School secretaries: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time school secretaries in the UK earned a median £26,463 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 32% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (36th from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £23,083 and £29,542.
A full-time median is published for women only; the sample of men is too small.
Full-time paid hours are shorter than usual, a median of 36 a week.
About 56% of the roughly 27,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £20,971 in 2021, the median is up 26.2%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 50,600 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | – | £456.50 | £12.92 | £10,090* | £234.60 | £12.79 |
| 20th percentile | £22,148 | £491.10 | £13.43 | £14,175 | £292.40 | £13.33 |
| 25th percentile | £23,083 | £497.70 | £13.74 | £14,834 | £329.20 | £13.51 |
| 30th percentile | £23,831 | £506.20 | £14.03 | £16,498 | £366.60 | £14.01 |
| 40th percentile | £25,111 | £530.50 | £14.76 | £19,802 | £443.40 | £14.81 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £26,463 | £549.40 | £15.03 | £22,155 | £492.90 | £15.23 |
| 60th percentile | £27,302 | £585.10 | £15.97 | £24,201 | £525.50 | £16.00 |
| 70th percentile | £29,060 | £610.90 | £16.79 | £26,655 | £559.10 | £17.06 |
| 75th percentile | £29,542 | £626.60 | £17.25 | £27,528 | £584.10 | £17.75 |
| 80th percentile | – | £641.50* | £18.03 | £28,913 | £600.30 | £18.43 |
| Mean | £26,818 | £586.10 | £16.07 | £21,807 | £471.40 | £16.25 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £20,971 | £417.10 | £11.40 | £17,751 | £365.30 | 24 |
| 2022 revised | £20,468 | £414.80 | £11.56 | – | £384.10 | 21 |
| 2023 revised | £22,519 | £462.30 | £12.64 | £19,877 | £419.90 | 20 |
| 2024 revised | £25,283 | £516.00 | £13.99 | £21,756 | £440.40 | 47 |
| 2025 provisional | £26,463 | £549.40 | £15.03 | £22,155 | £492.90 | 27 |
School secretaries by region
UK: 50,600 (± 8,700), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What school secretaries do
School secretaries provide administrative support in schools by keeping and maintaining school records and performing a range of routine clerical tasks within the school. (ONS SOC 2020, 4213)
Also covers: administration assistant (schools), clerical assistant (schools), school administrator, school secretary, secretary (schools), admin assistant, admin officer, administration assistant, administration officer, administrative assistant, administrative officer, clerical assistant, clerical officer, office administrator, registry assistant, school clerk, school office administrator and school support officer (19 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Sorts, files and otherwise deals with incoming and outgoing correspondence
- Types directly or transcribes letters, reports and other documents, and prints or photocopies documents as required
- Maintains administrative records relating to pupils and staff, and generates statistical and other reports
- Handles enquiries from parents and arranges meetings with members of staff
- Undertakes reception duties for visitors, handles face-to-face and telephone enquiries and passes on messages
- Orders equipment and stationery
There are no formal academic entry requirements, although many employers expect entrants to possess GCSEs/S grades, and professional secretarial courses typically require GCSEs/S grades. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2, 3 and 4.
Related
Secretarial and related occupations (median £28,388) · Legal secretaries · Company secretaries and administrators · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026