One of the things we’ve noticed working with Key Stage 1 data since the pandemic is an increase in the number of pupils taught in a year group that does not correspond with their chronological age, for instance pupils of Year 3 age being taught in Year 2.
In this article, we examine how the number of pupils taught out of year group has been changing over the last few years.
We use data from the January School Census from 2008/09 to 2022/23.
We calculate a pupil’s chronological age as at the previous August using their year and month of birth. For example, a pupil born in September 2016 would have been 5 at the start of the 2022/23 academic year. This corresponds with Year 1.
Dates of birth in School Census aren’t always observed without error. It’s not unheard of to see pupils apparently in their 20s attending primary schools.
