The education landscape has been transformed since the coalition government came into power in 2010, and it is expected to change yet further following the election of the Conservatives last month. 

With the today’s publication of the school census data, we look at some of the most interesting changes that have taken place since Labour lost power five years ago. 

Primary pupil numbers

There are now 8.3m pupils attending school across both the state and independent sector. But the starkest rise has been in the number of primary pupils with a 2.1 per cent increase on last year. 

The “titan” primary school

Understandably, as the number of primary pupils has grown so to has the size of primary school. The chart below shows the increase in the amount of schools with pupil numbers greater than 800, which is the same size as your average secondary. This year saw the first school with more than 1,200 pupils. 

Academy pupil numbers

The number of academies has increased around seven fold since 2010 with more than 2.7m pupils now enrolled in the schools. 

English as an additional language

As the pupil population has grown, so to has the number of students who speak English as an additional language, with nearly a fifth (19.4 per cent) of primary pupils with English not as their mother tongue.

Decline in free school meals

There is an ongoing decline in the number of pupils known to be eligible and claiming for free schools meals in the past four years.