School Context Comparator

Exam results say a lot about a school's pupils, not just its teaching. A school where many children are disadvantaged or have special educational needs will usually have lower results, even if it's doing a great job. This compares each school with what you'd expect from the pupils it teaches.

Primary and junior schools in Dacorum: SATs results in context

% meeting the expected standard, average of the three years to 2024/25. Each numbered dot is a school (see the table below). Above the line means better results than you'd expect from its pupils; the shaded strip is "about what you'd expect".

  • Better than expected
  • About as expected
  • Below expected

The faint grey dots behind are every other school in England, for comparison.

Green ring: low teacher turnover – among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay (three-year average).

20203030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
20203030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546

Loading stats for 13,485 schools across England…

Did you know? In a class of 30, one child moves a school's SATs percentage by more than 3 points - which is why we use a three-year average. How this works

How each school compares

# School Compared with what you'd expect Actual Expected Gap Disadvantaged SEN EAL Pupils(3 years) Teacher turnover(a year)
1 Brockswood Primary School Well above 85% 57% +27.6 47% 33% 43% 87 7%low
2 Bovingdon Primary Academy Well above 89% 64% +24.7 22% 18% 6% 158 12%below average
3 Little Gaddesden Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Well above 89% 67% +21.7 14% 14% 7% 36 17%
4 Hobletts Manor Junior School Well above 74% 61% +12.8 30% 23% 7% 178 9%low
5 Bridgewater Primary School Well above 77% 64% +12.7 12% 27% 3% 176 9%low
6 Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring Above 75% 65% +9.7 18% 18% 7% 176 15%
7 Two Waters Primary School Above 76% 69% +7.3 10% 13% 10% 90 20%high
8 Greenway Primary and Nursery School Above 72% 65% +7.2 10% 28% 7% 86 12%below average
9 Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School Above 70% 63% +6.9 17% 33% 23% 178 6%low
10 Grove Road Primary School Above 69% 64% +4.7 17% 23% 7% 172 12%below average
11 St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton As expected 68% 64% +4.2 7% 33% 0% 41 22%
12 George Street Primary School As expected 71% 68% +3.1 18% 14% 29% 87 15%above average
13 Kings Langley Primary School As expected 66% 63% +2.6 17% 27% 7% 178 2%low
14 Belswains Primary School As expected 66% 64% +2.5 34% 14% 21% 119 12%below average
15 St Cuthbert Mayne Voluntary Catholic Junior Academy As expected 69% 67% +2.5 10% 22% 10% 181 19%
16 Nash Mills Church of England Primary School As expected 69% 67% +2.2 13% 20% 17% 89 0%low
17 Tudor Primary School As expected 65% 63% +2.1 25% 30% 37% 179 5%low
18 Holtsmere End Junior School As expected 61% 60% +1.0 34% 33% 36% 178 23%high
19 The Reddings Primary School As expected 60% 61% −0.5 33% 30% 30% 87 13%below average
20 Pixies Hill Primary School As expected 67% 68% −1.2 10% 14% 7% 89 8%low
21 Potten End CofE Primary School As expected 62% 63% −1.2 26% 19% 7% 86 12%
22 Markyate Village School and Nursery As expected 60% 61% −1.4 18% 36% 14% 99 26%high
23 Gade Valley Primary School As expected 65% 68% −2.5 10% 21% 21% 86 11%below average
24 Boxmoor Primary School As expected 62% 65% −3.3 17% 20% 10% 89 3%low
25 St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch As expected 64% 68% −3.7 10% 17% 10% 81 16%above average
26 Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School As expected 63% 68% −4.5 10% 23% 27% 86 28%high
27 Westfield Primary School Below 50% 55% −5.4 52% 26% 9% 80 39%high
28 Aldbury Church of England Primary and Nursery School Below 60% 66% −5.8 13% 19% 0% 40 9%
29 Broadfield Academy Below 52% 59% −6.5 32% 36% 20% 155 31%high
30 Dundale Primary School and Nursery Below 53% 60% −6.6 39% 19% 0% 81 8%low
31 South Hill Primary School Below 55% 63% −7.8 29% 22% 22% 177 13%below average
32 Jupiter Primary School Below 55% 64% −8.9 28% 16% 14% 160 16%above average
33 St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chipperfield Below 58% 68% −9.7 7% 17% 0% 76 17%
34 The Thomas Coram Church of England School Below 56% 66% −10.0 10% 24% 10% 232 17%above average
35 St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Below 53% 65% −11.7 19% 23% 19% 72 27%
36 Long Marston VA Church of England Primary and Nursery School Below 52% 64% −11.9 14% 27% 5% 58 4%
37 Aycliffe Drive Primary School Well below 54% 66% −12.0 28% 14% 35% 125 24%high
38 Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery Well below 47% 61% −13.9 35% 23% 19% 167 13%below average
39 Flamstead Village School Well below 48% 63% −15.3 25% 19% 6% 40 30%
40 Micklem Primary School Well below 41% 57% −15.9 45% 32% 26% 90 15%above average
41 Chambersbury Primary School Well below 45% 62% −16.8 31% 24% 21% 89 21%high
42 Saint Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Well below 47% 65% −17.8 13% 30% 23% 87 16%
43 Hammond Academy Well below 49% 68% −18.5 27% 8% 33% 165 33%high
44 Lime Walk Primary School Well below 42% 63% −21.3 32% 14% 11% 85 14%below average
45 Maple Grove Primary School Well below 28% 62% −34.2 36% 25% 46% 86 41%high
46 Yewtree Primary School Well below 24% 62% −37.7 35% 23% 29% 133 36%high

