How cookies are used on this service
The Compare school and college performance in England service puts small files (known as ‘cookies’) onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the site.
Our cookies aren’t used to identify you personally.
You’ll normally see a message on the site before we store a cookie on your computer.
Find out more about how to manage cookies.
Measuring website usage
We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements. We also send cross-domain tracking information to GOV.UK to help us understand and monitor performance data across multiple public services.
Google Analytics stores information about:
- the pages you visit on this service
- how long you spend on each page
- how you got to the site
- what you click on while you’re visiting the site
We don’t collect or store your personal information (eg your name or address) so this information can’t be used to identify who you are.
We don’t allow Google to use or share our analytics data.
Google Analytics sets the following cookies:
Universal Analytics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | This helps us count how many people visit GOV.UK by tracking if you’ve visited before | 2 years |
| _gat | Used to manage the rate at which page view requests are made | 10 minutes |
| _ga_XV7F711QCR | This helps us count how many people visit GOV.UK by tracking if you have visited before | 2 years |
| _gat_UA-10311450-20 | This limits the number of concurrent calls to Google Analytics | 1 Minute |
| _gat_UA-145652997-1 | This limits the number of concurrent calls to Google Analytics | 1 Minute |
| _gid | This helps us count how many people visit GOV.UK by tracking if you have visited before | 1 day |
We also use Microsoft Clarity to understand the way you interact with our service and to allow us to improve it.
Microsoft Clarity sets sets the following cookies:
Microsoft Clarity
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _clck | Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences, unique to that site is attributed to the same user ID. | 1 year |
| _clsk | Connects multiple page views by a user into a single Clarity session recording. | 1 day |
| CLID | Identifies the first-time Clarity saw this user on any site using Clarity. | Session |
| ANONCHK | Indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. Clarity doesn't use ANID and so this is always set to 0. | Session |
| MR | Indicates whether to refresh MUID. | 1 week |
| MUID | Identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. These cookies are used for advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes. | 1 year |
| SM | Used in synchronising the MUID across Microsoft domains. | Session |
Content experiments
Google Analytics and Optimize content testing. We sometimes test slightly different versions of our content to find out which version users find easier to use. The following cookies are needed to run these tests. All data is anonymised.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| __utmx | Shows inclusion in test | 18 months |
| __utmxx | Determines test expiry | 18 months |
| _gaexp | Google Optimize test inclusion and expiry | Usually 90 days but can vary depending on test |
Essential cookies
Our introductory message
You may see a pop-up welcome message when you first visit this service. We’ll store a cookie so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and knows not to show it again.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| analytics_preference | This lets us know if you chose to accept or reject analytical cookies | 1 month |
| seen_cookie_message | Saves a message to let us know that you’ve seen our cookie message | 1 month |
| ASLBSA | This helps us manage the load on our servers | Session |
| ASLBSACORS | This helps us manage the load on our servers | Session |
| TiPMix | This helps us manage the load on our servers | Session |
| x-ms-routing-name | This helps us manage the load on our servers | Session |
| comparisonItemIds | Stores your selection of schools to compare | Session |
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Help us improve GOV.UK
School information incorrect?
Information such as headteacher's name, school website, address, location on the map, sex, age-range and school type typically take 1 to 2 months to be updated here after first being updated, by the school, in Get information about schools. If information is incorrect in Get information about schools, please report it to the school.
Report a problem
This form is for reporting problems with the Compare school and college performance in England section of the GOV.UK website.
Don't include any personal or financial information, for example your National Insurance number or credit card details.
To make a complaint about a school, or a general complaint or enquiry, contact the Department for Education This link opens in a new window. Illegal behaviour should be reported to the police.