School places in England, 2024/25
How many places England's schools have, how many children are in them, and how many places are empty.
Every number here counts every year group of every school, not places in the year children start. A school can have empty desks in Year 6 and be full in Reception on the same day, so these are two different things and this page only holds the first.
Primary schools, 2024/25
England had 4,951,383 primary school places across every year group, and 4,283,709 children in them.
685,013 places were unfilled, which is 13.8% of the places primary schools have.
At the same time 17,754 children were at a primary school holding more children than it has places for. Empty places are not always where the children are.
| Schools counted | 16,740 |
| Places, across the whole school | 4,951,383 |
| Children at those schools | 4,283,709 |
| Places nobody was in | 685,013 |
| Share of places nobody was in | 13.8% |
| Children at a school with more children than places | 17,754 |
Primary places, year by year
One count each year. The rows are not joined up, because each one is a separate count on a separate day.
| Year | Places | Children | Empty places | Share empty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009/10 | 4,225,315 | 3,808,952 | 458,040 | 10.8% |
| 2010/11 | 4,253,301 | 3,845,738 | 444,408 | 10.4% |
| 2011/12 | 4,315,008 | 3,913,561 | 432,941 | 10.0% |
| 2012/13 | 4,416,208 | 4,011,425 | 435,059 | 9.9% |
| 2013/14 | 4,528,023 | 4,111,660 | 447,100 | 9.9% |
| 2014/15 | 4,633,934 | 4,210,503 | 453,970 | 9.8% |
| 2015/16 | 4,737,900 | 4,307,008 | 461,065 | 9.7% |
| 2016/17 | 4,804,157 | 4,381,270 | 452,791 | 9.4% |
| 2017/18 | 4,863,329 | 4,423,856 | 466,824 | 9.6% |
| 2018/19 | 4,896,469 | 4,439,571 | 482,335 | 9.9% |
| 2019/20 | Not counted this year | |||
| 2020/21 | 4,943,111 | 4,403,235 | 560,716 | 11.3% |
| 2021/22 | 4,951,236 | 4,403,947 | 569,787 | 11.5% |
| 2022/23 | 4,949,245 | 4,393,178 | 577,665 | 11.7% |
| 2023/24 | 4,950,124 | 4,359,535 | 611,358 | 12.4% |
| 2024/25 | 4,951,383 | 4,283,709 | 685,013 | 13.8% |
Where the empty primary places are
The councils at each end. This is not a list of all 151 councils in order: it names the two ends so you can see how far apart they are. Councils with fewer than 2,000 places are left out, because one small school moving changes their share more than anything real could.
Most places empty
| Westminster | 32.4% |
| Lambeth | 32.3% |
| Wandsworth | 29.4% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 27.7% |
| Northumberland | 26.3% |
| Southwark | 25.8% |
| Hackney | 23.8% |
| Rutland | 23.6% |
| Lewisham | 23.5% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 22.7% |
| Westmorland and Furness | 22.1% |
| Cambridgeshire | 22.0% |
Secondary schools, 2024/25
England had 4,115,847 secondary school places across every year group, and 3,632,400 children in them.
512,454 places were unfilled, which is 12.5% of the places secondary schools have.
At the same time 29,007 children were at a secondary school holding more children than it has places for. Empty places are not always where the children are.
| Schools counted | 3,418 |
| Places, across the whole school | 4,115,847 |
| Children at those schools | 3,632,400 |
| Places nobody was in | 512,454 |
| Share of places nobody was in | 12.5% |
| Children at a school with more children than places | 29,007 |
Secondary places, year by year
One count each year. The rows are not joined up, because each one is a separate count on a separate day.
| Year | Places | Children | Empty places | Share empty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009/10 | 3,563,118 | 3,263,405 | 355,254 | 10.0% |
| 2010/11 | 3,608,971 | 3,252,983 | 396,244 | 11.0% |
| 2011/12 | 3,599,555 | 3,224,520 | 405,804 | 11.3% |
| 2012/13 | 3,637,301 | 3,191,472 | 469,441 | 12.9% |
| 2013/14 | 3,711,807 | 3,167,115 | 563,672 | 15.2% |
| 2014/15 | 3,755,545 | 3,163,191 | 612,144 | 16.3% |
| 2015/16 | 3,787,836 | 3,171,447 | 636,462 | 16.8% |
| 2016/17 | 3,811,284 | 3,197,519 | 637,936 | 16.7% |
| 2017/18 | 3,848,042 | 3,230,941 | 639,167 | 16.6% |
| 2018/19 | 3,897,512 | 3,301,023 | 621,308 | 15.9% |
| 2019/20 | Not counted this year | |||
| 2020/21 | 3,962,856 | 3,469,500 | 528,746 | 13.3% |
| 2021/22 | 4,001,385 | 3,536,887 | 501,233 | 12.5% |
| 2022/23 | 4,028,801 | 3,600,575 | 465,262 | 11.5% |
| 2023/24 | 4,052,248 | 3,637,050 | 452,190 | 11.2% |
| 2024/25 | 4,115,847 | 3,632,400 | 512,454 | 12.5% |
Where the empty secondary places are
The councils at each end. This is not a list of all 151 councils in order: it names the two ends so you can see how far apart they are. Councils with fewer than 2,000 places are left out, because one small school moving changes their share more than anything real could.
Most places empty
| Islington | 25.6% |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 23.5% |
| Halton | 23.1% |
| Devon | 22.6% |
| Croydon | 22.3% |
| Camden | 21.9% |
| Westmorland and Furness | 20.5% |
| Reading | 20.4% |
| Thurrock | 20.0% |
| Northumberland | 19.9% |
| Cornwall | 19.7% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 19.3% |
Fewest places empty
| Kingston upon Thames | 3.3% |
| Rutland | 3.8% |
| Sutton | 4.0% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 4.5% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 4.6% |
| Coventry | 4.8% |
| Harrow | 5.1% |
| Buckinghamshire | 5.3% |
| Kirklees | 5.9% |
| Gateshead | 5.9% |
| Telford and Wrekin | 6.2% |
| Leicester | 6.5% |
The map
Each council is shaded by how many of its school places were empty. The darker a council, the more of its places nobody was in.
The area shapes are rough, so near a border they are not exact. A council shaded in the palest stone is one we hold no count for, which is not the same as a council with no empty places.
What this does and does not say
These are places counted on one day, across every year group of every school. They do not say whether any particular child would be offered a place, and they do not say how many places there will be next year.
Empty places and full schools can be true in the same place at the same time. That is not a mistake in the counting. It means the empty places are not at the schools families asked for, which is a different problem from having too few schools.
Counted by the Department for Education, school capacity collection, school level, England. · This page as plain text · Who was offered the school they asked for · What data we hold