State-funded primary schools and state-funded secondary schools – Primary schools typically accept pupils aged 5-10 and secondary schools aged 11 and above, who take pupils of all compulsory school ages. These schools include academies and free schools and are included in the totals for secondary schools.
State-funded special schools – these are schools which provide tailored provision for pupils with special educational needs.
Alternative provision (AP) is defined in the Alternative Provision Statutory Guidance (opens in a new tab) as education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; education arranged by schools for pupils on a suspension; and pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour. These placements are typically for children unable to attend a mainstream or special school.
Where this publication refers to state-funded AP schools, this includes pupil referral units or alternative provision academies or free schools. Local authorities can also fund places not maintained by the local authority. Alternative provision is covered in more detail in the “State-funded AP schools and alternative provision” section below.
Independent schools and non-maintained special schools – these are registered schools which do not receive government funding. They often charge fees for pupils to attend.
State-funded nursery schools – these are local authority-maintained schools that focus exclusively on the early years. Other nurseries, such as private and voluntary nurseries, are not included in the school census. Schools with a nursery attached will complete the school census as a school rather than as a nursery.
There are just over 9 million pupils in January 2025, an decrease of 59,600 from last year
There are fewer pupils in primary schools and independent schools this year compared to last year, with little change to pupil numbers in state-funded secondary, AP schools, special schools and non-maintained schools. This is primarily driven by demographic changes, following a peak of births in 2013, as children reach secondary school age and lower numbers of pupils are moving into primary school age.
The primary population is projected to continue to decrease to the end of the projection period in 2028, whilst the secondary population is projected to increase until 2027 then slowly decrease (see the department's pupil projections release).
The number of pupils in state-funded nurseries has increased marginally by 549 (1.5%) to 37,300 but this is still below the series peak of 43,800 in 2016/17 academic year. This coincides with expanded entitlement to early childcare for 2-year olds from April 2024, and for children aged 9 to 23 months in September 2024.
The number of pupils in state-funded AP schools has increased by 4.9% to 16,600 which is the second highest in the series. The number of pupils in state-funded AP schools is similar to pre-pandemic levels. AP schools typically have high mobility with pupils having shorter spells than in other schools.
The number of pupils in state-funded and non-maintained special schools has increased by 5.3%, to 170,000, continuing the trend of increases seen in recent years.
The number of pupils in independent schools has decreased by 1.9% to 582,500 after increases in recent years, meaning the population is similar to that in 2021/22.
The number of schools has increased
There are 26 more schools in England in 2025 compared to 2024. This was due to increases in some phases (4 more secondary schools, 9 state-funded special schools, 1 AP school and 35 independent schools) and decreases in others (21 primary and 2 nursery schools).
The number of pupils attending academies (including free schools) has continued to grow, along with the number of academies. While 46.1% of all schools were academies, over half of all pupils (58.4%) were attending an academy. At January 2025:
- 46.1% of primary schools are now academies or free schools, accounting for 47.3% of the primary school population.
- 83.0% of secondary schools are academies or free schools, accounting for 82.7% of secondary school pupils.
- 49.6% of state-funded special schools are academies or free schools, accounting for 46.4% of special school pupils
For up-to-date information on open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs, see monthly transparency data (opens in a new tab).
School hours
Information on the total compulsory time pupils spend in school in a typical 5 day week is now collected in the January school census. For information on the data collected, please see the school census guidance (opens in a new tab).
Information on school hours (time) has been published in the underlying school data file and can found under additional supporting files.