This research note shows that secondary school segregation by poverty in England has recently started declining again. By comparing the long-term pattern of school compositions with an economic indicator, it is possible to link this decline to the recession, but only if a further, and contentious, assumption is made about what happened in the early 1990s. More work is needed to try and understand the complex relationship between segregation by poverty, economic cycles, and education policy. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)