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Average School Secretary Salary in United Kingdom for 2026

A school secretary in United Kingdom earns about 34,300 GBP a year. That's 51% below the national average of 69,700 GBP.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in United Kingdom sit around 16,000 GBP a year, while the very top stretches to 54,200 GBP. Everything on this page is in British pound (GBP, symbol £), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in United Kingdom, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

To turn a gross salary in United Kingdom into a take-home figure, use our United Kingdom salary after tax calculator, which works the latest tax brackets and contributions through the math for you.

How much does a school secretary make in United Kingdom?

Average salary
34,300 GBP
2,858 GBP per month
Lowest reported
16,000 GBP
1,333 GBP per month
Highest reported
54,200 GBP
4,516 GBP per month

A typical school secretary working in United Kingdom brings home around 2,858 GBP a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 16,000 GBP, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 54,200 GBP for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior school secretary working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around. For a cross-country comparison, see the school secretary salary in Guernsey or Jersey, both of which pay in the same currency.

How school secretary pay ranges in United Kingdom

A good way to think about salary in United Kingdom is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all school secretaries in United Kingdom earn less than 35,000 GBP a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 22,400 GBP (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 47,500 GBP (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of school secretaries sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 16,000 GBP. The highest stretch to 54,200 GBP, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

16,000
Low
35,000
Median
54,200
High
22,400
25th
47,500
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in GBP

School secretary pay by experience in United Kingdom

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a school secretary in United Kingdom, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical school secretary salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    21,200 GBP
  • 2-5 Years
    +29% from previous
    27,300 GBP
  • 5-10 Years
    +27% from previous
    34,800 GBP
  • 10-15 Years
    +33% from previous
    46,200 GBP
  • 15-20 Years
    +7% from previous
    49,400 GBP
  • 20+ Years
    +5% from previous
    52,000 GBP

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 5 - 10 Years to 10 - 15 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a school secretary typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

School secretary pay by education in United Kingdom

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving school secretary pay in United Kingdom. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average school secretary salary in United Kingdom broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • High School
    27,300 GBP
  • Certificate or Diploma
    +45% from previous
    39,500 GBP
  • Bachelor's Degree
    +32% from previous
    52,000 GBP

School secretary gender pay gap in United Kingdom

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and United Kingdom is no exception. Male school secretaries in United Kingdom earn an average of 35,100 GBP a year, while female school secretaries earn around 34,900 GBP. That works out to a 1% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

School Secretary gender pay gap

1%

Men earn this much more than women on average in United Kingdom.

Men 35,100 GBP
Women 34,900 GBP

Pay raises for a school secretary in United Kingdom

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in United Kingdom sees a raise of about 9% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 6% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in United Kingdom, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in United Kingdom:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

School secretary bonus rates in United Kingdom

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

32%

32% of school secretaries in United Kingdom reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a school secretary a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 68% of school secretaries reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in United Kingdom

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

School secretary: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in United Kingdom is about 7% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in United Kingdom on average.

