If you are choosing a school for your child, the Ofsted rating remains one of the most familiar shortcuts. Outstanding is the top grade, awarded to schools judged to be performing exceptionally across the board. But that label is not spread evenly across England. Some postcodes are thick with Outstanding schools; others have barely any at all.
Using the latest data from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools service, combined with Ofsted ratings, we have mapped where the top grade clusters and where it is notably absent. Across all rated schools in England, 13.6 per cent hold the top grade.
The Top Grade
Outstanding is not a common rating. Fewer than one in seven schools currently holds it. The distribution, however, is strikingly uneven. London dominates the picture, which reflects the well documented improvement of London schools over the past two decades. The highest share of Outstanding schools is found in the E postcode area, covering east London, where 34.8 per cent of rated schools have the top grade. Close behind are SW London (33 per cent) and W London (30.4 per cent). The BR postcode area, which covers Bromley, also stands out at 29.5 per cent.
Where Outstanding Clusters
| Postcode area | Outstanding schools | Of rated schools |
|---|---|---|
| E (London) | 34.8% | 106 of 305 |
| SW (London) | 33% | 76 of 230 |
| W (London) | 30.4% | 51 of 168 |
| BR (Bromley) | 29.5% | 28 of 95 |
| HA (Harrow) | 27.2% | 31 of 114 |
| N (London) | 24.2% | 64 of 265 |
| KT (Epsom) | 23.9% | 34 of 142 |
| AL (St. Albans) | 23.5% | 23 of 98 |
The pattern is clear. London's inner and outer postcodes hold the highest concentrations of Outstanding schools. The city's sustained investment in education, combined with targeted support for struggling schools over the past two decades, has pushed a large number of schools to the top grade. If you live in east or south-west London, you are more than twice as likely to have an Outstanding school nearby than the national average.
These figures do not mean every school in these areas is Outstanding, but the density is notable. In the E postcode area, more than one in three rated schools holds the top grade. In SW and W, it is close to one in three. Bromley, in the BR area, is not far behind.
Where It Is Rare
| Postcode area | Outstanding schools | Of rated schools |
|---|---|---|
| TQ (Newton Abbot) | 3.5% | 3 of 86 |
| TA (Taunton) | 4.6% | 5 of 108 |
| PE (Peterborough) | 4.9% | 14 of 285 |
| CO (Colchester) | 5.2% | 7 of 135 |
| CA (Carlisle) | 5.4% | 9 of 166 |
| S (Sheffield) | 5.5% | 21 of 382 |
| LN (Lincoln) | 5.9% | 7 of 119 |
| IP (Ipswich) | 6% | 11 of 182 |
At the other end of the scale, some postcodes have very few Outstanding schools. The lowest share is in the TQ area, covering Newton Abbot and the surrounding area in Devon, where only 3.5 per cent of rated schools hold the top grade. Taunton (TA) is not far above at 4.6 per cent. In Peterborough (PE), the figure is 4.9 per cent. Colchester (CO) rounds out the bottom four at 5.2 per cent.
These are largely rural or coastal areas, or towns that have not seen the same level of school improvement as London. The figures do not mean the schools are poor. Many schools rated Good or Requires Improvement are still providing a solid education. But the scarcity of the top grade is a notable feature of these postcodes.
A Note On Ofsted
A caveat is important here. Ofsted stopped giving single headline grades in 2024, moving to a new system of separate judgements for different areas of school performance. The ratings used in this analysis are each school's most recent overall grade on record, and some of those grades are several years old. An Outstanding rating from 2018, for example, may not reflect the current state of a school. The data is a snapshot of historical top grades, not a live assessment.
This means the clusters we identify are based on the last official headline grade a school received. For some schools, that grade is relatively recent. For others, it is older. The pattern of London dominance and rural scarcity is robust, but the precise percentages should be treated with a degree of caution.
What It Means
The geography of Outstanding schools tells a story of uneven opportunity. If you live in a London postcode, you are far more likely to have a school with a top grade nearby. If you live in Newton Abbot, Taunton, Peterborough or Colchester, you are much less likely to find one. This does not mean the schools in those areas are failing. Many are rated Good, and some may be excellent without the historic top grade. But the data highlights a real disparity in how the highest official recognition is distributed.
For parents, this information is a starting point. It is worth checking the most recent inspection reports for any school you consider, rather than relying solely on the headline grade. The Ofsted system has changed, and the old Outstanding label is no longer being awarded. What remains is a record of past performance, and that record shows a clear geographic divide.