Two weeks into the school year, we have more incredible achievements to celebrate. If last week we applauded the schools excelling in employee engagement, now it’s time to recognise those leading the way in pupil engagement.

We’ve identified the top schools in England across our key pupil engagement categories – including primary and secondary schools – for the academic year 2024/2025. The results are drawn from the latest national census (summer 2025) conducted by The Engagement Platform (TEP), the country’s leading fixed measurement tool for school engagement.

High pupil engagement is about much more than just having happy students. It reflects schools where pupils feel supported, included, connected with their peers and teachers, and empowered to achieve better outcomes.

The Importance of Pupil Engagement in Schools

Engagement tells a story that attendance, wellbeing, or academic outcomes alone cannot. Research shows a clear link: schools where pupils are more engaged consistently see higher attendance, stronger wellbeing, and better academic performance.

TEP measures pupil engagement across several key drivers, including Effort, Enjoyment, and Inclusion. It also asks pupils whether they would recommend their school to friends.

This breakdown helps schools understand not only where they are excelling, but also where there are opportunities to improve, ensuring every pupil has the support and environment they need to thrive.

To ensure we accurately recognise the schools leading the way in pupil engagement, we take great care in analysing the data. Insights are examined not only by key engagement drivers but also by Key Stage – KS2, KS3, KS4, and KS5 – reflecting how engagement can change as pupils grow older. The question of whether pupils would recommend their school to friends is reported separately for primary/middle and secondary schools, highlighting how likely students are to endorse their school at different stages of their education.

Pupil Effort: How Schools Inspire Pupils to Give Their Best

Effort measures how pupils perceive and demonstrate their own engagement in learning. It measures pupils’ own assessment of whether they have completed schoolwork to the best of their abilities, been fully focused during lessons, and handed in all homework on time.  

Saint Ambrose College is among the top schools for effort. Understanding that pupils are more likely to sustain effort when they feel a sense of control over their learning, staff have developed an approach that equips students with the tools to become effective independent learners. Through a focus on culture, staff genuinely foster student leadership and emphasise personal responsibility for academic outcomes. These initiatives have contributed to the school scoring +1.9 above the national secondary benchmark for overall engagement, with particularly strong results in effort, enjoyment, and inclusion.

By running regular targeted surveys on issues that matter to students, St Ambrose ensures pupils feel heard and can influence real changes in their school experience. Student agency is further developed through the house system, which provides authentic leadership opportunities for Sixth Form students who take real responsibility for building community across year groups. Assistant Principal Dan Sweeney explains: "We have the Sixth Form Heads of House leading assemblies and running in-house competitions. This encourages students to connect with peers across different year groups, rather than staying within their form, and builds meaningful relationships across the school."

The school also cultivates a culture where academic achievement is genuinely celebrated. Pupils push and motivate each other positively, creating healthy competition, while supporting peers who may be struggling. This approach helps maintain motivation and strengthens the sense of community, showing that effort and agency can flourish together.  

Top schools include: Greenhill Primary School, Hartlebury CofE Primary School, Our Lady's Catholic Primary School (a Voluntary Academy), Rockliffe Manor Primary School, St James' Church of England Primary School, Gosforth Academy, Great Park Academy,The Snaith School, Wade Deacon High School, Oasis Academy Arena,Saint Ambrose College, The Snaith School, Wade Deacon High School, Pentland Field School.

Pupil Enjoyment: How Schools Make Learning Fun

Enjoyment measures pupils’ positive feelings about attending school and being part of the school environment. It assesses their happiness about going to school, whether they look forward to the start of the school week, and their overall enjoyment of being in school.  

Maundene Primary stands out for its creative and very successful approach to pupil enjoyment. Following the Autumn TEP census, the school noticed that enjoyment scores were lower than expected, particularly at the start of the week. Headteacher Jo Capes dug deeper and discovered a common theme: many pupils found Mondays difficult after the weekend. In response, the team launched Magic Monday. Instead of beginning the week with routine classroom work, pupils now start with upbeat music, fun activities such as PE games and Dough Disco, and time to share their own ideas for joyful starts.

The impact was striking. By the Spring census, Maundene’s enjoyment scores had risen by 1.6 points, and the average response to “I look forward to going to school on Monday” jumped from 6.6 to 8.8 out of 10. The initiative not only boosted attendance on Mondays but also created a brighter, more positive atmosphere across the school week. As Jo puts it, Magic Monday has added “a little extra sparkle” to school life – and pupils are loving it.

Top schools include: Canon Johnson CofE Primary School, Foxfield Primary School, Our Lady's Catholic Primary School (a Voluntary Academy), Rockliffe Manor Primary School, St James' Church of England Primary School, Great Park Academy, Oasis Academy Hadley - Secondary, Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, The Snaith School, Hillside High School, Oasis Academy Arena, Oasis Academy Coulsdon, Saint Ambrose College, Pentland Field School.

Pupil Inclusion: Building Community and Connection

Inclusion examines pupils’ feelings about fairness, equal treatment, and acceptance within their school community. It measures whether students believe everyone receives the support they need to succeed, whether people at school are treated equally, whether they personally experience fair treatment, and whether they feel accepted for who they are.

Another inspiring story comes from Rockliffe Manor Primary School, which now sits among the top schools for Inclusion, even though the journey hadn’t been plain sailing. After receiving the results from the Autumn TEP census, Headteacher Nancy Cook approached lower-than-expected scores in inclusion and enjoyment with transparency and collaboration. Staff and pupils were engaged in reflecting on the data, with assemblies framing the findings around “In Autumn you said, so we did…” to show that pupil voices were heard.

Actions included refreshing praise systems, adjusting routines that were causing anxiety, adding time for connection and playfulness, and creating more pupil-led learning opportunities. By the spring census, the school’s inclusion score had risen from 6.3 to 7.7/10. For Nancy, the key success was cultural: “We didn’t hide from the data. We used it to get better. Together.”

Top schools include: Canon Johnson CofE Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School, Our Lady's Catholic Primary School (a Voluntary Academy), Rockliffe Manor Primary School, St James' Church of England Primary School, Great Park Academy, Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, The Snaith School, Wade Deacon High School, Hillside High School, Oasis Academy Arena, Saint Ambrose College, Wade Deacon High School, Pentland Field School.

Pupil Recommendation: Schools Students Would Recommend

Pupil Recommendation measures how pupils value their school experience through a single question: “If you had friends looking to move school, would you recommend this school to them?”. This question is a powerful indicator of engagement because it goes beyond momentary satisfaction to capture pupils’ overall sense of value, trust, and confidence in their school.

Top primary/middle schools include: Canon Johnson CofE Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School, Greenhill Primary School, Hartlebury CofE Primary School, St James' Church of England Primary School.

Top secondary schools include: High Tunstall College of Science, Outwood Post-16 Worksop, The Snaith School, Wade Deacon High School.

Is Your School Driving Pupil Engagement?

Highlighting pupil engagement isn’t just about celebrating high scores – it’s about sharing approaches that every school can learn from. These schools demonstrate that when pupils feel valued, included, and motivated, they enjoy learning more and achieve stronger outcomes. Keep an eye out for the schools setting the benchmark in overall pupil engagement, which we’ll reveal in our headline awards later this academic year.

If you’re ready to measure and strengthen engagement in your own school, explore how The Engagement Platform (TEP) can help you capture pupil voice. Then, turn those insights into real impact.  

Book a free demo here.