How We Rank Schools
Last updated
We rank state-funded primary and secondary schools using published government data only. Each school gets a score out of 100: 60% comes from its latest exam results, compared with every school in England, and 40% from its latest Ofsted outcome. Outcomes from every Ofsted inspection framework are converted to one four-point scale. Ranks are worked out within each town and local authority, across London and across England. Schools without published results or an Ofsted outcome are listed but not ranked.
Which schools are ranked
| List | Results used | Schools ranked |
|---|---|---|
| Primary and middle schools | Key stage 2 (SATs), 2024/25 | 14,120 |
| Secondary and all-through schools | GCSE (key stage 4), 2024/25 | 3,206 |
Both lists cover academies, free schools, local authority maintained schools and city technology colleges, and each school also needs an Ofsted outcome. Nursery, special, alternative provision and post-16 schools are not ranked.
Independent schools appear on the lists without a rank: they have no key stage 2 results, their GCSE figures leave out qualifications the performance tables do not count, such as IGCSEs, and most are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. State-funded schools with a suppressed or missing measure, or with no Ofsted outcome, are listed without a rank too. In all, 4,347 schools on the lists have no rank.
How the score is worked out
A school's score is 60% of its results component plus 40% of its Ofsted component, rounded to one decimal place. Both components run from zero to 100, so the score does too.
Exam results: 60% of the score
Each exam measure becomes a national percentile rank from zero to 100 among the schools on the same list, with tied schools sharing the average rank. The results component is the mean of those percentile ranks.
- Primary: the share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths; the share reaching the higher standard; the average of the reading and maths scaled scores.
- Secondary: Attainment 8; the share of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Progress 8 is not used. The Department for Education did not publish it for 2024/25, because that year group has no key stage 2 test results.
Ofsted outcome: 40% of the score
Every Ofsted framework maps onto one scale from 1 to 4 points. The Ofsted component turns the points into a score from zero to 100: 1 point scores zero and 4 points score 100.
| Framework | When | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Report card | State-funded schools inspected from 10 November 2025; non-association independent schools from 26 January 2026 | Mean of the six core evaluation areas: Exceptional 4, strong standard 3.5, expected standard 3, needs attention 2, urgent improvement 1 |
| Key judgements, no overall grade | State-funded graded inspections from September 2024 until report cards started | Mean of the four key judgements: Outstanding 4, good 3, requires improvement 2, inadequate 1 |
| Overall effectiveness grade | State-funded graded inspections before September 2024; independent school standard inspections before 26 January 2026 | Overall effectiveness: Outstanding 4, good 3, requires improvement 2, inadequate 1 |
| No outcome | No outcome in Ofsted's files | Not ranked |
- Safeguarding not met on a report card, or not effective at an older inspection, sets the points to 1.
- Early years and sixth form or post-16 grades are left out, because not every school has them.
- Areas graded insufficient evidence or not applicable are left out of the mean.
- The latest outcome counts, whatever its date. An ungraded inspection does not change a grade, so it does not change the score.
How ranks are worked out
The primary and secondary lists are ranked separately: within each town and each local authority, across London for the London rankings, and across England for the league tables. London's towns are its boroughs, so a London school's town and local authority ranks match.
Rank 1 is the highest score. Schools with equal scores share a rank, and the next rank is skipped. The count shown with a rank is the number of ranked schools in that list and area.
Data used
Exam results for 2024/25 come from the Department for Education's school performance tables. Ofsted outcomes come from Ofsted's management information published to 31 August 2026. School details come from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026.