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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 Central Bedfordshire: 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.

Outlined in black: the school you compared (marked "Compared" in the table).

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

20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233

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 Lark Rise Academy Above 81% 71% +10.4 13% 5% 20% 129 12%below average
2 Raynsford Church of England Academy Above 75% 68% +7.3 5% 19% 0% 68 22%
3 Robert Peel Primary School As expected 61% 56% +4.6 38% 34% 4% 154 3%low
4 The Vale Academy As expected 70% 66% +3.6 20% 18% 29% 211 22%high
5 St Mary's Catholic Primary School As expected 62% 59% +3.2 43% 24% 19% 76 32%
6 Thornhill Primary School As expected 70% 67% +3.2 22% 17% 37% 101 12%below average
7 Biggleswade Academy Compared As expected 66% 64% +2.4 19% 25% 10% 396 17%above average
8 Caddington Village School As expected 65% 63% +2.2 19% 26% 2% 126 30%high
9 Derwent Primary School As expected 69% 67% +2.2 17% 11% 0% 49 33%high
10 Slip End Village School As expected 59% 61% −2.4 25% 25% 0% 54 50%
11 Priory Academy As expected 67% 70% −3.0 10% 11% 21% 361 21%high
12 Lancot School As expected 61% 65% −3.7 20% 22% 18% 163 19%above average
13 Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School Below 56% 62% −6.2 30% 23% 20% 89 11%
14 Maple Tree Primary School Below 59% 65% −6.3 13% 21% 0% 91 14%
15 St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Below 63% 70% −7.3 13% 13% 43% 88 23%
16 Hadrian Academy Below 58% 67% −9.1 24% 13% 35% 168 10%below average
17 Ardley Hill Academy Below 55% 65% −10.0 19% 20% 12% 167 18%above average
18 Eaton Bray Academy Below 47% 58% −10.9 41% 24% 0% 52 10%
19 Lime Tree Primary Academy Below 49% 61% −11.5 37% 29% 40% 108 25%high
20 Moggerhanger Primary School Below 47% 59% −11.7 15% 46% 0% 38 20%
21 Clifton All Saints Academy Below 46% 58% −11.9 40% 25% 0% 48 21%
22 Langford Village Academy Below 50% 62% −11.9 19% 29% 0% 52 17%above average
23 Houghton Regis Primary School Well below 49% 63% −13.9 31% 19% 19% 134 28%high
24 St Christophers Academy Well below 54% 70% −15.9 17% 10% 40% 123 40%high
25 St. Augustine's Academy Well below 42% 58% −16.0 44% 24% 12% 77 13%
26 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School Well below 42% 60% −17.5 31% 27% 0% 79 15%above average
27 John Donne Church of England Primary School Well below 39% 58% −19.1 29% 35% 0% 41 29%
28 Tithe Farm Primary School Well below 45% 65% −19.7 31% 17% 37% 162 22%high
29 Everton Heath Primary School Well below 37% 57% −20.3 25% 42% 0% 30 56%
30 Meppershall Church of England Academy Well below 40% 62% −22.3 24% 24% 5% 131 26%
31 Totternhoe Church of England Academy Well below 30% 54% −23.7 35% 47% 0% 41 29%
32 Thomas Whitehead Church of England Academy Well below 36% 63% −26.5 25% 25% 14% 87 5%
33 Beecroft Academy Well below 30% 63% −33.3 27% 23% 25% 177 22%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 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.