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 Merton: 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).

404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142

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 Benedict Academy Well above 92% 56% +35.7 67% 27% 73% 73 16%above average
2 Park Academy Well above 87% 64% +23.5 38% 13% 31% 61 18%
3 Aragon Primary School Well above 84% 64% +20.2 32% 19% 35% 216 6%low
4 St Mark's Primary School Well above 75% 57% +18.5 50% 43% 75% 87 19%above average
5 Merton Park Primary School Well above 86% 71% +15.1 4% 11% 15% 80 15%
6 All Saints' CofE Primary School Well above 76% 64% +12.5 29% 26% 45% 112 22%high
7 Singlegate Primary School Well above 74% 62% +12.1 30% 26% 26% 261 25%high
8 Bishop Gilpin CofE Primary School Well above 82% 70% +11.6 8% 14% 31% 166 15%above average
9 St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Above 78% 67% +11.2 28% 13% 43% 182 16%above average
10 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Above 73% 63% +10.5 19% 35% 29% 120 17%above average
11 Wimbledon Park Primary School Above 80% 70% +10.5 14% 13% 35% 222 15%above average
12 Garfield Primary School Above 70% 60% +9.8 48% 22% 48% 89 12%below average
13 The Priory CofE School Above 68% 59% +9.5 43% 30% 35% 68 22%high
14 Hollymount School Above 79% 70% +9.0 9% 14% 29% 168 15%above average
15 St Mary's Catholic Primary School Above 81% 72% +8.6 11% 12% 61% 171 17%above average
16 Harris Primary Academy Merton Above 69% 61% +8.5 42% 26% 46% 188 20%high
17 Malmesbury Primary School Above 64% 56% +8.2 55% 30% 38% 166 13%below average
18 St Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School Above 72% 64% +7.8 33% 24% 61% 125 18%above average
19 Lonesome Primary School Above 63% 56% +6.6 53% 29% 36% 127 25%high
20 Wimbledon Chase Primary School Above 76% 70% +6.2 14% 20% 62% 263 8%low
21 St Matthew's CofE Primary School Above 71% 65% +5.7 5% 32% 11% 66 14%above average
22 Merton Abbey Primary School Above 63% 58% +5.4 50% 28% 39% 71 9%low
23 William Morris Primary School As expected 65% 61% +4.2 47% 27% 70% 107 36%high
24 Poplar Primary School As expected 68% 64% +4.0 34% 22% 54% 231 13%below average
25 Dundonald Primary School As expected 74% 71% +3.2 9% 13% 36% 163 13%below average
26 Pelham Primary School As expected 68% 65% +3.0 19% 26% 33% 141 7%low
27 St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School As expected 65% 63% +1.9 36% 26% 62% 196 18%above average
28 West Wimbledon Primary School As expected 62% 60% +1.9 36% 30% 34% 144 12%below average
29 Cranmer Primary School As expected 59% 59% +0.5 48% 28% 45% 200 11%below average
30 Liberty Primary As expected 60% 60% +0.4 44% 30% 54% 145 8%low
31 Holy Trinity CofE Primary School As expected 67% 67% −0.4 15% 19% 29% 143 11%below average
32 Morden Primary School As expected 56% 56% −0.4 50% 35% 46% 84 7%low
33 Gorringe Park Primary School As expected 61% 63% −1.5 31% 33% 61% 145 27%high
34 Hillcross Primary School Below 60% 65% −5.4 13% 30% 32% 169 11%below average
35 Haslemere Primary School Below 54% 60% −5.7 50% 27% 65% 158 25%high
36 Beecholme Primary School Below 62% 68% −5.8 40% 8% 80% 71 27%
37 Joseph Hood Primary School Below 60% 67% −6.9 24% 14% 35% 139 15%above average
38 Hatfeild Primary School Below 56% 64% −7.6 15% 32% 20% 142 20%high
39 Abbotsbury Primary School Below 52% 63% −11.0 49% 18% 76% 160 6%low
40 Links Primary School Well below 50% 62% −12.4 40% 23% 55% 116 21%high
41 Bond Primary School Compared Well below 44% 57% −13.0 60% 26% 57% 136 32%high
42 The Sherwood School Well below 52% 66% −14.4 30% 11% 38% 142 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.

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.