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 East Lindsey: 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 standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445
3030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445

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 Ingoldmells Academy Well above 74% 44% +30.5 80% 47% 7% 53 19%
2 Halton Holegate CofE Primary School Well above 76% 47% +28.9 80% 30% 0% 33 13%
3 The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford Well above 84% 64% +20.2 14% 29% 10% 56 19%
4 The Sibsey Free Primary School Well above 81% 61% +20.0 26% 26% 0% 83 9%
5 The Donington-on-Bain School Well above 78% 62% +16.1 14% 36% 7% 40 13%
6 Hogsthorpe Primary Academy Well above 68% 53% +15.2 50% 36% 0% 37 39%
7 St Andrew's CofE Primary School Well above 73% 61% +11.6 20% 30% 0% 120 4%low
8 Wragby Primary School Above 63% 53% +10.1 45% 45% 15% 78 0%
9 Binbrook CofE Primary School Above 73% 63% +9.6 21% 21% 0% 37 9%
10 North Somercotes CofE Primary School Above 63% 55% +7.7 58% 19% 4% 83 4%
11 Lift Utterby Above 71% 65% +6.2 9% 27% 0% 31 10%
12 Beacon Primary Academy Above 64% 58% +6.1 43% 23% 3% 89 26%
13 Grimoldby Primary School Above 71% 66% +5.5 18% 15% 0% 94 9%low
14 Skegness Junior Academy Above 55% 50% +5.2 77% 23% 4% 249 4%low
15 Lift North Thoresby As expected 69% 64% +4.7 19% 19% 0% 42 0%
16 Alford Primary School As expected 63% 60% +3.4 41% 18% 3% 145 14%above average
17 Tetney Primary School As expected 68% 65% +2.9 25% 10% 0% 59 12%
18 Tattershall Primary School As expected 57% 57% +0.4 39% 33% 6% 54 8%
19 Seathorne Primary Academy As expected 55% 56% −1.3 61% 12% 3% 96 8%low
20 The Wainfleet Magdalen Church of England/Methodist School As expected 48% 50% −1.5 67% 33% 0% 81 8%
21 Great Steeping Primary School As expected 61% 63% −1.6 29% 18% 6% 49 10%
22 The Kirkby-on-Bain Church of England Primary School As expected 67% 69% −1.7 13% 7% 0% 54 8%
23 The St Peter and St Paul C of E Primary School As expected 60% 64% −3.6 19% 23% 3% 93 5%
24 Horncastle Primary School As expected 56% 60% −3.9 31% 26% 2% 188 19%above average
25 Holton-le-Clay Junior School As expected 60% 64% −4.1 18% 21% 0% 91 31%
26 Friskney All Saints Church of England Primary School As expected 60% 65% −5.1 21% 14% 0% 42 36%
27 Mablethorpe Primary Academy Below 44% 49% −5.3 69% 33% 4% 155 12%below average
28 Lacey Gardens Junior Academy Below 50% 55% −5.4 54% 24% 8% 251 16%above average
29 Kidgate Academy Below 51% 57% −6.1 35% 35% 7% 179 8%low
30 Huttoft Primary & Nursery School Below 53% 60% −6.7 27% 30% 0% 86 17%
31 Spilsby Primary School Below 49% 59% −9.8 41% 21% 3% 83 39%high
32 The Mareham-le-Fen Church of England Primary School Below 48% 59% −10.8 39% 22% 0% 46 7%
33 Theddlethorpe Academy Below 40% 51% −10.9 63% 31% 0% 40 13%
34 North Cockerington Church of England Primary School Below 53% 64% −11.0 8% 31% 0% 40 15%
35 Toynton All Saints Primary School Below 52% 63% −11.4 23% 19% 0% 66 8%
36 Grainthorpe Junior School Below 50% 62% −12.2 30% 20% 10% 34 30%
37 St Michael's Church of England School, Louth Well below 45% 57% −12.4 35% 33% 4% 137 17%above average
38 Tattershall Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Below 49% 61% −12.4 20% 30% 0% 41 33%
39 Coningsby St Michael's Church of England Primary School Well below 49% 62% −12.7 29% 20% 0% 135 33%high
40 Sutton-on-Sea Community Primary School Well below 32% 45% −12.9 75% 44% 0% 62 38%
41 East Wold Church of England Primary School Well below 35% 49% −14.4 43% 57% 0% 40 33%
42 Chapel St Leonards Primary School Well below 39% 54% −15.3 63% 17% 0% 69 32%
43 Scamblesby Church of England Primary School Compared Well below 42% 59% −16.8 33% 33% 17% 31 30%
44 Stickney Church of England Primary School Well below 38% 56% −18.1 41% 35% 12% 65 13%
45 Gipsey Bridge Academy Well below 39% 59% −19.8 38% 23% 0% 44 19%

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.