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 Stoke-on-Trent: 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 standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364
3030404050506060707080809090Better 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 Co-op Academy Glebe Well above 85% 51% +33.7 75% 25% 25% 87 12%below average
2 Newstead Primary Academy Well above 85% 58% +27.5 57% 12% 7% 177 14%above average
3 Whitfield Valley Primary Academy Well above 81% 55% +26.0 63% 19% 16% 170 13%below average
4 Norton-Le-Moors Primary Academy Well above 80% 61% +19.2 40% 13% 0% 90 10%below average
5 Holden Lane Academy Well above 74% 56% +18.3 57% 27% 33% 92 20%
6 The Crescent Academy Well above 71% 53% +18.2 73% 16% 8% 263 10%below average
7 Goldenhill Primary Academy Well above 78% 60% +17.9 50% 10% 13% 87 15%above average
8 Summerbank Primary Academy Well above 74% 58% +15.8 57% 27% 67% 168 2%low
9 Eaton Park Academy Well above 72% 56% +15.7 42% 32% 8% 181 14%above average
10 Sandon Primary Academy Well above 65% 50% +15.2 70% 31% 7% 199 15%above average
11 St Mary's Church of England Primary School Well above 76% 61% +15.1 50% 14% 38% 176 16%above average
12 New Ford Academy Well above 74% 59% +15.0 52% 12% 12% 181 10%below average
13 Greenways Primary Academy Well above 78% 64% +14.4 11% 32% 7% 89 9%
14 St Gregory's Catholic Academy Well above 78% 64% +14.4 29% 21% 29% 177 18%above average
15 Hillside Primary School Compared Above 77% 66% +11.5 10% 23% 0% 94 17%
16 Our Lady's Catholic Academy Above 70% 59% +11.0 59% 10% 28% 89 30%high
17 Mill Hill Primary Academy Above 64% 54% +9.8 65% 23% 25% 180 7%low
18 Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff Above 62% 54% +8.1 57% 29% 14% 166 11%below average
19 Park Hall Academy Above 71% 64% +7.1 26% 15% 3% 181 7%low
20 St Teresa's Catholic (A) Primary School Above 74% 68% +5.9 9% 22% 29% 137 5%low
21 Smallthorne Primary Academy Above 62% 57% +5.5 50% 23% 7% 90 21%high
22 The Willows Primary School Above 70% 65% +5.1 27% 16% 24% 272 6%low
23 St Marys Catholic Academy Above 73% 68% +4.8 16% 10% 13% 92 28%high
24 The Meadows Primary Academy As expected 62% 59% +3.1 44% 19% 7% 151 19%above average
25 St Peter's Catholic Academy As expected 59% 57% +2.4 70% 27% 87% 90 30%high
26 Our Lady and St Benedict Catholic Academy As expected 60% 58% +2.1 58% 16% 29% 92 11%below average
27 St Wilfrid's Catholic Academy As expected 63% 61% +2.1 42% 20% 31% 135 15%above average
28 St Augustine's Catholic Academy As expected 60% 58% +1.8 52% 24% 41% 87 12%below average
29 St Joseph's Catholic Academy, Goldenhill As expected 63% 62% +1.5 44% 15% 30% 84 15%above average
30 Packmoor Ormiston Academy As expected 68% 67% +1.1 13% 16% 5% 168 4%low
31 Milton Primary Academy As expected 63% 62% +0.6 38% 12% 12% 184 20%high
32 St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School As expected 68% 68% −0.1 19% 19% 52% 91 7%
33 Oakhill Primary School As expected 61% 61% −0.2 40% 18% 23% 172 9%low
34 Heron Cross Primary School As expected 53% 54% −0.7 60% 26% 12% 161 21%high
35 Harpfield Primary Academy As expected 62% 63% −1.1 27% 23% 23% 87 6%low
36 Forest Park Primary School As expected 55% 56% −1.2 70% 26% 79% 176 11%below average
37 Weston Junior Academy As expected 60% 61% −1.2 36% 18% 9% 167 7%
38 Sutherland Primary Academy As expected 56% 58% −1.7 51% 19% 13% 221 15%above average
39 Sandford Hill Primary School As expected 56% 58% −2.2 58% 8% 7% 181 7%low
40 St George and St Martin's Catholic Academy As expected 60% 63% −2.7 23% 27% 17% 89 14%below average
41 Moorpark Junior School As expected 53% 56% −3.2 56% 27% 36% 175 6%low
42 St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy As expected 55% 58% −3.2 60% 13% 30% 91 35%high
43 Priory CofE Academy As expected 60% 64% −3.5 20% 26% 15% 180 5%low
44 Maple Court Academy As expected 45% 49% −3.9 72% 33% 8% 185 21%high
45 Belgrave St Bartholomew's Academy As expected 66% 70% −4.0 22% 18% 85% 179 23%high
46 Waterside Primary School As expected 60% 64% −4.2 34% 19% 47% 172 20%high
47 Sneyd Academy As expected 57% 61% −4.4 40% 19% 28% 267 8%low
48 Saint Nathaniel's Academy Below 54% 59% −5.1 52% 21% 43% 182 10%below average
49 Christ Church CofE Primary Academy Below 50% 55% −5.3 50% 37% 37% 92 11%
50 St Matthews Church of England Academy Below 66% 72% −5.7 13% 6% 38% 38 18%
51 Ash Green Primary Academy Below 61% 69% −7.7 8% 15% 10% 174 6%low
52 Abbey Hulton Primary School Below 43% 51% −7.8 87% 13% 17% 90 23%high
53 Kingsland CofE Academy Below 45% 56% −10.5 58% 20% 10% 181 9%low
54 Co-op Academy Grove Well below 48% 60% −12.0 39% 32% 50% 320 19%above average
55 Gladstone Primary Academy Well below 48% 61% −13.0 37% 17% 7% 181 10%low
56 Star Academy, Sandyford Well below 44% 58% −14.4 64% 11% 39% 78 20%above average
57 Carmountside Primary Academy Well below 32% 47% −15.3 74% 35% 0% 91 7%low
58 Hanley St Luke's Church of England Academy Well below 43% 58% −15.3 60% 19% 52% 177 18%
59 Alexandra Junior School Well below 37% 54% −17.3 77% 29% 86% 160 18%above average
60 Etruscan Primary School Well below 38% 58% −20.1 65% 15% 52% 172 12%below average
61 Stoke Minster CofE Primary Academy Well below 42% 63% −20.9 47% 15% 58% 175 25%high
62 St John's CofE (A) Primary School Well below 42% 64% −21.6 37% 15% 35% 133 18%above average
63 St Paul's CofE (C) Primary School Well below 34% 61% −26.6 45% 21% 40% 119 11%below average
64 St Mark's CofE Primary School Well below 32% 61% −29.1 56% 20% 80% 174 11%below 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.