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 Derby: 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 standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859
20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859

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 Griffe Field Primary School Well above 85% 66% +19.1 12% 25% 19% 186 1%low
2 Gayton Junior School Well above 79% 61% +18.0 41% 22% 37% 271 4%low
3 Lawn Primary School Well above 80% 67% +12.7 17% 11% 8% 187 14%above average
4 St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy Above 74% 63% +10.7 27% 29% 45% 151 7%low
5 Wyndham Spencer Academy Above 68% 58% +10.1 47% 28% 33% 203 21%high
6 Oakwood Junior School Above 64% 54% +9.8 60% 23% 9% 260 21%high
7 Mickleover Primary School Above 74% 66% +8.5 18% 20% 16% 183 7%low
8 St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Above 73% 65% +8.2 38% 19% 69% 153 14%above average
9 Walter Evans Church of England Aided Primary School Above 76% 68% +8.0 15% 10% 7% 178 10%below average
10 Homefields Primary School Above 76% 69% +7.2 18% 13% 38% 135 10%
11 Ashwood Spencer Academy Above 59% 53% +6.2 76% 21% 35% 247 19%above average
12 Parkview Primary School As expected 73% 69% +4.3 11% 11% 7% 86 15%
13 Markeaton Primary School As expected 63% 59% +4.1 41% 23% 11% 182 2%low
14 St Alban's Catholic Voluntary Academy As expected 64% 61% +3.5 29% 32% 24% 127 12%below average
15 Silverhill Primary School As expected 73% 70% +3.3 5% 13% 8% 183 9%low
16 Brookfield Primary School As expected 67% 64% +3.0 26% 19% 19% 94 9%
17 St Werburgh's CofE Primary School As expected 67% 64% +3.0 23% 19% 8% 139 7%low
18 Asterdale Primary School As expected 60% 58% +1.7 42% 23% 6% 83 17%above average
19 Brackensdale Spencer Academy As expected 55% 53% +1.6 44% 44% 15% 205 11%below average
20 Hackwood Primary Academy As expected 70% 69% +0.7 26% 6% 48% 91 11%below average
21 Cherry Tree Hill Primary School As expected 57% 57% −0.3 48% 21% 5% 263 8%low
22 Cavendish Close Junior Academy As expected 57% 58% −0.8 36% 32% 9% 237 9%low
23 Village Primary Academy As expected 53% 54% −1.2 80% 19% 60% 261 15%above average
24 Meadow Farm Community Primary School As expected 56% 57% −1.3 52% 22% 22% 70 10%below average
25 Portway Junior School As expected 61% 63% −1.7 19% 30% 15% 270 17%above average
26 Borrow Wood Primary School As expected 62% 64% −1.8 26% 17% 9% 151 16%above average
27 Redwood Primary School Compared As expected 61% 64% −2.7 43% 10% 40% 262 10%below average
28 Springfield Primary School As expected 54% 57% −2.7 45% 26% 4% 153 4%low
29 Wren Park Primary School As expected 65% 69% −4.1 13% 15% 33% 163 9%low
30 St James' Church of England Aided Junior School As expected 53% 57% −4.4 62% 30% 83% 204 13%below average
31 Chaddesden Park Primary School Below 49% 54% −4.9 56% 28% 8% 127 18%above average
32 Grampian Primary Academy Below 49% 55% −6.4 70% 17% 37% 88 10%below average
33 Chellaston Junior School Below 56% 63% −6.7 27% 20% 7% 382 17%above average
34 Zaytouna Primary School Below 55% 62% −6.9 63% 13% 91% 175 13%below average
35 The Bemrose School Below 53% 60% −7.0 47% 23% 46% 171 13%below average
36 Ravensdale Junior School Below 57% 65% −7.6 30% 13% 20% 275 21%high
37 Reigate Park Primary Academy Below 50% 58% −8.3 50% 20% 22% 165 11%below average
38 St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy Below 60% 70% −9.6 22% 17% 76% 166 15%above average
39 Shelton Junior School Below 47% 58% −10.9 41% 33% 30% 219 15%above average
40 Ash Croft Primary Academy Below 45% 56% −11.4 56% 34% 63% 95 25%
41 Bishop Lonsdale Church of England Primary School and Nursery Below 52% 64% −11.5 45% 6% 30% 100 7%low
42 St Peter's Church of England Aided Junior School Well below 50% 62% −12.0 31% 27% 34% 186 11%
43 Allenton Primary School Well below 39% 51% −12.2 72% 30% 30% 176 17%above average
44 Dale Community Primary School Well below 44% 57% −13.3 73% 18% 77% 241 14%above average
45 Alvaston Junior Academy Well below 47% 61% −13.5 41% 19% 20% 259 10%below average
46 St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy Well below 54% 68% −13.5 12% 21% 27% 101 30%
47 Becket Primary School Well below 39% 53% −14.1 86% 14% 48% 89 9%low
48 Landau Forte Academy Moorhead Well below 44% 59% −14.6 65% 8% 35% 99 23%high
49 Breadsall Hill Top Primary School Well below 39% 55% −15.7 59% 24% 15% 173 8%low
50 Roe Farm Primary School Well below 41% 57% −16.2 55% 15% 7% 178 15%above average
51 Beaufort Primary School Well below 44% 61% −16.8 44% 14% 16% 137 32%high
52 Hardwick Primary School Well below 43% 60% −17.4 62% 21% 94% 252 15%above average
53 Firs Primary School Well below 35% 54% −18.9 79% 27% 80% 168 9%low
54 Cottons Farm Primary Academy Well below 38% 57% −19.1 68% 21% 68% 45 18%
55 Lakeside Primary Academy Well below 41% 61% −19.6 46% 20% 40% 266 23%high
56 Pear Tree Community Junior School Well below 34% 57% −23.2 76% 14% 72% 259 19%above average
57 Ashgate Primary School Well below 41% 65% −24.2 42% 2% 31% 135 7%low
58 Arboretum Primary School Well below 36% 63% −26.6 64% 11% 97% 227 14%above average
59 Derwent Primary School Well below 26% 58% −32.3 60% 16% 42% 126 19%above 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.