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 Medway: 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).

3030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354
3030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354

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 St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Well above 78% 57% +21.3 41% 38% 31% 89 14%
2 The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery) Well above 84% 64% +20.0 13% 30% 13% 90 17%above average
3 Elaine Primary School Well above 68% 52% +16.2 51% 43% 13% 151 35%high
4 Leigh Academy Hundred of Hoo Above 72% 61% +11.5 38% 19% 9% 92 20%above average
5 Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy Well above 75% 64% +11.4 35% 15% 29% 273 12%below average
6 Kingfisher Community Primary School Above 64% 54% +9.9 66% 17% 7% 89 22%high
7 Thames View Primary School Above 69% 60% +9.2 33% 25% 3% 178 11%below average
8 All Faiths Children's Academy Above 63% 54% +9.0 52% 35% 19% 90 20%high
9 St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Above 78% 69% +8.9 10% 13% 16% 91 10%
10 St Helen's Church of England Primary School, Cliffe Above 70% 61% +8.8 29% 23% 3% 89 15%
11 Walderslade Primary School Above 74% 65% +8.7 20% 17% 10% 91 6%low
12 Lordswood School Above 71% 64% +7.1 25% 22% 24% 177 10%below average
13 New Road Primary School Above 59% 53% +5.7 61% 30% 23% 136 11%below average
14 Leigh Academy High Halstow Above 72% 67% +5.3 16% 13% 3% 93 16%
15 Halling Primary School Above 69% 64% +5.0 29% 13% 8% 158 8%low
16 Oaklands School As expected 63% 59% +3.8 49% 16% 18% 187 20%high
17 Riverside Primary School As expected 60% 57% +3.3 36% 38% 15% 124 25%high
18 St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) Primary School As expected 68% 65% +3.3 26% 18% 25% 259 3%low
19 Cuxton Community Junior School As expected 66% 63% +3.2 21% 25% 6% 165 19%above average
20 Fairview Community Primary School As expected 70% 68% +2.5 8% 17% 1% 267 7%low
21 Maundene School As expected 61% 59% +2.2 32% 31% 7% 176 20%high
22 Chattenden Primary School As expected 62% 60% +1.8 38% 22% 16% 93 17%above average
23 St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School As expected 68% 67% +1.3 15% 19% 19% 88 22%
24 St Margaret's Church of England Junior School As expected 66% 65% +1.3 19% 20% 8% 275 17%above average
25 Bligh Primary School (Juniors) As expected 60% 59% +0.9 34% 31% 17% 238 11%below average
26 Hilltop Primary School As expected 64% 63% +0.9 27% 20% 12% 183 13%below average
27 Leigh Academy Peninsula East As expected 66% 65% +0.6 21% 14% 4% 86 37%
28 Temple Mill Primary School As expected 61% 62% −0.7 34% 19% 13% 93 11%
29 Saxon Way Primary School As expected 58% 59% −1.2 51% 19% 34% 178 20%high
30 Brompton-Westbrook Primary School As expected 63% 64% −1.3 33% 16% 35% 182 6%low
31 Gordons Children's Academy, Junior As expected 63% 65% −1.5 29% 15% 22% 283 27%high
32 The Academy of Woodlands As expected 56% 59% −2.7 44% 22% 14% 271 22%high
33 Balfour Junior School As expected 62% 65% −2.9 29% 16% 31% 360 3%low
34 St James Church of England Primary Academy As expected 55% 59% −3.6 31% 31% 0% 74 10%
35 Featherby Junior School Compared Below 56% 61% −4.5 39% 19% 13% 272 29%high
36 Miers Court Primary School Below 55% 60% −5.0 34% 23% 3% 190 11%below average
37 Cedar Children's Academy Below 55% 60% −5.1 43% 19% 20% 268 20%high
38 St Mary's Catholic Primary School Below 62% 67% −5.4 15% 18% 26% 181 28%high
39 Cliffe Woods Primary School Below 62% 68% −6.4 7% 15% 3% 175 14%below average
40 Delce Academy Below 52% 59% −6.6 51% 18% 22% 287 33%high
41 All Saints Church of England Primary School Below 54% 61% −7.3 48% 18% 50% 136 32%high
42 Wayfield Primary School Below 48% 56% −8.4 53% 25% 22% 102 20%high
43 Hempstead Junior School Below 61% 70% −8.7 7% 9% 1% 272 8%low
44 Deanwood Primary School Below 51% 61% −9.6 34% 24% 14% 87 22%high
45 Byron Primary School Below 49% 59% −10.0 42% 26% 26% 220 13%below average
46 Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough Below 51% 61% −10.2 27% 27% 10% 221 21%high
47 Oasis Academy Skinner Street Below 49% 59% −10.2 50% 19% 31% 177 36%high
48 Twydall Primary School and Nursery Well below 44% 56% −12.4 41% 34% 13% 145 41%high
49 New Horizons Children's Academy Well below 51% 65% −13.7 26% 19% 28% 273 27%high
50 Warren Wood Primary School Well below 42% 56% −14.2 42% 33% 10% 195 13%below average
51 Barnsole Primary School Well below 42% 60% −18.4 44% 16% 18% 274 20%high
52 Wainscott Primary School Well below 45% 64% −18.5 22% 23% 12% 180 6%low
53 Luton Primary School Well below 37% 56% −19.0 61% 24% 40% 262 30%high
54 Phoenix Primary School Well below 36% 61% −24.7 45% 20% 39% 181 19%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.

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.