National school rankings

Every state school in England ranked on the measures parents ask about most: test results, how hard it is to get a place, and how much is spent on each pupil. Each ranking shows the top 100 and explains the rules behind it.

Primary school results (Key Stage 2 SATs)

These rankings use the 2025 Key Stage 2 results that Year 6 pupils sat in May. Only schools with at least 20 pupils in Year 6 are ranked, because a handful of pupils can swing a small school's percentages a long way from one year to the next.

• Primary schools with the most pupils meeting the expected standardAcross England, 64% of Year 6 pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. At 17 schools with 20 or more pupils, every child did.
• Primary schools with the most pupils at the higher standardOnly 9% of pupils nationally reach the higher standard in all of reading, writing and maths. It is a better guide than the expected standard to how far a school stretches its strongest pupils.
• Primary schools with the highest average reading scoresSATs are marked on a scale from 80 to 120, where 100 is the expected standard. The national average reading score is 106.
• Primary schools with the highest average maths scoresThe national average maths score is 105. A school average of 115 or more means a typical pupil scored well above the expected standard.

Secondary school results (GCSEs)

These rankings use the 2025 Key Stage 4 results for Year 11 pupils, for schools with at least 30 pupils taking exams. Selective grammar schools admit pupils by an entrance test, so they dominate the raw tables. That is why there is also a ranking that leaves them out.

• Secondary schools with the highest Attainment 8 scoresAttainment 8 adds up a pupil's grades across eight GCSE subjects, with English and maths counted twice. The national average is 47.4.
• Secondary schools with the most pupils getting grade 5 or above in English and mathsGrade 5 is a 'strong pass'. Nationally, 47% of pupils get grade 5 or above in both English and maths.
• Top non-selective secondary schools by Attainment 8With the 163 selective schools taken out, this is the list most families will find useful: schools that admit pupils without an entrance test.

Admissions: the hardest schools to get into

These rankings come from council allocation figures for September entry. They show where demand for places is highest, and where you need to live closest to the school gate to have a realistic chance of an offer.

• The most oversubscribed primary schools in England2,435 primary schools with 30 or more Reception places received more first-choice applications than they had places.
• The most oversubscribed secondary schools in England1,157 secondary schools with 60 or more Year 7 places had more first-choice applicants than places.
• Primary schools with the smallest catchment areasThe median cut-off among these 824 oversubscribed schools is 0.67 miles. At the top of the list, you need to live within a few hundred metres.
• Secondary schools with the smallest catchment areasAmong 259 oversubscribed secondaries with a published cut-off, the median is 1.47 miles.

School funding

Spending per pupil comes from the DfE's school finance returns for 2024/25. It is total spending divided by the number of pupils. It is usually highest in inner London and in areas with more disadvantaged pupils, because funding follows need.

• Primary schools that spend the most per pupilThe typical primary school spends about £6,820 per pupil a year.
• Secondary schools that spend the most per pupilThe typical secondary school spends about £7,790 per pupil.