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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 Portsmouth: 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).

303040405050606070708080Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132
303040405050606070708080Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132

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 Ark Ayrton Primary Academy Well above 72% 54% +17.6 68% 27% 51% 176 12%below average
2 St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School Well above 77% 63% +14.4 50% 10% 47% 90 16%above average
3 Ark Dickens Primary Academy Well above 67% 56% +11.5 68% 17% 33% 175 18%above average
4 St Paul's Catholic Primary School Above 69% 63% +6.1 36% 17% 29% 169 16%above average
5 Langstone Primary Academy Above 66% 61% +5.3 38% 18% 9% 269 14%above average
6 Penbridge Junior School Above 58% 53% +4.7 70% 23% 29% 314 30%high
7 St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School As expected 53% 50% +2.9 69% 40% 38% 133 14%above average
8 Meon Junior School As expected 62% 62% −0.3 22% 29% 16% 255 14%above average
9 St Swithun's Catholic Primary School As expected 67% 68% −1.0 16% 22% 51% 136 17%above average
10 Westover Primary School As expected 56% 58% −1.8 38% 28% 3% 118 10%
11 St Jude's CofE Primary School As expected 59% 63% −4.2 40% 17% 47% 181 17%above average
12 The Victory Primary School Below 49% 54% −5.4 56% 25% 5% 182 32%high
13 Fernhurst Junior School Below 56% 63% −6.5 40% 16% 34% 258 2%low
14 Court Lane Junior Academy Below 55% 62% −6.6 28% 25% 12% 358 13%below average
15 Craneswater Junior School Below 55% 62% −7.2 34% 18% 17% 339 10%below average
16 Gatcombe Park Primary School Below 56% 65% −8.6 23% 17% 10% 90 28%
17 Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Below 61% 70% −8.8 18% 14% 55% 130 20%high
18 Medina Primary School Below 48% 57% −8.9 48% 23% 6% 91 25%high
19 New Horizons Primary School Below 50% 59% −9.2 48% 21% 31% 237 14%below average
20 Highbury Primary School Below 54% 63% −9.3 28% 18% 12% 174 15%above average
21 Milton Park Primary School Below 47% 56% −9.4 45% 34% 26% 173 20%high
22 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery Below 46% 56% −9.5 60% 29% 47% 166 5%low
23 Solent Junior School Below 57% 67% −9.7 16% 13% 2% 270 13%below average
24 Beacon View Primary Academy Well below 38% 51% −13.2 66% 29% 7% 191 17%above average
25 Stamshaw Junior School Well below 46% 59% −13.4 48% 17% 21% 176 11%below average
26 Wimborne Primary School Well below 48% 64% −16.4 30% 11% 10% 262 13%below average
27 The Flying Bull Academy Well below 36% 53% −17.2 60% 33% 28% 173 21%high
28 King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior) Well below 43% 60% −17.4 44% 15% 15% 349 34%high
29 Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Well below 34% 52% −18.2 75% 22% 26% 257 14%above average
30 Copnor Primary School Well below 46% 66% −20.1 25% 11% 17% 309 13%below average
31 Portsdown Primary School Well below 34% 55% −20.5 58% 24% 9% 174 13%below average
32 King's Academy College Park (Junior) Well below 43% 65% −21.9 30% 10% 13% 359 19%above 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 call these Companion Results. Read the plain-English explainer →

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.