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 Amber Valley: 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 standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839
20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839

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 Coppice Primary School Well above 74% 47% +27.3 52% 62% 10% 93 6%low
2 Street Lane Primary School Well above 81% 58% +23.5 46% 23% 8% 36 24%
3 William Gilbert Endowed Church of England Primary School Well above 85% 66% +19.5 17% 17% 3% 104 17%
4 Kirk Langley CofE Primary School Well above 87% 68% +18.8 22% 0% 0% 39 7%
5 Holbrook Church of England Primary School Well above 87% 69% +18.1 5% 14% 0% 60 15%
6 Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy Well above 82% 66% +15.8 24% 16% 32% 90 7%
7 Somerlea Park Junior School Above 63% 52% +11.4 63% 29% 3% 101 27%
8 Howitt Primary Community School Above 66% 55% +11.0 62% 19% 12% 125 8%low
9 Ripley St John's Church of England Primary School and Nursery Above 65% 57% +8.2 40% 31% 5% 149 14%above average
10 Kilburn Junior School Above 64% 57% +7.3 43% 27% 0% 118 0%
11 Langley Mill Academy Above 61% 56% +5.3 54% 22% 6% 203 20%high
12 St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy Above 71% 66% +5.0 10% 23% 7% 94 2%
13 Duffield the Meadows Primary School Compared As expected 69% 66% +3.2 18% 15% 3% 176 15%above average
14 St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery As expected 63% 60% +3.1 30% 27% 2% 192 12%below average
15 Waingroves Primary School As expected 61% 61% +0.5 29% 26% 3% 94 6%
16 Long Row Primary School As expected 66% 66% +0.0 21% 12% 6% 107 7%low
17 Leys Junior School As expected 58% 58% −0.3 40% 24% 2% 140 11%below average
18 Denby Free CofE VA Primary School As expected 62% 63% −0.6 15% 30% 0% 53 22%
19 The Curzon CofE Primary School As expected 62% 63% −0.6 18% 27% 0% 65 4%
20 Codnor Community Primary School Church of England Controlled As expected 62% 63% −0.7 33% 13% 3% 100 9%low
21 Ironville and Codnor Park Primary School As expected 49% 50% −1.1 69% 31% 8% 47 10%
22 South Wingfield Primary School As expected 63% 64% −1.3 14% 24% 0% 60 7%
23 Herbert Strutt Primary School As expected 59% 61% −1.7 32% 21% 0% 90 4%
24 Milford Primary School As expected 56% 59% −2.9 46% 15% 0% 41 7%
25 Crich Junior School As expected 65% 70% −4.9 15% 0% 0% 55 5%
26 Riddings Junior School Below 53% 58% −5.3 39% 25% 2% 173 6%low
27 Richardson Endowed Primary School Below 52% 59% −7.0 27% 33% 0% 86 38%
28 Swanwick Primary School Below 53% 61% −8.1 28% 24% 2% 168 10%below average
29 Horsley CofE (Controlled) Primary School Below 53% 62% −8.5 31% 19% 0% 38 12%
30 Lea Primary School Below 61% 70% −8.6 5% 11% 0% 59 3%
31 Woodbridge Junior School Below 45% 54% −9.4 48% 34% 9% 173 16%above average
32 Horsley Woodhouse Primary School Below 55% 65% −10.0 14% 21% 0% 47 11%
33 Ambergate Primary School Below 56% 69% −13.2 9% 9% 0% 34 25%
34 Loscoe CofE Primary School and Nursery Well below 49% 62% −13.3 29% 19% 5% 69 13%
35 Mundy CofE Junior School Well below 42% 56% −13.8 51% 24% 4% 142 2%
36 Turnditch Church of England Primary School Well below 46% 60% −14.2 22% 33% 0% 35 10%
37 Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary & Nursery School Well below 47% 62% −14.5 40% 10% 0% 30 7%
38 Marlpool Junior School Well below 30% 52% −21.9 59% 31% 0% 98 11%
39 Pottery Primary School Well below 34% 59% −25.4 43% 18% 8% 136 14%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.

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.