level 3	801	801	768	766	765	95.88	95.63	95.506
202021	Academic year	Local authority district	E92000001	England	Final	East Staffordshire	E07000193	A level	Level 3	476	476	465	460	459	97.689	96.639	96.429
202021	Academic year	Local authority district	E92000001	England	Final	Cambridge	E07000008	A level	Level 3	2229	2228	2129	2129	2128	95.514	95.514	95.512
202021	Academic year	Local authority district	E92000001	England	Final	Derby	E06000015	A level	Level 3	923	919	847	840	836	91.766	91.008	90.968
202021	Academic year	Local authority district	E92000001	England	Final	Swale	E07000113	A level	Level 3	437	436	416	407	405	95.195	93.135	92.89

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Variables in this data set

Table showing first 5 of 6 variables

Variable name	Variable description
exam_cohort	Cohort
perc_retained	% retained
perc_retained_and_assessed	% retained and assessed
perc_returned_and_retained	% returned and retained for a second year
student_count_year_1	Number of students

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Footnotes

1. A change to the trigger rules was introduced in 2020/21  such that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study. The introduction caused a fall in cohort size, particularly within the vocational and technical cohorts. A full impact analysis can be found in the methodology document.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Retention - local authority district statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: John Shale

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