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 Basildon: 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).

00101020203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940
00101020203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940

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 Lee Chapel Primary School Well above 86% 67% +19.2 23% 13% 27% 395 16%above average
2 St Peter's Catholic Primary School Well above 88% 70% +17.7 9% 9% 16% 173 13%below average
3 Briscoe Primary School & Nursery Well above 67% 51% +15.8 62% 33% 7% 131 27%high
4 St Anne Line Catholic Junior School Well above 85% 70% +14.9 22% 3% 36% 191 15%
5 Ryedene Primary and Nursery School Well above 73% 59% +13.8 47% 18% 18% 109 6%low
6 Quilters Junior School Well above 80% 68% +12.2 9% 15% 2% 197 10%below average
7 St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Basildon Above 80% 68% +11.7 23% 10% 37% 89 11%
8 Greensted Primary School & Nursery Above 69% 59% +9.9 42% 20% 7% 180 8%low
9 North Crescent Primary School Above 68% 59% +9.5 45% 23% 18% 59 25%
10 Buttsbury Primary School Above 78% 70% +8.4 6% 11% 3% 382 6%low
11 Brightside Primary School Above 70% 63% +7.4 19% 27% 3% 210 15%above average
12 The Phoenix Primary School Above 69% 63% +5.8 34% 16% 23% 259 18%above average
13 Northlands Primary School and Nursery Above 62% 56% +5.7 52% 24% 14% 265 5%low
14 Maple Grove Primary School As expected 68% 64% +4.4 39% 14% 39% 134 40%high
15 Sunnymede Primary School As expected 69% 65% +3.7 16% 19% 3% 176 7%low
16 Hilltop Junior School As expected 68% 66% +2.4 22% 12% 4% 260 30%high
17 Eversley Primary School As expected 60% 59% +1.5 40% 23% 2% 179 11%below average
18 The Willows Primary School As expected 65% 64% +1.5 34% 13% 18% 298 9%low
19 Grange Primary School As expected 68% 69% −0.6 14% 7% 2% 133 17%above average
20 Lincewood Primary Academy As expected 57% 58% −0.7 28% 39% 5% 176 12%
21 Abacus Primary School As expected 66% 67% −1.1 7% 20% 2% 176 2%low
22 Noak Bridge Primary School As expected 67% 68% −1.2 13% 10% 3% 87 26%high
23 Laindon Park Primary School & Nursery As expected 50% 52% −2.2 59% 33% 11% 74 5%low
24 Wickford Primary School As expected 59% 62% −3.2 31% 18% 7% 275 9%low
25 Fairhouse Community Primary School Compared As expected 59% 63% −3.6 38% 14% 21% 176 10%below average
26 Whitmore Primary School and Nursery Below 55% 60% −4.8 49% 12% 12% 268 10%below average
27 Oakfield Primary School Below 60% 66% −5.8 15% 17% 0% 179 23%high
28 Millhouse Primary School Below 52% 59% −6.6 39% 27% 13% 261 8%low
29 Ghyllgrove Primary School Below 53% 61% −7.6 37% 24% 24% 236 8%low
30 South Green Junior School Below 56% 64% −8.1 16% 25% 7% 179 21%high
31 Bardfield Academy Below 50% 59% −8.7 55% 12% 17% 179 17%above average
32 St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford Below 46% 55% −8.8 46% 36% 14% 83 44%
33 Kingswood Primary School and Nursery Below 57% 66% −8.9 20% 22% 35% 178 7%low
34 Felmore Primary School Below 49% 58% −9.4 40% 25% 7% 180 17%above average
35 Great Berry Primary School Below 59% 69% −9.9 7% 15% 10% 187 10%below average
36 Merrylands Primary School Below 56% 67% −10.9 27% 8% 25% 182 17%above average
37 Vange Primary School and Nursery Well below 37% 53% −15.5 54% 38% 15% 43 35%
38 Janet Duke Primary School Well below 39% 56% −16.5 61% 19% 16% 297 7%low
39 Cherry Tree Primary School Well below 44% 61% −16.8 38% 20% 17% 178 24%high
40 Crays Hill Primary School Well below 8% 39% −30.9 100% 44% 0% 31 17%

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.