Public sector 72,700 GBP
Private sector 68,200 GBP

School secretary salary by city and region in United Kingdom

School secretary pay is not even across United Kingdom. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Edinburgh
  • Glasgow
  • Birmingham
  • Somerset
  • Liverpool
  • Bristol
  • Belfast
  • Cardiff
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
EnglandRegion65,800 GBP68,900 GBP32,200-105,800 GBP
ScotlandRegion50,500 GBP51,500 GBP22,200-79,600 GBP
EdinburghCity41,300 GBP43,500 GBP20,300-64,100 GBP
GlasgowCity40,200 GBP36,700 GBP23,400-63,100 GBP
BirminghamCity39,600 GBP42,700 GBP19,200-61,700 GBP
SomersetCity39,500 GBP40,900 GBP16,300-59,200 GBP
LiverpoolCity39,500 GBP38,000 GBP16,300-60,900 GBP
BristolCity39,100 GBP39,800 GBP20,300-58,700 GBP
BelfastCity39,100 GBP39,800 GBP20,300-58,700 GBP
CardiffCity38,000 GBP38,900 GBP20,300-61,600 GBP
LondonCity37,800 GBP42,400 GBP18,600-62,600 GBP
LeicesterCity37,300 GBP34,300 GBP20,900-57,800 GBP
CoventryCity37,300 GBP37,300 GBP17,100-57,900 GBP
WolverhamptonCity36,900 GBP39,800 GBP19,100-60,100 GBP
AberdeenCity36,700 GBP35,000 GBP19,200-57,100 GBP
LeedsCity36,500 GBP34,700 GBP19,300-57,800 GBP
DerbyCity36,000 GBP36,800 GBP16,900-55,200 GBP
ManchesterCity35,600 GBP34,700 GBP20,500-58,600 GBP
Kingston upon HullCity35,600 GBP37,800 GBP15,700-55,300 GBP
ArmaghCity35,600 GBP37,200 GBP17,100-54,600 GBP
NewportCity35,500 GBP37,800 GBP17,500-57,100 GBP
NewcastleCity35,500 GBP33,800 GBP17,100-55,700 GBP
WalesRegion35,500 GBP32,200 GBP16,900-53,300 GBP
PortsmouthCity35,400 GBP37,300 GBP17,000-55,400 GBP
BradfordCity35,400 GBP35,300 GBP19,100-57,000 GBP
StirlingCity35,300 GBP36,600 GBP17,500-54,100 GBP
SouthamptonCity35,300 GBP36,400 GBP15,500-55,400 GBP
BrightonCity35,300 GBP33,300 GBP19,000-54,700 GBP
NewryCity35,300 GBP32,200 GBP19,300-50,600 GBP
NottinghamCity35,300 GBP36,900 GBP18,400-58,600 GBP
PlymouthCity35,300 GBP35,300 GBP15,700-55,200 GBP
SwanseaCity35,200 GBP35,600 GBP20,300-58,100 GBP
SheffieldCity35,200 GBP36,400 GBP16,300-58,600 GBP
YorkCity35,200 GBP33,000 GBP19,400-55,500 GBP
LisburnCity35,100 GBP30,100 GBP18,000-49,800 GBP
DundeeCity34,900 GBP37,300 GBP19,400-57,800 GBP
PeterboroughCity34,000 GBP34,100 GBP18,600-53,300 GBP
DerryCity34,000 GBP34,800 GBP15,500-55,600 GBP
CambridgeCity33,600 GBP35,300 GBP13,500-51,300 GBP
LincolnCity33,300 GBP33,300 GBP16,100-51,800 GBP
Northern IrelandRegion33,200 GBP29,300 GBP16,000-47,200 GBP
NorwichCity32,900 GBP35,100 GBP16,800-50,000 GBP
ExeterCity32,900 GBP29,400 GBP19,100-49,800 GBP
GloucesterCity32,900 GBP31,400 GBP15,700-50,700 GBP
WinchesterCity32,600 GBP33,000 GBP16,800-51,500 GBP
PooleCity32,300 GBP35,300 GBP17,000-52,600 GBP
InvernessCity32,300 GBP32,200 GBP15,700-49,800 GBP
KirkwallCity31,800 GBP31,800 GBP15,100-49,400 GBP
OxfordCity31,700 GBP30,000 GBP16,300-51,300 GBP
HartlepoolCity31,400 GBP34,100 GBP17,100-50,300 GBP
WellsCity31,400 GBP31,400 GBP16,800-49,800 GBP
AbingdonCity31,400 GBP31,400 GBP15,400-48,600 GBP
TruroCity31,300 GBP26,200 GBP16,800-45,600 GBP
RiponCity30,800 GBP26,100 GBP17,100-44,500 GBP
SalisburyCity30,800 GBP29,200 GBP14,200-48,600 GBP
St DavidsCity30,300 GBP27,300 GBP17,500-47,800 GBP
WakefieldCity30,300 GBP31,300 GBP16,800-45,300 GBP
DurhamCity30,200 GBP34,000 GBP14,200-48,300 GBP
ChesterCity30,200 GBP30,100 GBP16,100-49,700 GBP
BangorCity30,200 GBP30,200 GBP16,300-49,300 GBP
StrontianCity30,000 GBP27,400 GBP16,800-48,200 GBP
CanterburyCity30,000 GBP26,900 GBP15,700-46,000 GBP
StromnessCity29,600 GBP33,500 GBP14,200-49,200 GBP

School Secretary in United Kingdom: FAQs

  • How much does a school secretary make per month in United Kingdom?

    A school secretary in United Kingdom earns about 2,858 GBP a month before tax, based on an annual average of 34,300 GBP.

  • What's the salary range for a school secretary in United Kingdom?

    Entry-level school secretaries in United Kingdom start near 16,000 GBP. Top-end pay reaches around 54,200 GBP. The middle 50% of earners sit between 22,400 and 47,500 GBP.

  • Is the median school secretary salary in United Kingdom higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 35,000 GBP, higher than the average of 34,300 GBP. Half of school secretaries in United Kingdom earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for school secretaries in United Kingdom?

    Men working as a school secretary in United Kingdom earn around 1% more than women on average (35,100 vs 34,900 GBP a year).

  • Do school secretaries in United Kingdom get bonuses?

    About 32% of school secretaries in United Kingdom reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.

  • Do school secretaries earn more in the public or private sector in United Kingdom?

    In United Kingdom, the public sector pays a school secretary about 7% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do school secretaries in United Kingdom get a pay raise?

    A school secretary in United Kingdom sees a raise of around 9% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 6% a year.