MATpulse

The Education Market

27,217 open schools, 8.8m pupils, £25.6bn total income. Financial data: 2024/25.

Open schools
27,217
Academy trusts
2,308
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%
2,188,225 pupils across 21,418 schools
Per-pupil income
£8,174
Sector average, 2024/25

Academy vs LA maintained

Schools and pupils by governance type

45.0%Academy
12,241 schools5,393,235 pupils
55.0%LA maintained
14,976 schools3,450,944 pupils
Pupil share (academy)
61.0%
45.0% of schools educate 61.0% of pupils
Avg school size
441 vs 230
Academy vs LA maintained

Schools by phase

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

PhaseSchoolsPupilsAcademy %
Primary16,7074,418,923
50.5%
Secondary3,2653,395,990
85.0%
Other4,078559,245
4.6%
All-through166207,117
86.7%
Special2,332204,481
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
4,036
North West
3,619
London
3,197
East of England
2,852
West Midlands
2,766
South West
2,665
Yorkshire and the Humber
2,467
East Midlands
2,315
North East
1,243
0
4,036schools

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.