Department for Education · 13 December 20195 July 2024

Average primary class size during the Conservative 2019–2024 government

2018/19 academic year2022/23 academic year · 4 periods

1.5%0.4 pupils

Average primary class size fell by 1.5% over the period, from 27.1 pupils (2018/19 academic year, the level when the government took office) to 26.7 (2022/23 academic year, the last complete period before it left office).

  1. Inherited level 2018/19 academic year: 27.1
  2. Level when it left 2022/23 academic year: 26.7
  3. method: latest complete period before start / before end

Changes during this period do not by themselves show what the government caused. Statistics reflect many influences, including earlier decisions, the economy and how the data is collected.

Average primary class size: 2015/16 academic year to 2025/26 academic yearConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabour010202016201820202022202420262015/16 academic year: 27.1 pupils · published 4 August 20262016/17 academic year: 27.1 pupils · published 4 August 20262017/18 academic year: 27.1 pupils · published 4 August 20262018/19 academic year: 27.1 pupils · published 4 August 20262019/20 academic year: 27 pupils · published 4 August 20262020/21 academic year: 26.6 pupils · published 4 August 20262021/22 academic year: 26.6 pupils · published 4 August 20262022/23 academic year: 26.7 pupils · published 4 August 20262023/24 academic year: 26.6 pupils · published 4 August 20262024/25 academic year: 26.4 pupils · published 4 August 20262025/26 academic year: 26.1 pupils · published 4 August 2026

Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

Definition and caveats

The average number of pupils per class in state-funded primary schools in England at the January census.

Doesn’t measure: Teaching assistants, or how much attention any pupil receives.