Results are the average of the last three Year 6 groups, which is steadier than a single year. Pupil percentages are for the latest Year 6. Disadvantaged: eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, or looked after by the council. SEN: special educational needs (SEN support or an EHC plan). EAL: English as an additional language.

Not compared

How this works

We looked at every comparable state primary and junior school in England (14,315 schools) to see how SATs results usually change with the make-up of a year group. On average:

  • For every 10 more disadvantaged pupils in every 100, the share meeting the expected standard is about 2.4 percentage points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with SEN in every 100, it's about 2.4 percentage points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with English as an additional language in every 100, it's about 0.7 percentage points higher. Pupils learning English often catch up quickly.

From those, each school gets an expected result for its own pupils, which we compare with its actual result. Primary year groups are small – in a class of 30, one child moves the percentage by more than 3 points – so we use the three-year average and allow for each school's own pupil numbers: a small school needs a bigger gap before we call it above or below what you'd expect.

What we found: schools where teachers stay

We put every primary and junior school's result-against-expected next to its teacher turnover – the share of its teachers who moved to another school or left state schools each year, averaged over three years (DfE school workforce census). Across 8,274 schools in England, split into four equal groups by turnover:

Teacher turnoverTypical turnoverResults vs expectedDid better than expected
Lowest turnover 7% a year +1.8 pts 40%
Lower-middle 12% a year +1.2 pts 37%
Upper-middle 17% a year +0.7 pts 36%
Highest turnover 26% a year −1.2 pts 32%

The pattern is the same as for secondary schools but weaker, and most of the difference is in the quarter of schools where teachers leave most often (−1.2 percentage points, against +1.8 for the lowest-turnover quarter). Primary staffs are small and SATs results move around from year to year, which blurs the picture.

A link isn't proof that one causes the other: losing teachers may hold results back, and a school that's struggling for other reasons (leadership, for example) may also lose more teachers. Nationally, turnover is fairly steady from year to year and teachers who move are replaced – but between schools it varies a lot, from under one teacher in ten a year to more than one in five. The green rings on the chart mark the lowest-turnover quarter.

What it can't tell you

  • These three things explain only about 18% of the differences between schools. Much of what makes a school stronger or weaker, and much about its pupils, isn't captured by any published figure.
  • Even averaged over three years, small schools' results move around a lot, so treat close calls as roughly equal.
  • It isn't an excuse for lower results. It shows how a school does compared with schools teaching similar pupils, so you can compare more fairly.
  • We deliberately don't adjust for attendance or exclusions: those are partly down to the school itself.

Source: Department for Education, Key Stage 2 performance data (2024/25). Calculated by The School Companion.