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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.

Secondary schools in Birmingham: GCSE results in context

Attainment 8, 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).

252530303535404045455050555560606565Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected Attainment 8 (from the school's pupils)Actual Attainment 8123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475
252530303535404045455050555560606565Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected Attainment 8Actual Attainment 8123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475

Loading stats for 2,979 schools across England…

Did you know? Attainment 8 is the average of a pupil's best eight GCSE-level grades, with English and maths counting twice. How this works

How each school compares

# School Compared with what you'd expect Actual Expected Gap Disadvantaged SEN EAL Teacher turnover(a year)
1 Eden Boys' School, Birmingham Compared Well above 61.3 43.5 +17.8 52% 10% 50% 33%high
2 Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Birmingham Well above 62.1 47.4 +14.7 41% 12% 55% 13%below average
3 King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy Well above 41.4 27.1 +14.3 79% 31% 13% 18%above average
4 St Paul's School for Girls Well above 61.0 48.3 +12.7 21% 37% 38% 9%low
5 Kings Norton Girls' School Well above 56.6 44.9 +11.7 29% 16% 11% 13%below average
6 Hillcrest School and Sixth Form Centre Well above 52.1 41.1 +11.0 59% 11% 51% 11%low
7 E-ACT Heartlands Academy Well above 50.3 39.5 +10.8 70% 14% 71% 17%above average
8 Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham East Well above 60.8 50.0 +10.8 48% 14% 95% 30%high
9 King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls Well above 56.8 46.3 +10.5 34% 10% 28% 20%above average
10 St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Well above 49.9 40.8 +9.1 50% 12% 26% 15%below average
11 Ark St Alban's Academy Well above 46.9 38.2 +8.7 72% 15% 67% 19%above average
12 Birmingham Ormiston Academy Well above 54.1 45.8 +8.3 17% 33% 4% 12%below average
13 Hodge Hill Girls' School Well above 48.7 40.4 +8.3 53% 20% 39% 21%high
14 Starbank School Well above 49.0 41.0 +8.0 65% 17% 71% 24%high
15 King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy Well above 47.4 39.8 +7.6 50% 19% 27% 15%below average
16 The Arthur Terry School Well above 55.4 47.9 +7.5 17% 17% 5% 21%high
17 King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls Well above 46.0 38.6 +7.4 51% 13% 14% 14%below average
18 Ark Kings Academy Well above 36.5 29.2 +7.3 74% 35% 23% 28%high
19 Lift Four Dwellings Secondary Well above 42.1 35.0 +7.1 65% 18% 28% 20%above average
20 Harborne Academy Well above 44.6 38.0 +6.6 56% 16% 24% 16%above average
21 Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School Well above 44.6 38.1 +6.5 51% 12% 10% 16%above average
22 Selly Park Girls' School Well above 52.4 45.9 +6.5 54% 15% 80% 17%above average
23 Bishop Walsh Catholic School Well above 56.0 49.8 +6.2 15% 14% 11% 11%low
24 Hodge Hill College Well above 45.1 39.1 +6.0 53% 17% 28% 18%above average
25 Rockwood Academy Well above 39.1 33.1 +6.0 65% 23% 17% 24%high
26 Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School Well above 47.0 41.2 +5.8 46% 15% 24% 13%below average
27 Bishop Challoner Catholic College Above 48.4 42.8 +5.6 38% 18% 19% 11%low
28 King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys Above 47.6 43.1 +4.5 33% 22% 13% 12%
29 E-ACT North Birmingham Academy Above 43.9 39.5 +4.4 54% 14% 30% 25%high
30 Queensbridge School Above 48.5 44.1 +4.4 34% 29% 29% 10%low
31 Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form Above 49.8 45.7 +4.1 59% 19% 95% 23%high
32 Turves Green Boys' School Above 37.3 33.3 +4.0 67% 14% 14% 19%above average
33 Colmers School and Sixth Form College Above 41.7 37.9 +3.8 51% 23% 19% 16%below average
34 Nishkam High School Above 51.3 47.8 +3.5 36% 12% 46% 15%below average
35 Lordswood Boys' School Above 43.3 39.9 +3.4 59% 17% 47% 13%below average
36 The University of Birmingham School Above 45.5 42.1 +3.4 40% 23% 25% 15%below average
37 Ninestiles, an Academy Above 44.9 41.6 +3.3 58% 18% 59% 25%high
38 Wheelers Lane Technology College Above 48.4 45.1 +3.3 34% 17% 27% 9%low
39 Aston Manor Academy Above 44.6 41.4 +3.2 68% 14% 79% 15%below average
40 Ark Victoria Academy Above 48.4 45.3 +3.1 59% 13% 84% 17%above average
41 Ark Boulton Academy Above 44.2 41.2 +3.0 71% 15% 86% 26%high
42 King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy Above 48.0 45.0 +3.0 48% 9% 53% 15%below average
43 Stockland Green School Above 40.3 37.5 +2.8 57% 18% 25% 20%high
44 Plantsbrook School Above 51.8 49.3 +2.5 14% 17% 9% 19%above average
45 Bartley Green School Above 39.9 37.5 +2.4 55% 16% 21% 19%above average
46 Holy Trinity Catholic School Above 44.0 41.6 +2.4 62% 14% 65% 6%low
47 Fairfax As expected 49.1 46.9 +2.2 24% 12% 9% 19%above average
48 Arena Academy As expected 44.5 42.6 +1.9 39% 13% 16% 18%above average
49 Yardleys School As expected 46.7 45.3 +1.4 50% 15% 66% 17%above average
50 The Royal Sutton School As expected 39.7 38.4 +1.3 52% 15% 18% 22%high
51 St John Wall Catholic School As expected 44.7 43.6 +1.1 51% 9% 49% 20%above average
52 Erdington Academy As expected 40.6 39.6 +1.0 57% 13% 36% 16%above average
53 Holyhead School As expected 43.2 42.2 +1.0 56% 22% 64% 12%below average
54 St Edmund Campion Catholic School As expected 45.8 44.9 +0.9 41% 10% 34% 16%above average
55 Small Heath Leadership Academy As expected 45.7 45.0 +0.7 53% 10% 65% 35%high
56 Tile Cross Academy As expected 35.6 35.0 +0.6 72% 15% 42% 20%above average
57 Washwood Heath Academy As expected 42.9 42.4 +0.5 60% 13% 64% 21%high
58 Moseley School and Sixth Form As expected 39.7 39.7 +0.0 66% 20% 69% 16%above average
59 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School As expected 41.7 41.8 −0.1 47% 16% 32% 20%above average
60 Fortis Academy As expected 37.9 38.3 −0.4 56% 20% 33% 16%above average
61 Lift Greenwood As expected 31.8 32.6 −0.8 63% 24% 11% 25%high
62 City Academy As expected 36.4 37.5 −1.1 69% 12% 51% 21%high
63 Hall Green School As expected 42.5 43.6 −1.1 41% 13% 27% 14%below average
64 Cockshut Hill School As expected 38.3 39.7 −1.4 58% 17% 46% 20%above average
65 Broadway Academy As expected 42.7 44.2 −1.5 55% 15% 70% 22%high
66 Waverley School As expected 41.9 43.4 −1.5 55% 17% 65% 21%high
67 E-ACT Shenley Academy As expected 31.6 33.5 −1.9 65% 19% 15% 39%high
68 Hamstead Hall Academy As expected 42.1 44.0 −1.9 39% 28% 41% 17%above average
69 Bournville School As expected 36.5 38.5 −2.0 50% 22% 20% 23%high
70 Holte School As expected 39.4 41.5 −2.1 62% 34% 84% 17%above average
71 Kings Heath Secondary School Below 40.0 42.7 −2.7 53% 15% 54% 12%below average
72 Star King Solomon Academy Below 34.1 37.2 −3.1 73% 13% 58% 31%high
73 George Dixon Academy Below 33.3 37.5 −4.2 72% 17% 62% 21%high
74 Jewellery Quarter Academy Below 35.2 40.0 −4.8 64% 10% 56% 34%high
75 Saltley Academy Well below 39.4 45.2 −5.8 56% 14% 78% 13%below average

