A region 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.
South East at a glance
How South East's schools compare with England, area by area.
Councils run admissions, so this is the best way to narrow things down. Apply through the council where you live.
| Council | Schools and nurseries | First choice, primary | First choice, secondary | Secondary, another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracknell Forest | 91 | 89.1% | 82.7% | 7.3% |
| Brighton and Hove | 186 | 93.8% | 82.9% | 2.9% |
| Buckinghamshire | 504 | 91.6% | 76.7% | 7.4% |
| East Sussex | 392 | 91.1% | 86.3% | 3.5% |
| Hampshire | 1,175 | 93.4% | 90.1% | 7.1% |
| Isle of Wight | 84 | 94.5% | 83.4% | 0.2% |
| Kent | 1,310 | 89.7% | 78.9% | 2.5% |
| Medway | 198 | 93.9% | 80.4% | 3.4% |
| Milton Keynes | 223 | 95.0% | 82.2% | 5.0% |
| Oxfordshire | 597 | 94.0% | 85.4% | 2.6% |
| Portsmouth | 135 | 93.0% | 83.4% | 7.6% |
| Reading | 115 | 91.1% | 73.1% | 25.7% |
| Slough | 94 | 91.3% | 68.7% | 18.2% |
| Southampton | 163 | 93.3% | 83.4% | 10.0% |
| Surrey | 985 | 89.8% | 81.3% | 6.8% |
| West Berkshire | 156 | 90.8% | 94.9% | 4.1% |
| West Sussex | 695 | 92.4% | 87.5% | 2.2% |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 150 | 86.2% | 75.5% | 19.5% |
| Wokingham | 147 | 87.5% | 82.4% | 13.0% |
91.6%got their first-choice primary school in the South East in 2026. England: 92.4%. 98.5% got one of their top three.2.6% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
82.8%got their first-choice secondary school in the South East in 2026. England: 83.6%. 95.1% got one of their top three.5.8% 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.
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.
2,579 mainstream schools in the South East, best first
Results well above the England average.
73 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 11100%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
132 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 11100%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 11100%
England 62%
490 mainstream schools in the South East, best first
Results well above the England average.
351 first choices, 127 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1682.4
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
400 first choices, 146 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1680.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
400 first choices, 179 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.3
England 46.2
3,488 in the South East, highest Ofsted grade first
New Romney, TN28 8BL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Dover, CT17 0RG · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Milton Keynes, MK7 6JF · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
632 in the South East, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
351 first choices, 127 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1682.4
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
400 first choices, 146 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1680.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
400 first choices, 179 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.3
England 46.2
402 in the South East. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Rochester, ME2 3SP · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Reading, RG5 3EU · Academy · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Maidstone, ME16 8NL · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
542 in the South East. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Mk18 5ae · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Independent school. Results above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1650.9
England 46.2
Bn3 4fh · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Reading, RG4 8JZ · Independent · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Pick a stage to see every South East school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
391 Outstanding, 2,304 Good, 12 need to improve.
3,488nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
97% Good or better. 63% met the standard at 11.
3,180schools
Ages 11 to 16
61 Outstanding, 246 Good, 20 need to improve. 49% got grade 5 in English and maths.
1,105schools
92 Outstanding, 176 Good, 14 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
402schools
Here's how South East's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
South EastEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 1,824 primaries with one.
97%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
307 of the 327 with a grade.
94%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
63%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
49%
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.
21%
Latest graded inspection for the 2,502 schools that have one.
96%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
South East 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 | South East | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 96% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 63% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 47.8 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.9:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,749 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 92% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 53% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 17% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 21% | 27% |
South East has 7,400 schools and nurseries.
There are 7% more pupils than in 2018.
21% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in the South East'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.
South East21%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
South East has 7,400 schools, including 3180 primary schools, 1105 secondary schools, 3488 nurseries, 542 independent schools, 402 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in the South East on Eduscope are The Raleigh School, South Farnham School, All Saints Junior 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.
96% of inspected schools in the South East hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 322 schools rated Outstanding and 2084 rated Good.
Across primary schools in the South East, 63% 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 the South East is 17.9:1. 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 the South East is 17.8%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 1,334,777 pupils enrolled across schools in the South East, with 710,859 in primary and 619,624 in secondary. 21.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 542 independent schools in the South East. 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 the South East 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 7,400 schools in the South East 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.
