Where are England's 'most satisfied schoolchildren'? How many pupils enjoy their schools by region

• A major report released in March 2024 asked England’s schoolchildren how they felt about a range of different things in their lives and communities.
• Over three-fifths say they enjoy school or college.
• An even higher 76% feel they have great teachers, who support them.
• But all is not equal across the different regions, with a nine percentage point difference between the highest and lowest scores for happiness with school.

School can play a big part in a young person’s social and emotional development, and most parents understandably want their child to enjoy their time in the classroom.

The academic performance of England’s different regions is frequently being compared, whether that be by GCSE or A Level performance, secondary school ‘Progress 8’ scores, or even primary school SAT results. But even though there appear to be some persistent gaps in attainment in parts of the country, grades are far from the only measure of how well a region or local authority’s schools have prepared their young people for the world.

Earlier this year, the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, published a significant report called The Big Ambition. It aimed to amplify the voice of young people across the country, getting their views on their lives, education, and aspirations for the future.

The survey polled tens of thousands of school-aged children from each of England’s different regions, and among the many different questions it asked them were two about education; whether they enjoyed school, and whether they felt they had ‘great teachers who support you’. Across the country, some 64% of children agreed with the statement, 'you enjoy school or college'. Although still a considerable figure, this was less than in the Commissioner's past research.

But how does children’s happiness with their school differ by region, and by the many local authority areas that make them up? Here’s what the data says:

1. Greater London

Overall, London had the highest rate of pupils who said they enjoyed school at 68%. Meanwhile, 77% of young people polled also agreed that they had great teachers - and felt supported by them.

When it came to enjoying school, the highest levels of agreement came from students in the Hounslow and Havering areas (both 80%). But children in some areas appeared to be a little unhappier with their schools, on average. Boroughs with lower levels of agreement include Richmond upon Thames (59%); Sutton (59%); Waltham Forest (59%); Hammersmith and Fulham (58%); Islington (55%), and Bexley (53%).

2. West Midlands

In the West Midlands, 65% of pupils said they enjoyed school, while a higher 78% said they had great teachers.

In Sandwell, some 78% of children said they enjoyed school. Shropshire was one the region’s other higher-performing local authorities when it came to pupils’ happiness, with 71% of children enjoying their schools. Solihull also sat at 71%, while Telford and Wrekin sat at 70%.

These figures were a little lower in some of the West Midlands’ cities. Birmingham had 64% of children agree they enjoyed their school; while Herefordshire had 65%; Warwickshire 64%; and Stoke-on-Trent just 56%.

3. South East

The South East also had 65% of its school-aged young people say they enjoyed their school, while 77% said they had great teachers.

Figures for children’s happiness with school were in the 60s for most parts of the South East, including East and West Sussex, at 62 and 64% respectively. Slough, in Berkshire, had the highest rate of agreement in the country - with a whopping 81% of children saying they enjoyed school.

Meanwhile, just 52% of Brighton and Hove children said they enjoyed school. In Portsmouth, less than half of the pupils polled agreed - just 47%, the lowest in the country.

4. North West

In the North West, 64% of pupils said they enjoyed school overall. On top of this, 78% felt they had great teachers who supported them.

In Manchester , 62% of children said they enjoyed school - a figure that differed in some of Greater Manchester’s outer areas. These include Trafford at 74%; Wigan at 63%; Bolton at 59%, and Rochdale at just 56%.

Across Lancashire 67% of children agreed, but this dropped to 59% in Blackpool. In the city of Liverpool, just 56% did. Across Cumbria this rate was 65%, while Cheshire East and West had notably ‘happier’ schoolchildren, at 70 and 72% respectively.

5. East Midlands

The East Midlands also had 64% of its young people agree that they enjoyed school. Of the young people polled 77% felt they had great teachers.

The East Midlands was a land of parallels when it came to how many children agreed they enjoyed their schools. In Derby this figure was 63%, while in Derbyshire it was 68%. Meanwhile in Nottingham this figure was 68%, to Nottinghamshire’s 65%.

In North Northamptonshire this figure was just 55%, although in West Northamptonshire it was a much higher 71%. The same trend could be observed in Leicester, which sat at 55%, while Leicestershire was 65%.

6. East of England

In the East of England, 63% of pupils overall said they enjoyed school. A slightly lower than average 75% felt they had great teachers.

In the Central Bedfordshire area, 65% of children agreed they enjoyed school - 66% in Luton. This figure increased to 68% in Milton Keynes, and 69% in Bedford. The wider Essex area also sat at 69%, one of the highest rated areas in the east.

Although in wider Cambridgeshire 63% of pupils were happy at school, this figure dropped to just over half (52%) in Peterborough.

7. South West

The South West tied with the East, with 63% of its young people also saying they enjoyed school. About 76% agreed they had great teachers.

When it came to children’s happiness at school, figures also sat in the 60 per cent range for almost all of the South West. In Cornwall, 65% of children agreed they enjoyed school, as did 63% in Devon. It even rang true for cities like Bristol, where 63% of children agreed.

However, this figure did drop a little in the Bath area, down to just 59%.

8. Yorkshire and the Humber

In Yorkshire, just 61% of pupils enjoyed school, while 76% said they felt they had great teachers.

There were, however, big differences across parts of the region, with 57% of children in North Yorkshire enjoying school, compared to a much higher 70% in Leeds and 69% in Sheffield.

In Wakefield, that number was 63%, while in Doncaster, it was 59%. Over in the East Riding of Yorkshire some 68% enjoyed school, but this dropped to just 54% in Hull.

9. North East

The North East had the lowest rate of pupils surveyed agree that said they enjoyed school, at just 59%. It also had the lowest number who agreed they had great teachers and felt supported, at 74%.

But just like other regions, the proportion of children enjoying their time at school differed across local authority areas. Rates were higher in North and South Tyneside, and 77% and 74% respectively.

In Newcastle just 59% of children were enjoying school, compared to 60% in Sunderland, Hartlepool and County Durham alike. This figure dropped in a few other areas, from 57% up in Northumberland down to just half of children surveyed in Middlesbrough.

How did your region fare, and why do you think this might be? Have your say and make your voice heard by leaving a comment below.