A council (local authority) in the East Midlands
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Leicester at a glance
How Leicester's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
82 mainstream schools in Leicester, best first
Results well above the England average.
73 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1185%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
81 first choices, 82 offers made
Met the standard at 1170%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
94 first choices, 89 offers made
Met the standard at 1154%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Leicester, best first
Results well above the England average.
413 first choices, 356 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
313 first choices, 317 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
202 first choices, 90 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.9
England 46.2
102 in Leicester, highest Ofsted grade first
Leicester, LE4 6EU · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Leicester, LE4 7DA · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Leicester, LE2 7ET · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
11 in Leicester, by the school's Eduscope score
Leicester, LE4 0FJ · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Results well above the England average.
244 first choices, 185 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.4
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
187 first choices, 245 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1648.3
England 46.2
Leicester, LE5 6HN · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results above the England average.
216 first choices, 184 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.8
England 46.2
14 in Leicester. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Leicester, LE5 4PY · Academy · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Leicester, LE5 1FG · Academy · All-through · Ages 9 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Leicester, LE2 6DW · Academy · All-through · Ages 7 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
21 in Leicester. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Le5 5ay · Independent · All-through · Ages 9 to 16 · Boys
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Leicester, LE5 5PF · Independent · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Leicester, LE5 4PP · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 16
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1657.0
England 46.2
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Leicester is a unitary authority in the East Midlands with 82 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. 83.9% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Leicester council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions.online@leicester.gov.uk · 0116 454 1009
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
96.8%got their first-choice primary school in Leicester in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 11 of 151 councils. 99.3% got one of their top three.4.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
83.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Leicester in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 77 of 151 councils. 94.5% got one of their top three.11.6% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
4 of 58 primary appeals heard in Leicester succeeded in 2025. 9 of 358 secondary appeals heard in Leicester succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 24 Aug | 19 Oct to 23 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 19 Mar |
| Summer | 5 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 9 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Leicester school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
8 Outstanding, 73 Good, 4 need to improve.
102nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
92% Good or better. 60% met the standard at 11.
108schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 13 inspected are Good or better. 45% got grade 5 in English and maths.
44schools
4 Outstanding, 3 Good, 2 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
14schools
Here's how Leicester's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
LeicesterEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 63 primaries with one.
92%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
13 of the 13 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
60%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
45%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
26%
Latest graded inspection for the 94 schools that have one.
93%
Good or Outstanding
Leicester in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Leicester | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 93% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 60% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.6 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.4:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,093 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 58% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 18% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 56% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 29% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 856, ONS code E06000016.
Leicester has 238 schools and nurseries.
There are 7% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
26% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Leicester's state schools each January.
Up 7% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Leicester26%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Leicester has 238 schools, including 108 primary schools, 44 secondary schools, 102 nurseries, 21 independent schools, 14 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Leicester on Eduscope are Rushey Mead Academy, Parks Primary School, Abbey Mead Primary Academy. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
93% of inspected schools in Leicester hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 12 schools rated Outstanding and 75 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Leicester, 60% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Leicester is 18.4:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Leicester is 19.4%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 59,656 pupils enrolled across schools in Leicester, with 33,260 in primary and 25,355 in secondary. 28.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 21 independent schools in Leicester. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Leicester on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 238 schools in Leicester by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
