MATpulse

The Education Market

27,223 open schools, 8.8m pupils, £25.6bn total income. Financial data: 2024/25.

Open schools
27,223
Academy trusts
2,310
Total pupils
8.8m
Sector income
£25.6bn
2024/25
Staff costs % of spend
65.0%
DfE review threshold: 78%
Sector net position
-£108.7m
Income minus expenditure
FSM-eligible pupils
24.7%
2,184,095 pupils across 21,348 schools
Per-pupil income
£8,174
Sector average, 2024/25

Academy vs LA maintained

Schools and pupils by governance type

45.2%Academy
12,302 schools5,392,100 pupils
54.8%LA maintained
14,921 schools3,433,344 pupils
Pupil share (academy)
61.1%
45.2% of schools educate 61.1% of pupils
Avg school size
438 vs 230
Academy vs LA maintained

Schools by phase

School count, pupil numbers, and academy conversion rate by phase

PhaseSchoolsPupilsAcademy %
Primary16,7024,402,715
50.8%
Secondary3,2663,393,910
85.0%
Other4,074559,107
4.6%
All-through167207,117
86.2%
Special2,345204,172
26.7%
Nursery37637,020
0.0%
16+29321,403
27.6%

Largest academy trusts

Top 10 MATs by school count, with pupil numbers and phase mix

PrimarySecondarySpecialAll-throughOther
1
United Learning Trust
96schools68kpupils
2
Reach2 Academy Trust
65schools23kpupils
3
Delta Academies Trust
64schools33kpupils
4
St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-academy Trust
63schools21kpupils
5
Lift Schools
58schools34kpupils
6
Oasis Community Learning
55schools32kpupils
7
Harris Federation
55schools43kpupils
8
Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
47schools14kpupils
9
The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust
46schools9kpupils
10
The Kemnal Academies Trust
45schools23kpupils

Where the money goes

Sector expenditure by category — 2024/25 (10,701 schools reporting)

matpulse.co.uk
Teaching staffSupport staffOtherSupplies & servicesPremises
CategoryAmount% of spend
Teaching staff£11.7bn45.6%
Support staff£5.0bn19.4%
Other£4.8bn18.7%
Supplies & services£2.7bn10.5%
Premises£1.5bn5.8%

Schools by region

Distribution of open schools across England

matpulse.co.uk
South East
4,037
North West
3,621
London
3,196
East of England
2,854
West Midlands
2,769
South West
2,666
Yorkshire and the Humber
2,464
East Midlands
2,314
North East
1,243
0
4,037schools

Data sourced under Open Government Licence v3.0 from DfE (GIAS, FBIT), ESFA, Ofsted, and Companies House. Financial data: 2024/25. Contains public sector information. Not financial advice.