The number of primary school pupils in parts of England has fallen by more than 10% since the start of the decade, new analysis shows.
The drop has been steepest in areas of London, where figures have tumbled by 19% in Southwark, 20% in Lambeth and 26% in Westminster.
Outside the capital, the largest drops have been in Torbay in Devon, which has seen a fall of 14%, along with Calderdale in West Yorkshire and Brighton & Hove in East Sussex, both of which have seen decreases of 13%.
Some 138 out of 149 local authorities in England saw a drop in state-funded primary school pupils between January 2020 and January 2026, according to Press Association analysis of new Department for Education (DfE) data.
Of the 11 areas that saw an increase, Havering on the outskirts of London recorded the largest rise, up 5%.
The drop in pupils is “primarily driven by demographic changes”, the DfE said.
Births in England have been on a steady downwards trend since peaking in 2012, meaning “lower numbers of pupils are moving into primary school age”.
Primary and secondary school populations are both projected to continue falling for the rest of the decade.
The total state primary school population in England stood at 4.47 million in January this year, down from 4.71 million in January 2020.
Below is a full list of the number of pupils at state-funded primary schools in each upper-tier local authority in England as of January 2026, based on headcount.
The equivalent number of pupils in January 2020 is shown in brackets, followed by the percentage change from 2020 to 2026.
The list is arranged by the size of the percentage change, starting with the largest fall.
Westminster 7,094 (9,626) -26.3%Lambeth 17,512 (21,955) -20.2%Southwark 19,705 (24,320) -19.0%Hackney 16,648 (20,080) -17.1%City of London 229 (276) -17.0%Merton 15,486 (18,502) -16.3%Islington 12,545 (14,957) -16.1%Lewisham 21,311 (25,038) -14.9%Camden 9,809 (11,483) -14.6%Enfield 27,816 (32,523) -14.5%Wandsworth 17,509 (20,426) -14.3%Torbay 9,345 (10,877) -14.1%Hammersmith & Fulham 8,868 (10,279) -13.7%Calderdale 17,301 (19,996) -13.5%Kingston upon Thames 12,705 (14,647) -13.3%Haringey 19,753 (22,741) -13.1%Brighton & Hove 16,372 (18,822) -13.0%Redcar & Cleveland 11,440 (13,129) -12.9%Greenwich 23,001 (26,389) -12.8%Kensington & Chelsea 6,307 (7,214) -12.6%Rutland 2,520 (2,874) -12.3%Hounslow 21,799 (24,767) -12.0%Isle of Wight 7,913 (8,969) -11.8%Richmond upon Thames 15,592 (17,606) -11.4%Newham 31,705 (35,740) -11.3%Ealing 28,847 (32,443) -11.1%North Lincolnshire 12,977 (14,556) -10.8%York 12,981 (14,483) -10.4%North East Lincolnshire 13,392 (14,821) -9.6%Hillingdon 27,521 (30,406) -9.5%Stockton-on-Tees 18,046 (19,903) -9.3%Halton 9,552 (10,513) -9.1%Tower Hamlets 23,360 (25,683) -9.0%Bradford 53,679 (58,743) -8.6%Barking & Dagenham 23,520 (25,722) -8.6%West Berkshire 12,573 (13,730) -8.4%Bristol 33,763 (36,861) -8.4%Southampton 18,754 (20,464) -8.4%Redbridge 27,354 (29,818) -8.3%Cornwall 40,017 (43,610) -8.2%Plymouth 19,645 (21,402) -8.2%East Sussex 35,833 (39,003) -8.1%Hartlepool 8,649 (9,408) -8.1%Dorset 20,765 (22,576) -8.0%Tameside 20,918 (22,732) -8.0%Windsor & Maidenhead 10,012 (10,879) -8.0%Birmingham 105,279 (114,368) -7.9%Waltham Forest 23,553 (25,581) -7.9%Wiltshire 36,165 (39,274) -7.9%Bexley 21,449 (23,261) -7.8%Kirklees 