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 Wealden: 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).

20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344
20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344

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 Blackboys Church of England Primary School Well above 82% 67% +15.3 14% 14% 0% 61 8%
2 Park Mead Primary School Well above 73% 58% +14.9 29% 35% 0% 45 34%
3 Harlands Community Primary & Nursery School Well above 79% 66% +13.3 12% 21% 3% 92 13%
4 St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School Above 68% 58% +9.9 0% 63% 0% 34 44%
5 Chiddingly Primary School Above 67% 60% +7.5 29% 29% 0% 42 12%
6 Parkside Community Primary School Above 71% 64% +6.6 21% 21% 14% 89 17%
7 White House Academy As expected 65% 61% +4.4 39% 21% 21% 88 17%above average
8 Hawkes Farm Academy As expected 63% 60% +3.5 38% 21% 2% 177 27%high
9 St John's Church of England Primary School As expected 67% 65% +2.4 21% 17% 3% 90 4%
10 St Philip's Catholic Primary School As expected 68% 66% +2.3 12% 21% 3% 81 15%
11 Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School As expected 67% 65% +2.2 23% 16% 9% 156 7%low
12 Rocks Park Primary School As expected 70% 68% +2.0 13% 10% 0% 91 22%
13 Maynards Green Community Primary School As expected 70% 68% +1.8 16% 6% 0% 88 14%
14 Herstmonceux Church of England Primary School As expected 66% 65% +0.6 21% 14% 4% 90 15%
15 Jarvis Brook Primary School As expected 57% 57% +0.1 33% 39% 11% 63 24%
16 Nutley Church of England Primary School As expected 59% 59% −0.1 31% 31% 8% 37 28%
17 Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School As expected 64% 65% −1.1 21% 14% 0% 176 10%below average
18 Laughton Community Primary School As expected 62% 64% −1.9 20% 20% 0% 34 31%
19 Polegate Primary School As expected 59% 61% −2.0 23% 29% 1% 269 12%below average
20 Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School As expected 69% 71% −2.1 5% 5% 0% 71 20%
21 High Hurstwood Church of England Primary School As expected 68% 70% −2.3 0% 13% 0% 44 11%
22 Rotherfield Primary School As expected 64% 67% −2.5 16% 13% 0% 91 12%
23 Willingdon Primary School As expected 61% 64% −2.6 15% 27% 3% 179 13%below average
24 All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School As expected 54% 57% −3.4 42% 25% 0% 37 29%
25 Alfriston School As expected 64% 69% −4.5 8% 15% 8% 45 2%
26 Bonners CofE School & Nursery As expected 63% 68% −4.8 24% 0% 0% 48 18%
27 Buxted CofE Primary School Below 50% 56% −5.9 31% 45% 10% 84 11%
28 Mayfield Church of England Primary School Compared Below 58% 64% −5.9 33% 13% 20% 71 21%
29 St Mark's Church of England Primary School Below 48% 55% −7.4 31% 44% 0% 46 40%
30 Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School Below 63% 72% −9.0 0% 9% 9% 40 24%
31 Frant Church of England Primary School Below 59% 69% −9.7 10% 10% 0% 37 13%
32 Wadhurst CofE Primary School and Nursery Below 61% 71% −9.7 8% 5% 5% 110 10%below average
33 Ashdown Primary School Below 60% 70% −10.0 8% 7% 2% 186 19%above average
34 St Marys Catholic Primary School Below 54% 65% −10.5 16% 22% 3% 96 20%
35 Hankham Primary School Below 55% 66% −10.7 22% 17% 22% 65 11%
36 Manor Primary School Below 54% 65% −10.7 17% 22% 8% 177 12%below average
37 East Hoathly CofE Primary School Below 52% 64% −11.8 10% 30% 0% 42 45%
38 Stone Cross School Well below 53% 65% −11.8 13% 23% 0% 181 15%above average
39 Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery Below 52% 64% −12.0 18% 23% 5% 64 15%above average
40 Punnetts Town Community Primary School and Nursery Well below 57% 70% −13.1 0% 14% 0% 46 4%
41 Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School Well below 47% 64% −17.2 19% 23% 12% 172 5%low
42 Little Horsted Church of England Primary School Well below 42% 63% −20.5 12% 35% 6% 45 8%
43 Framfield Church of England Primary School Well below 42% 69% −26.9 7% 14% 7% 36 53%
44 Fletching Church of England Primary School Well below 29% 60% −30.5 29% 29% 0% 38 49%

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.

Not compared

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.