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 Tower Hamlets: 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).

404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061
404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061

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 St Agnes RC Primary School Well above 80% 51% +29.5 55% 50% 32% 75 27%high
2 St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary School Well above 81% 55% +26.1 42% 54% 63% 79 10%below average
3 Columbia Primary School Well above 86% 60% +25.9 37% 37% 61% 171 7%
4 St John's Church of England Primary School Well above 69% 46% +22.9 76% 56% 60% 81 28%
5 Mayflower Primary School Well above 82% 60% +22.5 60% 22% 78% 152 7%low
6 Stebon Primary School Well above 80% 58% +22.0 57% 36% 95% 259 14%below average
7 Bigland Green Primary School Well above 84% 62% +21.7 57% 20% 100% 177 27%high
8 William Davis Primary School Well above 79% 57% +21.7 65% 26% 78% 81 13%below average
9 St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary School Well above 75% 54% +21.5 52% 59% 93% 87 19%
10 Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy Well above 74% 53% +20.8 61% 30% 22% 94 7%
11 Globe Primary School Well above 82% 63% +19.5 51% 18% 76% 131 14%below average
12 Canary Wharf College, Glenworth Well above 89% 71% +18.1 15% 8% 41% 124 32%high
13 Bygrove Primary School Well above 77% 59% +17.6 62% 24% 90% 84 32%high
14 Canary Wharf College, East Ferry Well above 78% 61% +16.9 18% 42% 30% 104 38%high
15 St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary Federation Well above 66% 49% +16.7 70% 48% 57% 75 33%high
16 Stewart Headlam Primary School Well above 82% 65% +16.6 33% 27% 87% 120 8%low
17 Cayley Primary School Well above 76% 61% +15.3 68% 9% 77% 228 16%above average
18 Old Palace Primary School Well above 81% 66% +14.9 46% 13% 93% 174 10%below average
19 Manorfield Primary School Well above 73% 58% +14.6 63% 25% 83% 266 12%below average
20 Sir William Burrough Primary School Well above 80% 66% +14.1 44% 16% 93% 130 27%high
21 Blue Gate Fields Junior School Well above 81% 67% +13.9 44% 13% 100% 262 8%low
22 Bangabandhu Primary School Well above 74% 60% +13.8 64% 18% 88% 170 13%below average
23 Kobi Nazrul Primary School Well above 76% 63% +13.5 53% 23% 100% 89 6%low
24 Lawdale Junior School Well above 73% 60% +13.5 67% 19% 91% 166 17%above average
25 Harry Gosling Primary School Well above 72% 59% +13.0 63% 23% 84% 171 20%high
26 Marner Primary School Well above 72% 59% +12.9 63% 25% 93% 264 11%below average
27 Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School Well above 65% 52% +12.6 58% 36% 20% 162 43%high
28 Culloden Primary - A Paradigm Academy Well above 71% 59% +12.0 56% 17% 41% 243 11%below average
29 Stepney Park Primary School Well above 75% 64% +11.2 52% 14% 84% 339 12%below average
30 Osmani Primary School Above 77% 66% +10.7 38% 20% 93% 168 16%above average
31 St Edmund's Catholic School Above 75% 64% +10.6 27% 27% 54% 79 40%
32 Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy Above 70% 60% +10.2 64% 12% 61% 262 7%low
33 Wellington Primary School Above 70% 61% +9.5 64% 16% 85% 160 11%below average
34 The Clara Grant Primary School Above 70% 61% +9.4 59% 23% 93% 175 18%above average
35 St Mary and St Michael Primary School Above 73% 64% +9.3 39% 15% 43% 170 21%high
36 Woolmore Primary School Above 68% 59% +9.3 62% 22% 73% 265 22%high
37 Malmesbury Primary School Above 66% 58% +8.4 54% 34% 72% 175 6%low
38 Ben Jonson Primary School Above 68% 60% +7.6 58% 17% 67% 248 25%high
39 Cyril Jackson Primary School Above 68% 60% +7.6 48% 27% 68% 177 13%below average
40 John Scurr Primary School Above 72% 65% +7.5 53% 15% 100% 172 13%below average
41 Lansbury Lawrence Primary School Above 67% 60% +7.4 64% 22% 92% 173 12%below average
42 Seven Mills Primary School Above 65% 58% +7.1 69% 17% 69% 85 26%high
43 St Saviour's Church of England Primary School Above 59% 52% +7.0 55% 45% 36% 81 19%above average
44 Chisenhale Primary School Above 61% 56% +4.9 59% 29% 51% 126 18%above average
45 Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School Compared As expected 58% 54% +4.3 43% 48% 30% 64 6%
46 Thomas Buxton Primary School As expected 64% 61% +3.4 55% 29% 100% 172 26%high
47 St Paul's Way Trust School As expected 65% 62% +3.1 53% 17% 71% 171 19%above average
48 Mowlem Primary School As expected 68% 66% +1.9 36% 20% 84% 78 8%low
49 Christ Church CofE School As expected 67% 66% +1.5 35% 18% 65% 66 24%high
50 Cubitt Town Primary School As expected 61% 60% +1.4 63% 16% 69% 261 13%below average
51 English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School As expected 61% 61% +0.1 21% 53% 74% 69 16%above average
52 Hague Primary School As expected 67% 67% −0.4 41% 14% 97% 86 6%low
53 Olga Primary School As expected 58% 59% −0.6 48% 31% 56% 171 20%high
54 Marion Richardson Primary School As expected 62% 63% −0.7 50% 19% 79% 171 9%low
55 Bonner Primary School As expected 62% 63% −1.3 48% 19% 81% 340 19%above average
56 St Luke's Church of England Primary School As expected 59% 61% −1.7 42% 27% 52% 137 28%high
57 Halley Primary School As expected 63% 66% −2.6 43% 18% 93% 76 16%above average
58 Hermitage Primary School As expected 64% 67% −2.6 46% 9% 86% 116 45%
59 Arnhem Wharf Primary School As expected 58% 61% −2.7 55% 23% 82% 247 16%above average
60 Harbinger Primary School As expected 56% 60% −4.1 50% 27% 70% 114 16%above average
61 Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy Below 54% 61% −6.8 48% 26% 70% 79 32%

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.