Education and training statistics for the UK
Reporting year 2025

Description

This document describes the contents of the underlying data files accompanying the ‘education and training’ statistics publication. There is a Methodology document that is linked under ‘Useful information’ at the top of the release, that contains further information on the statistics published here.

Coverage

This release compiles information on education systems across the United Kingdom.

File formats and conventions

Symbols used in the underlying data are as follows:

- ‘z’ when an observation is not applicable
- ‘x’ when data is unavailable for other reasons
- ‘c’ confidential data
- ‘low’ rounds to 0, but is not 0

Data files

Pupils

Filename: uk_pupils_suppressed.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2015/16 to 2024/25
Content summary: This file contains information on the number of pupils in the UK, by age, sex and school type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
--------  |  ----------------
age       |  Age
gender    |  Gender
phase     |  School type
t_pupils  |  Number of pupils

Footnotes:

1. Primary and secondary figures include middle schools as deemed. Secondary schools include all-through schools.
2. In England, special schools include alternative provision (https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/glossary#alternative-provision) schools.
3. In Scotland, nursery figures include all providers of funded Early Learning and Childcare, except childminders.
4. Figures for independent schools in Scotland are unavailable.
5. Figures for independent schools in Wales are unavailable for 2019/20.
6. Independent schools includes non-maintained special schools.
7. In Scotland, Early Learning and Childcare pupil numbers by sex are unavailable.
8. In Northern Ireland, independent school pupil numbers by sex are unavailable.
9. Figures below the UK level are rounded to the nearest 5.
10. Northern Ireland's pupil data collection in 2023/24 was affected by Action Short of a Strike, leading to lower than expected figures which are not comparable to other years.
