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 Swindon: 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 standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354
3030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354

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 Rodbourne Cheney Primary School Well above 78% 62% +15.8 23% 27% 10% 89 10%
2 Moredon Primary School Well above 73% 58% +15.5 42% 30% 18% 178 9%low
3 Brook Field Primary School Well above 77% 64% +12.6 17% 25% 15% 180 6%low
4 Tregoze Primary School Well above 78% 66% +12.4 17% 21% 17% 85 6%
5 The Croft Primary School Above 77% 66% +11.1 10% 28% 22% 181 13%below average
6 Ferndale Primary School & Nursery Above 73% 64% +9.5 26% 25% 32% 198 15%above average
7 Lethbridge Primary School Above 78% 70% +8.4 14% 12% 33% 208 6%low
8 Wanborough Primary School Above 77% 69% +7.7 6% 13% 6% 90 16%
9 Abbey Meads Community Primary School Above 76% 69% +7.4 17% 9% 19% 222 8%low
10 St Mary's Catholic Primary School Above 75% 68% +7.2 20% 12% 28% 173 2%low
11 Holy Rood Catholic Primary School Above 80% 74% +5.8 13% 12% 92% 180 10%below average
12 Greenmeadow Primary School As expected 66% 62% +4.4 35% 20% 18% 118 21%
13 Bridlewood Primary School As expected 62% 58% +3.7 37% 30% 13% 92 30%
14 Lift Hazelwood As expected 73% 70% +3.3 27% 7% 60% 90 25%
15 Oakhurst Community Primary School As expected 69% 66% +3.2 17% 19% 14% 190 20%high
16 Wroughton Junior School As expected 68% 65% +2.9 21% 15% 4% 258 48%high
17 Westrop Primary & Nursery School As expected 61% 59% +2.4 38% 25% 3% 125 4%low
18 Haydonleigh Primary School As expected 68% 67% +1.0 10% 20% 10% 270 21%
19 Catherine Wayte Primary School As expected 70% 70% +0.2 8% 14% 22% 175 18%above average
20 Mountford Manor Primary School Compared As expected 63% 63% +0.2 32% 23% 35% 88 20%
21 Chiseldon Primary & Nursery School As expected 59% 60% −1.0 38% 21% 10% 82 6%
22 Liden Academy As expected 57% 59% −1.6 44% 24% 20% 168 10%below average
23 St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon As expected 65% 67% −1.7 19% 16% 23% 95 9%
24 Southfield Junior School As expected 64% 66% −1.8 18% 16% 7% 161 13%
25 Shaw Ridge Primary School As expected 66% 68% −2.3 13% 16% 25% 182 13%below average
26 Robert Le Kyng Primary School As expected 64% 67% −2.8 22% 15% 31% 168 8%low
27 Ruskin Junior School As expected 55% 59% −4.3 41% 21% 9% 246 5%low
28 St Francis CofE Primary School Below 62% 67% −4.6 10% 23% 15% 182 9%low
29 Gorse Hill Primary School Below 64% 69% −5.3 21% 19% 75% 169 13%below average
30 Goddard Park Community Primary School Below 53% 58% −5.4 44% 26% 24% 251 8%low
31 Lawn Primary and Nursery School Below 56% 62% −6.0 25% 28% 18% 182 17%above average
32 Grange Junior School Below 57% 63% −6.3 28% 18% 12% 258 24%high
33 Haydon Wick Primary School Below 56% 63% −6.6 20% 28% 10% 120 34%high
34 Westlea Primary School Below 53% 60% −6.6 33% 33% 28% 138 18%above average
35 Millbrook Primary School Below 57% 64% −7.1 25% 25% 36% 138 8%low
36 Peatmoor Community Primary School Below 52% 59% −7.1 33% 30% 11% 86 8%
37 Red Oaks Primary School Below 55% 63% −7.5 23% 28% 18% 190 12%below average
38 St Leonard's Church of England Primary Academy Below 56% 65% −8.6 27% 13% 10% 89 20%
39 Drove Primary School Below 63% 72% −8.7 21% 9% 75% 260 19%above average
40 Colebrook Junior School Below 52% 61% −8.9 22% 32% 6% 146 16%
41 South Marston Church of England Primary School Below 54% 63% −9.1 20% 27% 13% 37 19%
42 King William Street Church of England Primary School Below 60% 69% −9.4 19% 6% 26% 90 15%
43 Covingham Park Primary School Below 53% 63% −10.1 23% 23% 9% 171 20%high
44 Orchid Vale Primary School Well below 57% 68% −11.4 16% 14% 29% 186 20%high
45 Seven Fields Primary School Below 34% 45% −11.4 81% 38% 6% 106 11%below average
46 Swindon Academy Well below 45% 58% −12.7 45% 29% 27% 328 25%high
47 Oliver Tomkins Church of England Junior School Well below 49% 63% −14.1 24% 28% 30% 160 4%
48 Holy Family Catholic Primary School Well below 53% 67% −14.3 28% 13% 50% 118 19%above average
49 Eldene Nursery and Primary School Well below 43% 59% −15.5 45% 24% 22% 150 16%above average
50 Tadpole Farm CofE Primary Academy Well below 45% 65% −20.1 20% 20% 17% 195 7%low
51 Lainesmead Primary School and Nursery Well below 41% 64% −22.7 27% 25% 37% 167 13%below average
52 Nythe Primary School Well below 38% 63% −24.9 28% 21% 17% 88 44%high
53 Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Well below 50% 76% −25.5 10% 8% 87% 179 13%below average
54 Oaktree Nursery and Primary School Well below 36% 65% −28.6 42% 12% 56% 157 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.