How many Ofsted Outstanding schools are there in England?

2,145 open schools in England currently hold an Ofsted judgement of Outstanding. The figure changes as schools are reinspected, and covers only schools still open.

What does an Outstanding rating actually mean?

Outstanding is the highest of Ofsted's four overall grades, above Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate. It reflects the inspector's judgement at the time of that inspection across areas such as quality of education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

How old can an Outstanding rating be?

Potentially several years. Between 2012 and 2020 most Outstanding schools were exempt from routine reinspection, so a number of the schools listed here have not had a full inspection in a long time. Each school's profile shows the date of its most recent inspection and its full inspection history.

Does Outstanding mean the best exam results?

No. Measured across every school holding both, an Ofsted grade barely predicts attainment at all — schools in the lowest attainment decile average almost the same grade as those in the highest. Every school here also carries a Mindful Eye Academic Performance score, which combines the two, so you can see where results sit alongside the judgement.

Why do some schools have no overall grade at all?

Ofsted stopped awarding a single-word overall grade in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas. Schools inspected since then hold no overall judgement, so they cannot appear on this page whatever the inspection found.

Outstanding schools in England

All 2,145 open schools holding Ofsted’s highest grade — with the date each was last inspected, its attainment score, and what parents say.

Outstanding: 2,145
Primary: 1,090
Secondary: 370
regions: 9

An outstanding judgement reflects one inspection, on one date. Most outstanding schools were exempt from routine reinspection between 2012 and 2020, so some of these gradings are old — and Ofsted stopped awarding overall grades in September 2024, so a school inspected since then cannot appear here at all. Each profile shows the inspection date and the full history.

Outstanding schools by region

Where the 2,145 outstanding schools are. Follow a region to browse every school in it, rated or not.

Every outstanding school · page 1 of 43

Listed alphabetically. Every school here holds the same Ofsted judgement, so there is no order among them to publish — the score beside each one is Academic Performance, which moves each school off that shared grade by its DfE attainment.

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Questions about outstanding ratings

How many Ofsted Outstanding schools are there in England?: 2,145 open schools in England currently hold an Ofsted judgement of Outstanding. The figure changes as schools are reinspected, and covers only schools still open.
What does an Outstanding rating actually mean?: Outstanding is the highest of Ofsted's four overall grades, above Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate. It reflects the inspector's judgement at the time of that inspection across areas such as quality of education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.
How old can an Outstanding rating be?: Potentially several years. Between 2012 and 2020 most Outstanding schools were exempt from routine reinspection, so a number of the schools listed here have not had a full inspection in a long time. Each school's profile shows the date of its most recent inspection and its full inspection history.
Does Outstanding mean the best exam results?: No. Measured across every school holding both, an Ofsted grade barely predicts attainment at all — schools in the lowest attainment decile average almost the same grade as those in the highest. Every school here also carries a Mindful Eye Academic Performance score, which combines the two, so you can see where results sit alongside the judgement.
Why do some schools have no overall grade at all?: Ofsted stopped awarding a single-word overall grade in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas. Schools inspected since then hold no overall judgement, so they cannot appear on this page whatever the inspection found.