Percentages are for the pupils who took their GCSEs that year. 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 secondary school in England (3,053 schools) to see how GCSE results usually change with the make-up of a year group. On average:

  • For every 10 more disadvantaged pupils in every 100, Attainment 8 is about 3.3 points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with SEN in every 100, it's about 1.3 points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with English as an additional language in every 100, it's about 1.3 points higher. Pupils learning English often catch up quickly.

From those, each school gets an expected score for its own pupils, and we compare that with its actual score. A gap of less than about 2.3 points either way is normal variation, so we call it "about what you'd expect". More than 5.7 points is "well" above or below.

What we found: schools where teachers stay

We put every secondary 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 2,915 schools in England, split into four equal groups by turnover:

Teacher turnoverTypical turnoverResults vs expectedDid better than expected
Lowest turnover 9% a year +1.4 points 40%
Lower-middle 14% a year +0.6 points 35%
Upper-middle 18% a year −0.3 points 27%
Highest turnover 26% a year −1.2 points 26%

Results rise step by step as turnover falls. Pupils at schools where teachers stay longest do about a quarter of a grade better in every GCSE subject than pupils at schools where teachers leave most often (2.6 Attainment 8 points). That's after allowing for each school's pupils, so it isn't simply that schools in harder circumstances lose more teachers – they do, but the link is still there once that's taken into account.

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 38% 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.
  • It's one year of results. A single year group can be unusually strong or weak, 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.
  • Grammar schools aren't compared, because they choose pupils by ability, which these figures don't measure.
  • We deliberately don't adjust for attendance or exclusions: those are partly down to the school itself.

Source: Department for Education, Key Stage 4 performance data (2024/25). Calculated by The School Companion.