36,063 (39,101) -7.8%Barnet 29,074 (31,456) -7.6%Wirral 25,367 (27,354) -7.3%Leicester 33,091 (35,666) -7.2%Gateshead 15,278 (16,458) -7.2%Norfolk 62,229 (67,008) -7.1%Bury 16,589 (17,840) -7.0%Blackpool 11,109 (11,942) -7.0%North Tyneside 15,464 (16,615) -6.9%Manchester 51,581 (55,362) -6.8%Hull 24,169 (25,894) -6.7%County Durham 39,264 (42,062) -6.7%Darlington 8,559 (9,159) -6.6%Slough 16,712 (17,866) -6.5%Brent 25,357 (27,073) -6.3%Derbyshire 58,781 (62,736) -6.3%Leeds 70,764 (75,336) -6.1%East Riding of Yorkshire 23,984 (25,502) -6.0%Nottingham 27,198 (28,895) -5.9%Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 25,232 (26,714) -5.5%Lincolnshire 54,033 (57,205) -5.5%Trafford 21,776 (23,048) -5.5%North Yorkshire 42,434 (44,901) -5.5%Sandwell 35,533 (37,551) -5.4%Barnsley 20,410 (21,564) -5.4%Hertfordshire 100,663 (106,307) -5.3%Devon 55,482 (58,573) -5.3%Warrington 17,835 (18,814) -5.2%Portsmouth 15,348 (16,189) -5.2%Solihull 20,249 (21,324) -5.0%Suffolk 54,900 (57,763) -5.0%Stoke-on-Trent 24,289 (25,551) -4.9%St Helens 14,933 (15,690) -4.8%South Tyneside 12,295 (12,912) -4.8%Sefton 21,867 (22,934) -4.7%Oldham 25,478 (26,716) -4.6%Middlesbrough 15,183 (15,920) -4.6%Croydon 31,654 (33,138) -4.5%North Somerset 16,729 (17,511) -4.5%Cheshire West & Chester 27,793 (29,069) -4.4%Worcestershire 40,911 (42,783) -4.4%Stockport 25,240 (26,393) -4.4%Sutton 18,354 (19,192) -4.4%Dudley 27,643 (28,902) -4.4%Hampshire 101,882 (106,423) -4.3%Lancashire 97,076 (101,377) -4.2%Southend-on-Sea 15,247 (15,917) -4.2%Sheffield 45,600 (47,567) -4.1%Reading 13,472 (14,045) -4.1%Northumberland 21,500 (22,394) -4.0%Milton Keynes 26,432 (27,527) -4.0%Surrey 89,494 (93,166) -3.9%Rotherham 24,084 (25,062) -3.9%Bracknell Forest 10,110 (10,516) -3.9%Herefordshire 13,179 (13,707) -3.9%Sunderland 22,570 (23,474) -3.9%Nottinghamshire 69,532 (72,272) -3.8%Swindon 20,705 (21,500) -3.7%Wigan 27,047 (27,993) -3.4%Harrow 21,479 (22,218) -3.3%Cambridgeshire 50,601 (52,254) -3.2%Wakefield 31,516 (32,542) -3.2%Walsall 28,451 (29,365) -3.1%Derby 24,255 (25,033) -3.1%Peterborough 20,451 (21,097) -3.1%West Sussex 63,120 (65,060) -3.0%Doncaster 27,993 (28,761) -2.7%Bolton 29,899 (30,679) -2.5%Shropshire 22,212 (22,770) -2.5%Bromley 27,314 (27,958) -2.3%Salford 23,539 (24,085) -2.3%Rochdale 22,295 (22,808) -2.2%Luton 22,676 (23,184) -2.2%Bath & North East Somerset 13,264 (13,547) -2.1%Newcastle upon Tyne 22,526 (22,995) -2.0%Buckinghamshire 44,981 (45,700) -1.6%Somerset 39,232 (39,816) -1.5%Blackburn with Darwen 15,338 (15,552) -1.4%Wolverhampton 26,285 (26,552) -1.0%Coventry 33,222 (33,529) -0.9%Telford & Wrekin 17,203 (17,323) -0.7%Liverpool 40,979 (41,257) -0.7%Wokingham 15,498 (15,592) -0.6%South Gloucestershire 23,199 (23,258) -0.3%Leicestershire 54,661 (54,757) -0.2%Thurrock 18,479 (18,500) -0.1%Gloucestershire 47,843 (47,884) -0.1%Kent 128,172 (128,149) 0.02%Essex 121,707 (121,630) 0.1%Oxfordshire 54,426 (54,246) 0.3%Cheshire East 31,213 (30,831) 1.2%Medway 26,546 (26,183) 1.4%Knowsley 14,781 (14,516) 1.8%Bedford 16,968 (16,632) 2.0%Warwickshire 47,645 (46,167) 3.2%Central Bedfordshire 24,293 (23,252) 4.5%Staffordshire 66,301 (63,332) 4.7%Havering 24,899 (23,613) 5.4%
Note: Comparable figures are not available for Cumberland, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and Westmorland & Furness.
