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 Peterborough: 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).

3030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354
3030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354

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 Barnack CofE (Controlled) Primary School Well above 96% 61% +34.6 20% 30% 0% 74 32%
2 St John's Church School Well above 90% 59% +31.4 49% 25% 39% 178 24%high
3 Winyates Primary School Well above 87% 61% +25.8 52% 17% 59% 89 25%high
4 John Clare Primary School Well above 80% 65% +15.4 14% 23% 0% 70 0%
5 The King's (The Cathedral) School Well above 81% 67% +14.4 33% 0% 13% 47 15%below average
6 Norwood Primary School Well above 73% 59% +14.2 40% 27% 20% 90 14%
7 The Duke of Bedford Primary School Well above 74% 62% +12.2 39% 13% 10% 96 7%
8 Hampton Hargate Primary School Above 75% 67% +8.5 23% 19% 43% 272 6%low
9 Heritage Park Primary School As expected 71% 67% +3.8 13% 17% 13% 90 12%
10 The Beeches Primary School As expected 64% 61% +3.2 46% 27% 67% 241 6%low
11 Oakdale Primary School As expected 69% 67% +2.5 20% 17% 27% 121 9%low
12 Nene Valley Primary School As expected 72% 70% +1.9 11% 13% 33% 135 12%below average
13 Hampton Vale Primary Academy As expected 65% 64% +1.5 28% 20% 21% 272 16%above average
14 Ormiston Meadows Academy As expected 60% 59% +0.6 47% 20% 27% 86 9%low
15 Werrington Primary School As expected 63% 64% −0.9 25% 17% 7% 180 21%high
16 Old Fletton Primary School As expected 62% 63% −1.2 37% 18% 40% 178 13%below average
17 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School As expected 67% 69% −1.6 13% 20% 43% 89 31%high
18 Orton Wistow Primary School As expected 63% 65% −2.2 16% 22% 12% 178 9%low
19 Newark Hill Academy As expected 66% 69% −2.9 27% 10% 59% 210 18%above average
20 Welland Academy As expected 54% 57% −2.9 55% 27% 43% 173 19%above average
21 Eye CofE Primary School As expected 60% 63% −3.2 25% 20% 8% 174 9%low
22 Leighton Primary and Preschool As expected 58% 61% −3.2 39% 24% 39% 176 18%above average
23 Paston Ridings Primary School As expected 56% 59% −3.3 55% 18% 45% 186 29%high
24 Fulbridge Academy Below 61% 66% −4.8 34% 13% 49% 380 15%above average
25 Braybrook Primary Academy Below 54% 59% −4.9 41% 31% 38% 90 25%
26 Bishop Creighton Academy Below 60% 65% −5.1 48% 10% 76% 85 31%high
27 All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary School Below 63% 68% −5.2 38% 10% 85% 178 8%low
28 Highlees Primary School Below 54% 59% −5.3 56% 20% 56% 169 12%below average
29 Stanground St Johns CofE Primary School Below 49% 55% −6.0 60% 27% 33% 89 45%
30 Discovery Primary Academy Below 56% 63% −6.7 41% 18% 46% 252 17%above average
31 Peakirk-Cum-Glinton Cofe Primary Academy Below 60% 67% −7.2 20% 10% 13% 90 15%
32 Southfields Primary School Below 51% 59% −7.5 39% 32% 29% 264 16%above average
33 Eyrescroft Primary School Below 53% 61% −7.6 53% 13% 40% 132 13%below average
34 Welbourne Primary Academy Below 52% 60% −7.8 30% 36% 30% 95 15%above average
35 Nova Primary Academy Below 52% 60% −8.3 53% 15% 43% 172 28%high
36 Castor CofE Primary School Below 57% 66% −9.3 22% 17% 30% 74 21%
37 Wittering Primary School Below 56% 65% −9.3 16% 18% 0% 145 14%below average
38 William Law CofE Primary School Below 52% 63% −10.6 32% 20% 22% 271 17%above average
39 St Augustine's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Junior School Below 55% 66% −11.0 28% 16% 42% 177 21%high
40 Woodston Primary School Well below 51% 62% −11.3 39% 19% 37% 238 19%above average
41 Dogsthorpe Academy Well below 44% 56% −11.5 58% 30% 43% 290 39%high
42 Hampton College Well below 55% 67% −11.5 26% 10% 23% 187 14%below average
43 Lime Academy Watergall Well below 50% 62% −11.9 56% 9% 54% 167 33%high
44 Thorpe Primary Academy Well below 53% 66% −13.0 35% 13% 55% 261 22%high
45 Lime Academy Abbotsmede Well below 51% 65% −13.6 46% 16% 82% 171 12%below average
46 St Botolph's Church of England Primary School Well below 53% 67% −13.6 15% 17% 12% 176 12%below average
47 Ravensthorpe Primary Academy Well below 47% 62% −15.2 47% 15% 49% 162 20%high
48 Gunthorpe Primary School Well below 43% 59% −15.5 50% 22% 31% 174 29%high
49 Thomas Deacon Academy Well below 47% 63% −15.8 48% 12% 51% 269 13%below average
50 Gladstone Primary Academy Well below 45% 62% −17.0 58% 12% 72% 218 22%high
51 Longthorpe Primary Academy Well below 54% 71% −17.3 19% 9% 62% 177 11%below average
52 West Town Primary Academy Well below 50% 69% −18.7 33% 12% 83% 157 18%above average
53 Lime Academy Parnwell Well below 43% 62% −19.0 48% 15% 50% 156 18%above average
54 St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Well below 36% 61% −24.6 48% 25% 64% 173 10%below average

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.

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.