A council (local authority) in the East of England
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. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Luton at a glance
How Luton'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.
46 mainstream schools in Luton, best first
Results well above the England average.
98 first choices, 58 offers made
Met the standard at 1191%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
113 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
13 mainstream schools in Luton, best first
Results well above the England average.
426 first choices, 208 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1654.3
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
233 first choices, 219 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.5
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
218 first choices, 230 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.2
England 46.2
78 in Luton, highest Ofsted grade first
Luton, LU4 8QN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Luton, LU2 0RW · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Luton, LU4 8EZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
7 in Luton, by the school's Eduscope score
Luton, LU2 7AE · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results above the England average.
250 first choices, 261 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.8
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
308 first choices, 290 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.8
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
136 first choices, 187 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.5
England 46.2
5 in Luton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Luton, LU2 9AY · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Luton, LU3 3SP · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Beds, LU3 1RJ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
7 in Luton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Beds, LU3 1RJ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Lu4 9le · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Boys
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Luton, LU3 1RF · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 16 · Boys
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1654.2
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.
Luton is a unitary authority in the East of England with 46 mainstream primary schools and 13 mainstream secondary schools. Pupil numbers have grown 9% since 2018.
From Luton council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
92.6%got their first-choice primary school in Luton in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 80 of 151 councils. 98.9% got one of their top three.3.1% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
82.8%got their first-choice secondary school in Luton in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 85 of 151 councils. 95.5% got one of their top three.2.7% 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.
1 of 67 primary appeals heard in Luton succeeded in 2025. 20 of 151 secondary appeals heard in Luton succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Luton school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 63 inspected are Good or better.
78nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
97% Good or better. 65% met the standard at 11.
52schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 9 inspected are Good or better. 45% got grade 5 in English and maths.
21schools
2 Outstanding, 2 Good, 1 need to improve. About 8 pupils per teacher.
5schools
Here's how Luton'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.
LutonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 34 primaries with one.
97%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
9 of the 9 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
65%
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.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
25%
Latest graded inspection for the 58 schools that have one.
97%
Good or Outstanding
Luton 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 | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 97% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 65% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.6 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.7:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,052 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 93% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 59% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 50% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 28% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 821, ONS code E06000032.
Luton has 149 schools and nurseries.
There are 9% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
25% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Luton's state schools each January.
Up 9% 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.
Luton25%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Luton has 149 schools, including 52 primary schools, 21 secondary schools, 78 nurseries, 7 independent schools, 5 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Luton on Eduscope are Leagrave Primary School, Hillborough Junior School, Denbigh High School. 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.
97% of inspected schools in Luton hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 11 schools rated Outstanding and 45 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Luton, 65% 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 Luton is 18.7:1. 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 Luton is 17.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 40,630 pupils enrolled across schools in Luton, with 23,222 in primary and 16,624 in secondary. 27.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 7 independent schools in Luton. 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 Luton 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 149 schools in Luton 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.
