Education in Portsmouth
More young people are known to be outside education, work or training than across England
5.5% of Portsmouth’s tracked 16–17 year olds were known to be NEET in the 2026 return, compared with 3.4% nationally. Another 6% had unknown activity and must not be assumed to be NEET.
Known NEET and unknown activity are different
- Portsmouth5.5%
- Southampton4.9%
- England3.4%
- Portsmouth6%
- Southampton2.3%
- England2.4%
NEET means not in education, employment or training. The return summarises December–February tracking of 16–17 year olds. A larger unknown group makes it harder to understand the full local picture.
16–17 year olds known to be outside education, employment or training
2019 to 2026
Portsmouth · %
Reviewed figures: 2019 to 2026.
Shown on this chart: From 2019 to 2026, 16–17 year olds known to be outside education, employment or training rose by 1.7 percentage points in Portsmouth and rose by 0.8 percentage points in England.
Both places compared over 2019 to 2026, using matching published dates.
Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.
Actual values
Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
Local authority tracking of 16–17 year olds: annual figures summarise the December–February period. Unknown activity is recorded separately and must not be assumed to be NEET.
A matching Chichester district series is not published in this education-authority dataset. West Sussex covers a wider area.
Source, full data and definitions
Department for Education dataset ↗ · downloaded 2026-11-02. Latest year: published.
The table retains published values for 2020 and 2021 where available; GCSE lines leave gaps because grades were assessed rather than awarded through the usual exams. No 30-year local trend is claimed.
| Period | Portsmouth | Southampton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3.774 | 4.321 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 4.172 | 4.184 | 2.7 |
| 2021 | 4.429 | 4.441 | 2.8 |
| 2022 | 3.829 | 3.766 | 2.6 |
| 2023 | 3.941 | 4.094 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 5.031 | 4.564 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 5.966 | 4.931 | 3.4 |
| 2026 | 5.481 | 4.95 | 3.4 |
Unknown activity over time
16–17 year olds whose activity is unknown
2019 to 2026
Portsmouth · %
Reviewed figures: 2019 to 2026.
Shown on this chart: From 2019 to 2026, 16–17 year olds whose activity is unknown rose by 5 percentage points in Portsmouth and fell by 0.5 percentage points in England.
Both places compared over 2019 to 2026, using matching published dates.
Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.
Actual values
Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
Young people whose education, employment or training activity is not known to the local authority. These young people must not all be counted as NEET.
A matching Chichester district series is not published in this education-authority dataset. West Sussex covers a wider area.
Source, full data and definitions
Department for Education dataset ↗ · downloaded 2026-11-02. Latest year: published.
The table retains published values for 2020 and 2021 where available; GCSE lines leave gaps because grades were assessed rather than awarded through the usual exams. No 30-year local trend is claimed.
| Period | Portsmouth | Southampton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1.053 | 2.714 | 2.9 |
| 2020 | 0.844 | 2.119 | 2.8 |
| 2021 | 1.14 | 3.134 | 2.7 |
| 2022 | 1.255 | 2.214 | 2.2 |
| 2023 | 1.619 | 3.233 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 2.106 | 2.037 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 1.746 | 1.909 | 2.2 |
| 2026 | 6.045 | 2.288 | 2.4 |
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Coverage and publication notes
A 30-year comparable local series is not available for these current definitions.
2020 and 2021 GCSE assessed grades are retained in the full table but omitted from exam trend lines. Later grading transitions and cohort differences remain relevant.
2025/26 primary and GCSE results are provisional. Progress 8 is unavailable for 2024/25 and 2025/26 because the prior-assessment baseline was disrupted.
Education data extracted and checked 2 November 2026. Download the education data and source receipts →