Official statistics

The Office for Students publishes three types of official statistics as defined by the Code of Practice for Statistics:

• Official statistics: Statistics produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
• Official statistics in development: A subset of new or existing official statistics undergoing development and evaluation. Until September 2023, they were called ‘experimental statistics’. Official statistics in development are published to involve users and stakeholders in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage. Following evaluation, the ‘in development’ label may be removed.
• Ad hoc official statistics: Statistical analyses produced and released where there is a pressing need for official statistics in the public interest.

For further information on our statistical releases, please contact Mark Gittoes, Head of Profession for Statistics, at [email protected] or 0117 931 7052.

Notes on official statistics and official statistics in development

We apply the Code of Practice for Statistics when producing our official statistics and official statistics in development. Further information can be found in our compliance statement.

We aim to provide specific release dates at least four weeks in advance where practicable, and release month(s) for publications in the next 12 months.

All official statistics will be released at 0930 on a weekday.

The OfS applies the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008. The organisation and job title of individuals granted pre-release access will be published on these pages. Pre-release access is limited to 24 hours before the official statistics are published.

Feedback on our official statistics in development can be sent to [email protected].

Notes on ad hoc statistics

These publications are released on an ad hoc basis and unlike our regular official statistics, will not be updated annually. Wherever possible, like our regular official statistics, these are produced using the principles set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

These reports often constitute experimental analyses for which feedback is actively encouraged. Feedback can be sent to [email protected].

Based on various factors, including feedback and data availability, these ad hoc releases may become official statistics in the future, in which case subsequent releases will be included on the statistics release schedule and the full Code of Practice for Statistics will be applied.