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 Milton Keynes: 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 standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657
20203030404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657

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 Caroline Haslett Primary School Well above 88% 67% +20.9 28% 13% 47% 180 17%above average
2 Middleton Primary School Well above 90% 70% +19.6 9% 13% 30% 271 12%below average
3 Knowles Primary School Well above 80% 61% +18.6 52% 10% 38% 139 11%below average
4 Haversham Village School Well above 88% 71% +17.1 4% 13% 21% 60 4%
5 Summerfield School Well above 68% 56% +12.1 52% 34% 42% 148 10%below average
6 The Premier Academy Well above 75% 63% +11.9 39% 24% 65% 259 12%below average
7 Oakgrove School Above 76% 65% +10.6 26% 20% 41% 185 10%low
8 Whitehouse Primary School Above 79% 70% +8.6 12% 16% 50% 248 14%above average
9 St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School Above 72% 64% +8.1 30% 20% 33% 149 6%low
10 St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School Above 74% 68% +6.4 16% 20% 38% 141 23%high
11 Holne Chase Primary School Above 70% 64% +6.1 33% 10% 10% 99 32%
12 Two Mile Ash School Above 74% 69% +5.0 17% 13% 38% 504 16%above average
13 Priory Rise School Above 77% 72% +4.8 7% 11% 42% 269 20%high
14 Lavendon School As expected 67% 64% +3.4 12% 29% 0% 66 44%
15 Christ the Sower Ecumenical Primary School As expected 65% 62% +3.3 48% 15% 45% 152 13%
16 Lift Charles Warren As expected 62% 60% +2.4 57% 13% 40% 89 47%high
17 Southwood School As expected 64% 62% +2.3 50% 15% 52% 137 10%below average
18 Hanslope Primary School As expected 62% 60% +1.8 35% 22% 6% 130 15%above average
19 Falconhurst School As expected 62% 61% +1.5 56% 11% 42% 130 11%below average
20 St Monica's Catholic Primary School As expected 65% 64% +1.5 45% 12% 50% 169 23%high
21 New Bradwell Primary School As expected 59% 58% +1.4 46% 26% 20% 246 13%below average
22 Bradwell Village School As expected 63% 62% +1.0 35% 27% 47% 181 24%high
23 Monkston Primary School As expected 70% 69% +0.9 18% 13% 42% 180 10%below average
24 Brooksward School As expected 68% 67% +0.6 24% 13% 38% 136 12%
25 Fairfields Primary School As expected 69% 69% +0.5 17% 15% 37% 169 15%above average
26 Bishop Parker Catholic School As expected 64% 64% −0.1 27% 27% 50% 90 23%
27 Bow Brickhill CofE VA Primary School As expected 70% 70% −0.2 8% 15% 31% 43 3%
28 Giles Brook Primary School As expected 70% 71% −1.3 8% 12% 37% 179 8%low
29 Wavendon Gate School As expected 62% 64% −1.7 33% 13% 17% 180 15%above average
30 Great Linford Primary School As expected 60% 62% −1.8 44% 10% 17% 164 25%high
31 Bushfield School As expected 63% 65% −2.3 34% 10% 32% 322 12%below average
32 Kents Hill Park all-through school As expected 59% 61% −2.3 37% 23% 30% 90 9%low
33 Moorland Primary School As expected 47% 50% −3.0 68% 36% 21% 87 21%high
34 Stanton School As expected 59% 62% −3.4 41% 12% 22% 246 20%high
35 Jubilee Wood Primary School As expected 60% 64% −3.5 44% 17% 64% 247 10%below average
36 Loughton School As expected 62% 66% −3.5 21% 21% 30% 359 10%below average
37 Olney Middle School Compared As expected 62% 66% −3.6 12% 22% 5% 284 16%above average
38 Giffard Park Primary School As expected 55% 59% −3.8 33% 33% 17% 130 17%above average
39 Newton Leys Primary School As expected 60% 64% −4.2 21% 26% 28% 159 21%high
40 St Mary and St Giles Church of England School As expected 55% 59% −4.3 39% 25% 16% 233 17%above average
41 Abbeys Primary School As expected 63% 68% −4.5 21% 12% 26% 131 19%above average
42 St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Below 62% 67% −4.6 27% 19% 58% 180 9%low
43 Willen Primary School Below 61% 66% −4.8 22% 18% 27% 166 26%
44 Drayton Park School Below 55% 61% −5.5 47% 13% 19% 136 18%
45 Barleyhurst Park Primary Below 54% 60% −6.0 48% 13% 16% 91 10%below average
46 Greenleys Junior School Below 49% 56% −6.7 61% 20% 22% 179 8%low
47 Heronsgate School Below 60% 67% −6.8 24% 14% 34% 301 22%high
48 Cedars Primary School Below 58% 66% −7.8 18% 20% 20% 125 15%above average
49 Oxley Park Academy Below 61% 69% −7.8 18% 11% 32% 322 13%below average
50 Rickley Park Primary School Below 51% 59% −7.9 39% 29% 25% 181 19%above average
51 Chestnuts Primary School Below 53% 62% −8.8 32% 23% 21% 177 18%above average
52 New Chapter Primary School Below 37% 46% −8.9 72% 48% 17% 124 20%high
53 Long Meadow School Below 57% 67% −10.2 15% 22% 37% 181 10%below average
54 Langland Community School Well below 43% 56% −12.8 63% 21% 33% 93 18%
55 Orchard Academy Well below 45% 60% −15.1 47% 22% 44% 263 52%high
56 Green Park School Well below 50% 66% −16.2 14% 19% 9% 133 5%low
57 Water Hall Primary School Well below 25% 43% −17.7 85% 50% 23% 111 33%high

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.