This paper will present some findings from the Teacher Status Project, a large scale national study of teacher status in England between 2002 and 2006. The project is investigating public and individual teachers' perceptions of status, as well as those of education stakeholders such as parents, governors and support staff through large scale surveys and case studies. This paper will draw on large scale cross-sectional surveys of teachers and the public examine whether public and teachers' own perceptions of the status of teachers and teaching vary according to the geographical region, rural/urban location and school size in which they live and/or work. Concerns about teacher status are not exclusive to England but have surfaced recently in The Netherlands, for example, associated with recruitment and retention issues, and as far away as New Zealand. In other European countries, such as France, Germany or Finland, teacher status would seem to be relatively high compared with England. The concept of 'status' is complex and difficult to define, however, but Hoyle's (2001) three-way analysis of occupational status into prestige (status in a hierarchy of occupations), status (status in the eyes of knowledgeable others) and esteem (regard by virtue of the personal qualities that teachers bring to their work), has been useful in the development of our project. Our study of teachers' own perceptions of their status, is based on the discrepancy between teachers' definitions of the characteristics of a high status profession i.e. definitive high status, and those of the teaching profession. Historically, primary teachers and teaching have been accorded lower occupational prestige than their secondary counterparts. This has been linked to the diffuseness of primary teachers' non-specialist expertise and perceptions of their clientele as of low economic status (e.g. Hoyle, 2001; Banks, 1971). Our surveys, however, suggest a reduction in this differential, which could be attributed, speculatively, to increasing awareness of primary teachers' work, pay, training and qualifications during the 1990s, coupled with the heightened profile of primary schools since the advent of league tables in England. Hypotheses about the effects of region, rurality and school size on perceptions of teacher status are more complicated. If the socio-economic status of the clientele affects perceptions of status, then teachers in poor rural areas for example, would be perceived of lower occupational prestige than those based in more prosperous areas. But since teaching in a poor rural area is well-paid and stable, compared with occupations involving seasonal work or where there is unemployment because local industries have died out, this would predict enhanced perceptions of teachers status. Then again, demographic shifts in some regions, including the take over of rural areas by wealthy professional people seeking the rural idyll, and the recent, possibly resultant, success of small schools in performance league tables and inspection reports, lead to conflicting effects on perceptions of teacher prestige, status and esteem. This paper will examine our findings relevant to these issues within our national public opinion survey of 1800 participants, and national survey of 2400 teachers. Statistical comparisons are based on scale means derived from factor analysis of items concerning status, such as respect, responsibility, control, as well as teacher professionalism, analysed by region, location and school size. Qualitative data from case studies is being used to inform and extend these findings. The status of teachers and teaching in Europe may vary between countries, but an aim of this paper will be to encourage discussion and comparison of intra-national effects of region and location on perceptions of teacher status. Banks, O. (1971) The sociology of education. ( 2nd edn.) London; Batsford Hoyle, E. (2001) Teaching: prestige, status and esteem. Educational Management and Administration, 29(2) 139-152.