Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of (a) secondary and (b) primary school pupils are in independent schools in each local authority in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland.

As education is a devolved matter, the department only holds this information for schools in England. The department publishes annual figures on the number of pupils in different types of schools in England, which is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23.

Additionally, the department publishes data which shows the number of pupils in state-funded primary and secondary schools in each local authority from January 2016 to January 2023, which is accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b8a00d3a-301f-4997-e472-08dc32b112d8.

The publication does not distinguish between primary and secondary independent schools. However, a broad definition based on the age range of the pupils catered for can be applied.

The department has also published data showing the ages of pupils at independent schools in each local authority from January 2016 to January 2023, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/04f0b5e2-a007-4817-e471-08dc32b112d8. To note, pupils aged between four and ten are usually in primary school and pupils aged between eleven and nineteen are usually in secondary school.

Prior to 2016, the department published the number of pupils by local authority and phase of school but this did not include the breakdown by pupil age. Data showing the total number of pupils in state-funded primary and secondary schools and independent schools in each local authority is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers. This data does not allow for age breakdowns to be used to estimate what proportion of the independent school pupils were primary or secondary age.