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Pupils: Sikhs

Asked by Harpreet UppalLabourDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 23 June 2026UIN 9735

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department identifies educational attainment outcomes for Sikhs as a distinct group.

Answered by Georgia Gould

The department does not identify educational attainment outcomes for Sikhs as a distinct group in its measurements of outcomes across key stages. This is because the department does not collect data and report on religion as a pupil characteristic in the way that it does for other characteristics such as ethnicity or sex.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are reported annually and shared with the department and include information on student outcomes by religion.

The Office for Students, the independent regulator of HE in England, annually report on student outcomes including religion in their ‘Outcomes data dashboard’, which can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/student-characteristics-data/outcomes-data-dashboard/.

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