Education, Skills & Learning

This section of the site provides information on Education, Skills and Learning in Somerset. 

Key facts for Somerset:-

• Somerset has 264 state-funded schools, including academies, free and special schools (January 2016 school census)
• 68,710 pupils are in state-funded education and 8,418 in independent schools
• There are four Further Education (FE) colleges and no universities.
• In 2016, the proportion of 5 year olds achieving a good level of development (GLD) at the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was 68.7%, up from 66.7% in 2015.
• 52% of Key Stage 2 pupils achieved the Expected Standard in Reading, Writing and Mathematics in 2016, in line with the national average.
• 62% of Key Stage 4 students achieved A*-C GCSE in English and Mathematics in 2016, in line with the national average.
• The January 2016 School Census identified 9,697 pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), representing 14.1% of all pupils. 
• At April 2016, 88% of pupils were in outstanding or good schools.  In Somerset, 91% of all schools were judged to be good or better, higher than the South West (89%) and national (84%) averages. 
• The proportion of Somerset pupils going into Higher Education (HE) is consistently below the national average (39% of state-funded mainstream pupils in 2014/15, compared to 48% nationally). (DfE)
• More than one in four (25.6%) of Somerset residents aged 16 or over have a Level 4 (degree or equivalent) qualification. This is slightly below the England and Wales average of 27.2% (2011 Census)

Pages in this Section

• School Attainment
• Schools and inspections
• SEN&D
• Free School Meals
• School Transport
• EET and NEET
• Children and Learners Needs Analysis 2013