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 Southwark: 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 standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364
404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364

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 The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie Well above 94% 60% +33.6 45% 21% 38% 84 14%below average
2 Charles Dickens Primary School Well above 92% 59% +33.1 47% 20% 20% 179 18%above average
3 St John's Roman Catholic Primary School Well above 85% 56% +29.0 50% 31% 27% 82 13%below average
4 Boutcher Church of England Primary School Well above 90% 63% +26.8 31% 22% 34% 86 11%
5 Brunswick Park Primary School Well above 79% 53% +25.7 66% 29% 36% 154 16%above average
6 Riverside Primary School Well above 84% 59% +25.3 62% 15% 50% 112 15%above average
7 Crampton Primary Well above 82% 58% +24.1 42% 31% 27% 83 17%above average
8 Angel Oak Academy Well above 82% 61% +20.7 59% 7% 49% 175 26%high
9 Ilderton Primary School Well above 74% 54% +20.5 52% 42% 36% 115 35%high
10 Oasis Academy Surrey Square Well above 71% 53% +18.5 72% 30% 48% 179 12%below average
11 Phoenix Primary School Well above 82% 64% +17.7 40% 13% 48% 209 13%below average
12 Snowsfields Primary School Well above 76% 59% +17.5 39% 35% 39% 70 12%below average
13 Judith Kerr Primary School Well above 83% 66% +17.2 5% 30% 11% 124 36%high
14 Redriff Primary, City of London Academy Well above 83% 66% +17.1 27% 24% 64% 227 19%above average
15 Ark Globe Academy Well above 71% 54% +16.9 70% 21% 33% 165 27%high
16 Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich Well above 80% 64% +16.4 24% 22% 16% 134 24%high
17 St James the Great Roman Catholic Primary School Well above 78% 62% +15.6 36% 21% 36% 87 22%high
18 Dulwich Hamlet Junior School Well above 79% 65% +14.0 16% 21% 6% 266 12%below average
19 Bellenden Primary School Well above 69% 55% +13.9 67% 30% 67% 86 12%below average
20 St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Well above 78% 64% +13.9 24% 29% 47% 163 12%
21 St James' Church of England Primary School Well above 69% 55% +13.7 73% 16% 43% 164 7%low
22 Friars Primary Foundation School Well above 68% 55% +13.1 59% 36% 59% 65 14%
23 John Ruskin Primary School and Language Classes Well above 70% 58% +12.2 53% 25% 42% 179 13%below average
24 Galleywall Primary, City of London Academy Above 69% 58% +11.2 57% 22% 45% 170 31%high
25 Alfred Salter Primary School Above 63% 52% +10.7 57% 36% 16% 143 26%high
26 Ivydale Primary School Above 75% 65% +10.2 25% 17% 19% 173 11%below average
27 St John's and St Clement's Church of England Primary School Above 69% 59% +9.9 33% 35% 27% 137 22%high
28 Victory Primary School Above 65% 55% +9.8 79% 26% 95% 58 18%
29 Albion Primary School Above 67% 58% +9.3 57% 24% 50% 159 19%above average
30 St Joseph's Catholic Junior School Above 71% 62% +9.3 47% 21% 62% 185 10%below average
31 Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park Above 69% 60% +9.2 60% 14% 55% 158 32%high
32 Bessemer Grange Primary School Above 72% 63% +8.8 29% 20% 20% 213 15%above average
33 Heber Primary School Above 71% 62% +8.6 20% 32% 20% 146 20%high
34 Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the Borough Above 72% 63% +8.6 33% 29% 67% 81 28%high
35 Southwark Park Primary School Above 64% 55% +8.6 53% 31% 29% 172 19%above average
36 English Martyrs' Roman Catholic Primary School Above 70% 62% +8.5 55% 23% 93% 155 13%below average
37 Rye Oak Primary School Above 58% 50% +8.5 70% 48% 61% 106 20%high
38 Keyworth Primary School Above 66% 58% +7.6 67% 10% 46% 146 15%above average
39 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Above 66% 59% +6.6 42% 18% 4% 132 26%
40 St Paul's Church of England Primary School Above 63% 57% +6.5 70% 13% 39% 83 18%above average
41 Tower Bridge Primary School Above 58% 53% +5.5 66% 31% 31% 83 18%above average
42 The Belham Primary School Above 71% 66% +5.3 18% 16% 5% 167 21%high
43 Rotherhithe Primary School Above 65% 60% +5.0 52% 25% 69% 143 10%below average
44 Hollydale Primary School Above 60% 55% +4.9 59% 28% 34% 84 16%above average
45 Goose Green Primary and Nursery School As expected 58% 54% +4.4 59% 28% 14% 122 42%high
46 John Donne Primary School As expected 66% 62% +4.3 57% 12% 65% 153 18%above average
47 Peter Hills with St Mary's and St Paul's CofE Primary School As expected 60% 56% +3.8 53% 27% 27% 42 34%
48 Bird In Bush School As expected 58% 54% +3.7 59% 30% 30% 197 26%high
49 Lyndhurst Primary School As expected 66% 63% +2.7 29% 20% 22% 154 19%above average
50 Grange Primary School As expected 60% 58% +2.5 63% 20% 54% 124 11%below average
51 St George's Church of England Primary School As expected 54% 52% +1.9 85% 15% 35% 70 17%above average
52 Michael Faraday School As expected 60% 59% +0.6 47% 29% 57% 161 18%above average
53 Pilgrims' Way Primary School As expected 64% 64% +0.4 41% 21% 69% 88 23%
54 Grove Primary School Compared As expected 59% 59% +0.0 51% 22% 42% 137 26%
55 St Jude's Church of England Primary School As expected 55% 56% −0.8 57% 21% 14% 40 31%
56 Paxton Primary School As expected 60% 61% −0.9 33% 27% 25% 178 22%high
57 St John the Divine Church of England Primary School As expected 61% 63% −1.6 43% 24% 71% 59 64%high
58 Crawford Primary School As expected 57% 59% −1.7 48% 26% 41% 187 15%above average
59 Dulwich Wood Primary School As expected 61% 63% −2.0 28% 24% 28% 152 19%above average
60 St Francis RC Primary School As expected 59% 61% −2.0 43% 25% 53% 152 13%below average
61 Robert Browning Primary School As expected 53% 56% −2.5 39% 54% 61% 85 9%low
62 St Peter's Church of England Primary School Below 51% 60% −9.3 47% 16% 26% 75 41%
63 Goodrich Community Primary School Below 55% 65% −9.8 26% 17% 22% 165 24%high
64 Oliver Goldsmith Primary School Well below 49% 64% −14.9 47% 14% 69% 162 20%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.