Hackney has London’s highest school exclusion rate for a second year

Department for Education figures show that no London borough permanently excluded pupils at a higher rate than Hackney in 2024/25. The borough also had the highest rate in the capital in 2023/24.

Schools in Hackney made 50 permanent exclusions last year. That is 15.5 for every 10,000 pupils, against a London average of 5.7. Hackney’s rate is 2.7 times the capital’s, and the gap has not been this wide in 19 years of records. The rate in 2023/24 was 15.8. These two years are the borough’s highest since the series began in 2006/07.

Hackney exclusions rise while London’s fall

Hackney has moved the other way from the rest of the city. Its schools made 33 permanent exclusions in 2022/23. London’s Inclusion Charter launched in February 2024, which makes that year the final full school year without it. The total climbed the following year to 52, then eased only slightly to 50, even as the rate across London fell. City Hall credits the charter with the fall in London exclusions.

Pupil numbers fell too, to 32,217 from 33,615, and a smaller roll pushes a rate up on its own. Exclusions, however, rose far more steeply than the roll declined, so the drop in pupils does not account for the increase. The figures cover schools in Hackney rather than pupils who live there.

Secondary schools account for all of it. Hackney’s 16 secondaries made every one of last year’s 50 exclusions. None came from its 54 primaries, and its three special schools made none either. At 34.7 per 10,000, the secondary rate topped London and was far higher than England’s secondary figure of 22.6.

How Hackney compares with other boroughs

Neighbouring boroughs recorded a fraction of Hackney’s total. Haringey had six and Islington eight, while Tower Hamlets had nine. Camden came second in the London table, where 28 exclusions gave a rate of 13.8 per 10,000. They are the only two London boroughs whose rates exceed England’s 11.8. Nationally Hackney is 45th of 153 local authorities, which makes it an outlier within London more than across the country.

Suspensions look different. The share of Hackney pupils suspended at least once in 2024/25 was 4.89 per 100, the highest in London and 23rd of 153 in England. Nationally it was 3.89. On average, though, a suspended Hackney pupil received 1.93 suspensions, against 2.79 across England. Counting every suspension, Hackney’s rate came to 9.46 per 100 pupils. Only Islington was higher in London, and the England figure was 10.88.