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 South Oxfordshire: 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.

404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
404050506060707080809090Better 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 Shiplake Church of England School Well above 87% 68% +18.6 7% 14% 0% 55 4%
2 Aureus Primary School Well above 82% 66% +15.9 13% 27% 32% 121 19%above average
3 Goring Church of England Aided Primary School Well above 80% 65% +14.7 15% 19% 0% 82 2%
4 Valley Road School Well above 82% 69% +13.1 6% 16% 10% 90 13%
5 John Hampden Primary School Well above 76% 63% +12.7 28% 15% 2% 181 13%below average
6 Garsington Church of England Primary School Above 75% 65% +10.2 13% 26% 10% 89 5%
7 Willowcroft Community School Above 69% 60% +8.8 28% 33% 20% 182 13%below average
8 Lewknor Church of England Primary School Above 77% 69% +7.6 10% 10% 10% 30 15%
9 Whitchurch Primary School Above 78% 71% +7.4 0% 15% 10% 58 15%
10 Woodcote Primary School Above 70% 63% +6.9 17% 26% 0% 79 22%
11 RAF Benson Community Primary School Above 74% 68% +5.9 6% 18% 6% 65 25%
12 Fir Tree Junior School Above 69% 64% +4.7 14% 28% 14% 173 17%
13 Hagbourne Church of England Primary School As expected 70% 66% +4.5 17% 20% 13% 90 0%
14 Sonning Common Primary School As expected 67% 63% +3.8 23% 21% 4% 173 13%below average
15 Beckley Church of England Primary School As expected 65% 61% +3.6 8% 42% 0% 40 36%
16 Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England School As expected 74% 72% +2.5 4% 8% 12% 86 23%
17 Watlington Primary School As expected 65% 63% +2.1 17% 27% 0% 80 1%
18 South Moreton Primary School As expected 68% 67% +1.1 6% 25% 13% 47 18%
19 Mill Lane Community Primary School As expected 66% 65% +0.9 20% 17% 7% 89 21%high
20 Nettlebed Community School As expected 70% 69% +0.8 13% 7% 7% 47 15%
21 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames As expected 63% 62% +0.8 22% 33% 28% 57 14%
22 Ladygrove Park Primary School As expected 69% 69% +0.4 2% 25% 23% 180 14%above average
23 Horspath Church of England Primary School As expected 66% 66% −0.3 10% 24% 14% 62 26%
24 Barley Hill Primary School As expected 61% 62% −0.7 16% 34% 4% 207 18%above average
25 Cholsey Primary School As expected 63% 64% −1.1 18% 21% 0% 119 17%above average
26 Aston Rowant Church of England Primary School As expected 53% 54% −1.2 30% 50% 0% 34 1%
27 Badgemore Primary School As expected 53% 55% −2.1 42% 42% 25% 43 24%
28 Kidmore End Church of England Primary School As expected 61% 64% −3.3 18% 23% 9% 74 36%
29 All Saints Church of England Primary School As expected 66% 69% −3.4 10% 20% 43% 178 15%above average
30 Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School As expected 61% 65% −4.3 13% 22% 4% 51 4%
31 Stadhampton Primary School As expected 63% 67% −4.4 15% 15% 15% 38 27%
32 Manor Primary School Below 55% 60% −4.6 32% 29% 11% 155 49%high
33 Europa School UK Below 68% 73% −4.7 8% 14% 63% 265 12%below average
34 Great Milton Church of England Primary School Below 62% 67% −5.0 7% 22% 7% 74 10%
35 Chalgrove Community Primary School Below 56% 63% −7.1 23% 20% 0% 81 40%
36 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame Below 55% 63% −7.9 20% 27% 10% 84 23%
37 St John's Primary School Below 55% 64% −8.6 11% 32% 7% 88 25%high
38 Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary School Below 59% 68% −8.7 7% 21% 14% 39 11%
39 Trinity Church of England Primary School Below 59% 68% −8.9 5% 21% 10% 125 21%high
40 Abbey Woods Academy Below 53% 63% −9.6 30% 22% 22% 75 19%
41 Ewelme CofE Primary School Below 58% 68% −10.0 8% 17% 8% 31 0%
42 Northbourne Church of England Primary School Below 52% 63% −10.6 7% 40% 7% 133 20%high
43 Peppard Church of England Primary School Below 58% 71% −12.6 7% 7% 7% 43 34%
44 Benson Church of England Primary School Well below 51% 64% −12.8 17% 24% 3% 90 11%below average
45 St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Chinnor Well below 55% 68% −12.8 8% 18% 8% 178 11%below average
46 Wheatley Church of England Primary School Well below 51% 68% −17.0 14% 14% 17% 94 21%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.