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 Broadland: 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).

2020303040405050606070708080Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
2020303040405050606070708080Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334

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 Rackheath Primary School Well above 74% 60% +14.0 22% 34% 0% 96 10%
2 Reepham Primary School Above 71% 60% +11.4 14% 45% 5% 87 5%
3 Great Witchingham Church of England Primary Academy Above 68% 58% +10.5 67% 0% 0% 31 11%
4 Firside Junior School Above 70% 66% +4.5 21% 15% 9% 269 11%below average
5 Hevingham Primary School Compared As expected 70% 67% +3.4 8% 23% 8% 44 21%
6 Coltishall Primary School As expected 71% 68% +3.1 10% 13% 0% 91 11%
7 Blofield Primary School As expected 70% 67% +3.0 12% 15% 0% 93 29%
8 Frettenham Primary School As expected 68% 66% +2.5 11% 22% 0% 34 19%
9 Cawston Church of England Primary Academy As expected 59% 57% +1.6 40% 27% 0% 71 21%
10 White Woman Lane Junior School As expected 66% 65% +1.3 20% 19% 9% 266 3%low
11 Lingwood Primary Academy As expected 60% 60% +0.3 19% 38% 0% 81 37%high
12 Bure Valley School As expected 61% 61% −0.1 29% 24% 5% 192 9%low
13 Freethorpe Community Primary and Nursery School As expected 60% 60% −0.2 22% 33% 0% 50 27%
14 Taverham VC CE Junior School As expected 64% 66% −1.6 17% 18% 8% 339 6%low
15 Buxton Primary School As expected 55% 57% −2.4 28% 40% 4% 85 3%
16 Kinsale Junior School As expected 63% 66% −2.9 18% 19% 18% 172 7%
17 Drayton CofE Junior School Below 58% 65% −7.3 18% 18% 6% 255 6%low
18 Hemblington Primary School Below 58% 66% −8.3 27% 7% 13% 65 10%
19 Horsford CofE VA Primary School Below 56% 65% −9.3 23% 13% 6% 126 14%below average
20 Woodland View Junior School Below 52% 62% −9.6 23% 27% 3% 99 28%
21 Hillside Avenue Primary and Nursery School, Thorpe Below 55% 66% −10.8 13% 21% 7% 177 8%low
22 Falcon Junior School Below 51% 62% −10.9 22% 28% 7% 340 7%low
23 Brundall Primary School Well below 50% 62% −12.1 24% 24% 2% 127 11%below average
24 Dussindale Primary School Well below 52% 65% −13.1 16% 21% 7% 179 13%below average
25 Fairhaven Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Well below 49% 62% −13.4 13% 33% 0% 49 6%
26 Sprowston Junior School Well below 49% 63% −14.2 33% 17% 24% 170 13%below average
27 Old Catton CofE VC Junior School Well below 55% 70% −14.5 13% 11% 25% 167 3%low
28 St Faiths CofE Primary School Well below 50% 65% −14.8 7% 29% 0% 40 8%
29 Acle Church of England Primary Academy Well below 42% 57% −15.4 46% 21% 0% 84 26%
30 St William's Primary School Well below 48% 67% −18.6 16% 14% 5% 179 8%low
31 Foulsham Primary School Academy Well below 39% 60% −21.3 44% 11% 0% 38 38%
32 Little Plumstead Church of England Primary Academy Well below 43% 65% −21.7 19% 19% 5% 74 26%
33 St Michael's Church of England VA Primary and Nursery School Well below 27% 59% −31.6 31% 31% 0% 45 23%
34 Salhouse CofE Primary School Well below 31% 64% −32.8 15% 25% 0% 52 22%

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.