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Helping parents navigate the most complex school system in the world — free, transparent, and powered entirely by official government data.
68k+
Schools
250+
Local Authorities
30k+
Inspections
182k+
Admissions
358k+
Transport Stops
4
UK Nations
Choosing a school in the UK is overwhelming. The information parents need is scattered across dozens of government websites, council booklets, and inspection reports — most of it hard to find, harder to compare, and impossible to see on a map.
The UK education system is uniquely complex. Four nations with four different inspection bodies, different exam systems, and different admissions processes. Ofsted replaced its 4-grade rating system with report cards in November 2025. VAT was introduced on independent school fees in January 2025. Admissions rules vary not just by nation but by individual council — and if you live on a borough boundary, you might be applying to schools under different local authorities with different oversubscription criteria.
School Atlas brings it all together from 15+ official government sources into one platform, so every parent has the same information advantage that private education consultants charge thousands of pounds for.
Beyond inspection grades
Most parents rely on a single inspection rating. We show exam results, parent surveys, absence rates, class sizes, and financial health — the full picture across all four nations.
State & independent, side by side
Different term dates, inspection bodies (Ofsted vs ISI), exam boards. With VAT on private fees, families are reconsidering. Compare both on equal terms.
SEND support that helps
12 primary need types, surfaced wherever the official register publishes SEND data. SEN units, resourced provision, EHCP/IDP/CSP guidance — with person-first language across all 4 nations.
Borough boundary reality
Your closest school might be in a different council with different admissions rules. We show catchment distances and historical data so you know your real chances.
Verified-source-or-NULL
Every datum traces to an official register. We show '—' rather than guess. Where a guide names a source or an expert, it is real and attributable.
Transparent authorship
Editorial guides are AI-drafted and reviewed by a UK-based founder before publication. We do not invent parent stories or fabricate testimonials. The byline says so on every guide.
Education is devolved — each nation has its own curriculum, inspection body, exam system, and admissions process. School Atlas handles these differences natively.
🏴England~26,500 schools
Ofsted (legacy grades + new report cards), ISI, KS2 SATs, GCSE Attainment 8 & Progress 8, A-Levels, Parent View, financial benchmarking
🏴Scotland~2,500 + 3,300 nurseries
Education Scotland (6-point framework), CfE, National 5s, Highers, ACEL levels, school-level demographics
🏴Wales~1,600 schools
Estyn (5 inspection areas), Curriculum for Wales, Welsh-medium schools, GCSE & A-Level results
☘️Northern Ireland~1,000 schools
ETI inspections, Transfer Test (11+) for grammar schools, CCEA GCSE & A-Level, Translink transport
Education data is full of jargon: Attainment 8, Progress 8, SEN Support vs EHCP, legacy Ofsted grades vs report cards. Throughout School Atlas, you'll find (i) info buttons next to every metric explaining what it means, why it matters, and what the national average is.
We believe information should be accessible to every parent — not just those who can afford a private education consultant or who happen to know the right questions to ask.
Browsing Rightmove, Zoopla, or OnTheMarket? Our Chrome extension shows nearby schools, catchment status, and inspection grades directly on property listings — so you can check schools while house hunting.
Available for Chrome-based browsers. Coming soon to the Chrome Web Store.
All school data comes from official government sources licensed under the Open Government Licence (OGL v3.0). Our automated pipeline checks for updates regularly:
We do not scrape other school comparison websites. Every data point comes directly from the publishing government body.
View all data sources and licencesSchools can claim their free profile to upload a logo, add social media links, and confirm key information. Premium schools get analytics dashboards, enquiry management, competitor insights, and facilities showcases.
Multi-academy trusts can manage all schools from a centralised dashboard with group benchmarking and analytics.
We built School Atlas with families of children with special educational needs at the centre. Our SEND hub covers 12 primary need types — surfaced wherever the official register publishes the data — with filters for SEN units, resourced provision, and specialist schools.
We use person-first language throughout and provide jargon-free guides to the EHCP process in England, IDP in Wales, CSP in Scotland, and Statements in Northern Ireland.
Explore SEND features