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 Halton: 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).

20203030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
20203030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546

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 Castle View Primary School Well above 86% 59% +26.8 52% 13% 17% 64 7%low
2 Moorfield Primary School Well above 89% 63% +26.4 24% 24% 9% 124 20%high
3 Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary School Well above 75% 52% +23.3 63% 28% 0% 93 10%
4 Windmill Hill Primary School Well above 73% 54% +19.5 56% 31% 13% 60 8%
5 St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School Well above 67% 50% +16.6 59% 38% 3% 100 11%below average
6 Daresbury Primary School Well above 77% 61% +16.1 22% 30% 0% 73 27%
7 Woodside Primary School Well above 63% 47% +15.7 68% 41% 0% 71 4%
8 St Clement's Catholic Primary School Well above 72% 58% +14.1 38% 27% 0% 86 12%
9 St Gerard's Catholic Primary and Nursery School Well above 71% 57% +13.6 57% 17% 23% 90 8%low
10 Gorsewood Primary School Well above 56% 43% +13.5 74% 56% 4% 86 7%
11 Moore Primary School Above 78% 67% +11.3 6% 23% 3% 87 4%
12 St Michael with St Thomas CE Primary School Above 61% 52% +9.4 46% 46% 4% 82 21%
13 Victoria Road Primary School Above 66% 58% +8.4 50% 18% 6% 95 16%above average
14 St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Above 65% 57% +8.3 43% 27% 0% 96 20%high
15 Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Above 73% 65% +8.2 8% 28% 0% 182 4%low
16 St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Above 61% 53% +7.7 50% 38% 13% 38 20%
17 All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Above 60% 53% +6.9 57% 29% 4% 86 18%above average
18 Fairfield Primary School Above 65% 59% +5.9 44% 20% 13% 267 7%low
19 Lunts Heath Primary School Above 75% 69% +5.7 10% 10% 8% 181 10%below average
20 Halton Lodge Nursery & Primary School Above 61% 56% +5.3 53% 25% 13% 88 9%
21 Hale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Above 66% 61% +5.1 24% 28% 0% 71 5%
22 Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School As expected 49% 45% +4.2 84% 37% 5% 61 11%
23 St Martin's Catholic Primary School and Preschool As expected 57% 53% +4.2 57% 30% 3% 87 20%above average
24 The Grange School As expected 56% 52% +3.7 61% 29% 6% 171 14%below average
25 Bridgewater Park Primary School As expected 45% 42% +3.5 83% 50% 0% 33 28%
26 St Bede's Catholic Junior School As expected 66% 63% +2.8 21% 22% 1% 235 10%below average
27 St Basil's Catholic Primary School As expected 57% 55% +1.8 45% 34% 10% 134 6%low
28 Pewithall School As expected 62% 63% −0.7 28% 17% 0% 90 4%
29 Kingsway Primary Academy School Compared As expected 49% 50% −0.8 80% 20% 4% 97 24%high
30 Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School As expected 63% 64% −1.1 29% 10% 0% 90 6%
31 Hillview Primary School As expected 60% 61% −1.4 25% 25% 0% 91 7%
32 Palace Fields Primary Academy As expected 55% 57% −1.9 46% 23% 0% 65 41%
33 Brookvale Primary School As expected 53% 55% −2.1 66% 11% 0% 111 5%low
34 St Mary's Church of England Primary School As expected 55% 58% −2.9 33% 33% 4% 82 16%
35 Beechwood Primary School As expected 61% 65% −3.7 19% 19% 5% 66 19%
36 Astmoor Primary School As expected 45% 50% −4.5 64% 36% 0% 62 7%
37 Weston Primary School Below 57% 62% −4.9 15% 33% 0% 86 12%
38 Widnes Academy Below 52% 59% −7.1 43% 22% 17% 62 17%
39 The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School Below 43% 50% −7.3 72% 28% 11% 56 17%
40 The Brow Community Primary School Below 29% 37% −8.3 73% 77% 0% 68 11%below average
41 St Edward's Catholic Primary School Below 59% 67% −8.4 16% 11% 5% 56 11%
42 Ditton Primary School Below 49% 60% −11.2 48% 10% 8% 161 13%below average
43 Halebank CofE Primary School Well below 35% 52% −16.7 62% 31% 8% 46 12%
44 Westfield Primary School Well below 42% 62% −19.8 38% 14% 10% 60 14%
45 Oakfield Community Primary School Well below 33% 54% −21.1 64% 21% 14% 128 9%low
46 Runcorn All Saints CofE Primary School Well below 35% 57% −21.7 75% 8% 42% 48 26%

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.